Brigadier (Retd) Usman Khalid passed away on Monday, 31st March 2014 surrounded by his loving family after a long illness In Thames Hospice in Windsor. London. He died peacefully in his sleep; he was 79. He leaves behind his daughters, Asma, Iffat, Omera, Umbreen and his son Abid and grandchildren Zara, Jasim, Ammar, Waleed, Ibrahim, Haadi and Adam. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Najma in December 2005.
Born in Patti, India in 1935, the son of Sufi Mohamed Yusuf (MSc in Physics and Hafiz-e-Quran), who had given up a job in the prestigious Government College Lahore to give access to education to children in rural Punjab. At the time of Partition in 1947 the family moved back to Lahore, the city of their ancestors. Usman’s appetite for learning and his sharp intellect were apparent from an early age. In his first national examinations in 1950, ‘Matriculation’ (equivalent to GCSE in the UK), he stood first in the province of Punjab, an achievement which set the tone for his pursuit for excellence for the rest of his life.
Motivated by patriotism, Usman decided to join the Army at the age of 16 instead of continuing· his studies. He joined the Army in September 1951 at the Pre-Cadet Training School in Quetta, and further trained at Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul and was commissioned in the Artillery on the 1954, 9th PMA. The Army became his second family where he not only made a number of lifelong friends but quickly established a reputation for competence and intellect. Usman rapidly progressed in both the importance of his assignments and rank.
Usman attended the Staff College in Quetta and went on to serve as an Instructor and Senior Instructor at the same College three times. At the Staff College, his insight and flair in military strategy and tactics were highly regarded by many, including by the Chief of Staff. He attended the War Course recognised at National Defence College in 1974, becoming Brigade Major in 1971 and Brigade Commander Artillery in 1975. As a Major, Usman Khalid served as Principal Staff Officer to General Akhtar Malik in CENTO (Central Eastern Treaty Organisation) in Ankara, Turkey between 1966 and 1970. As a result of the sudden death of General Malik, Usman had to step into his role and represented Pakistan’s national interest on the international stage. He thrived on the geopolitics of the era, and was highly effective in pursuing Pakistani interests in the complex dynamics of the Cold War. Usman left the Army with the rank of Brigadier; his final posting in the Pakistan Army before his resignation in 1979 was a Commander of the School of Artillery in Nowshera.
In addition to dealing with issues of military strategy and statecraft, he found the time to address problems affecting the quality of life for people around him. He managed to open a school in Turkey without central funding for the children of people based at the Pakistani Embassy. This proved so successful that it became the school of choice for many western Embassies, including that of the UK.
In line with his passion for the continued development of Pakistan as a democracy and his idealism, Usman resigned from the Pakistan Army in 1979, in protest against the execution of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Some thirty five years later, he did not regret the decision. He viewed the actions of General Zia ul Haq the then Chief of Army Staff as unconstitutional, and that he had a duty to disobey any illegal orders and uphold democratic principles and the rule of law. Later in life, he would not advise any public servant, civil or military to follow his example. He would advise those being given illegal orders to disobey those orders rather than resign and face the consequences. Politicians are a class apart, they serve personal or party political interests and as such, should take a political position.
The timing of his resignation required careful balancing of personal and political considerations. The point he was making was that the decision by General Zia ul Haq to hang Mr. Bhutto was his personal decision and not of the armed forces. It was Usman’s judgement that it was important enough to put his career on the line but not important enough that he put his liberty and the wellbeing of his wife and children at stake. Albeit he regretted that his eldest three children, who were still studying in Pakistan at the time of his resignation, were placed on the exit control list for two years; he did not believe the Army, who he continued to perceive as his professional family, would detain his children. He remained immensely grateful to all those who helped secure his children’s safe passage to the UK; he particularly appreciated the support of Lord Avebury and Amnesty International.
Whilst Usman earned his livelihood through the international construction sector, his passion remained Pakistan, international politics, economics and geopolitical development and statecraft.
On arrival in the UK in 1979, Usman was unable to return to his homeland for 17 years. Throughout his exile and beyond, he tirelessly campaigned for the restoration of democracy in Pakistan. Amongst other routes, he jointly published, with his sister Dr. Kaniz Yusuf, (who was the first female vice chancellor of Pakistani University), a bi-lingual fortnightly newspaper ‘Inqilab’ and later a monthly political journal ‘Democratic Pakistan’. Many leading politicians sought his counsel, including Benazir Bhutto during her years of exile in the UK. He was always a prolific writer and embraced desktop publishing and the internet to spread his vision of geopolitics to new audiences.
Whilst the many years of exile were difficult, the United Kingdom not only gave. Usman and his family shelter but the opportunity for intellectual engagement and freedom of expression. He took immense pleasure from all five of his children, each of them excelling in higher education and achieving professional success. Usman had a very affectionate and respectful relationship with his sons-in-law Humza, Mahmoud and Ali and his daughter-in-law Samarina.
Over the last 15 years Brigadier Usman Khalid wrote hundreds of articles in English and occasionally in Urdu, he also edited several books. One of his most significant works was “Authentic Voices of South Asia”, an edited volume of articles by Usman and various authors that challenged the mainstream views of the region’s politics. In 2001 he established the London Institute of South Asia (LISA) which he ran until a few months before he passed away.
Despite being diagnosed with bowel cancer Usman continued to dedicate his intellect to the causes he was passionate about. In 2008 Usman successfully launched the Rifah Party of Pakistan (a new political party) to give· importance to the commonality between ten countries with just three languages – Turkish, Persian and Urdu whose people are united by common history, faith and culture.
Usman continued to publish articles and make public appearances on strategic Pakistani and international issues of the day until late 2013. Usman Khalid will be sorely missed by his family, friends and the supporters of his visionary work for the oppressed and marginalised in South Asia.
