Obituary of an Officer & Gentleman of a Bygone Era
Brigadier Farrukh Bakht Ali (February 1929 – February 2021) passed away in Canada. He was one of the last of the generation of Pakistan army officers commissioned right after the Independence in 1947. He was a highly respected officer of Pakistan Army.
His family was from Patiala. His maternal grandfather Safdar Jung Khan was Lodi Pathan and served with police department, he was kotwal (city police chief) of Amritsar city. His maternal grandmother was from Turkmenistan who had migrated to India as a young girl. His father Bakht Yawar Ali was orphaned at a young age but with hard work graduated from Government College Lahore and joined Indian Police Service (IPS). F.B. Ali was born in Delhi where his father was posted at that time. In view of frequent posting of Ali’s father to different locations (Karnal, Hoshiarpur, Muzzafargarh), it was decided to enroll Ali in Convent of Jesus and Mary in Mussoorie, he then joined his father’s alma mater Government College Lahore. In 1945, the demand for a separate Muslim homeland had gained momentum. Students of Government College were from middle class families of government service and not involved in any political activity. Ali organized Muslim League student political activities where he met Khurshid Anwar. Anwar was organizing an armed struggle in Kashmir after partition in August 1947 and asked Ali to join him. Ali wanted to join but his father vetoed the idea. Ali then joined the first Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) course in January 1948 but because of war, the Course was shortened to ten months and he was commissioned in November 1948. He also won the Norman Gold Medal. He wanted to join Armored Corps where one vacancy was open that he was entitled to but some background maneuvers for another favorite candidate (Fazle Haq) deprived Ali of this opportunity. He was commissioned in Artillery Regiment, attached with 1st Mountain Regiment commanded by Lieutenant Colonel W. P. B. Milne. It was originally 21st Mountain Regiment stationed in Waziristan with four Jacob’s, Kohat, Peshawar and Lahore batteries. This regiment was still deployed in Kashmir after the ceasefire. Milne would visit his batteries dressed as a Pathan because British officers were not allowed to serve in Kashmir. After this attachment, he joined 7th Field Regiment and later served with 9th Medium Regiment and commanded 44th (SP) Field Regiment.
After completion of the Instructor Course at School of Artillery, he was kept at the School as an instructor. In 1955, he was selected for foreign course at School of Artillery at Larkhill in England. By this time Pakistan had joined American military alliances and was receiving new American equipment. Ali was brought to Artillery School to develop a new doctrine and procedures for induction of American equipment. He was selected for a foreign staff course and attended the Canadian Staff Course.
Κατά κανόνα, η κυστίτιδα που προκαλείται από βακτηριακή λοίμωξη αντιμετωπίζεται με αντιβιοτικά που συνταγογραφούνται από γιατρό. Σε ήπιες μορφές της νόσου, ο ειδικός μπορεί να συνταγογραφήσει συμπτωματική Πώς να λάβετε συνταγή για Viagra; θεραπεία με στόχο τη βελτίωση της γενικής ευεξίας. Η έγκαιρη φαρμακευτική θεραπεία συμβάλλει στον αποκλεισμό της ανάπτυξης επιπλοκών.
He served in new Research and Development Directorate at General Head Quarters (GHQ) and then served as Chief of Staff of 18th Division, then commanded by Major General (later General) Rahim Uddin Khan. In May1971, he was promoted to Brigadier and appointed Deputy Commandant of PMA. When the 1971 war was imminent, he was given command of 6th Armored Division artillery that later became command of Army Reserve North (a formation consisting of 6th Armored Division & 17th Infantry Division) and I Corps artillery.
Army Reserve North (ARN) was commanded by Major General Bashir Ahmad whose Chief of Staff was Colonel Aleem Afridi and Lieutenant Colonel Abad was GSO-1. 6th Armored Division was commanded by a Bengali officer Major General Iskandar ul Karim nick named ‘Bacchu Karim’ and his Colonel Staff was Colonel Aga Javed Iqbal (5thProbyn’s Horse). The Division’s signal battalion was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Khurshid. 17th Infantry Division was commanded by Major General R. D. Shamim. ARN was hastily put together with no operational plans. Bashir showed no interest about his own formation and openly told his staff officers that he was simply put there to keep an eye on Bacchu Karim.
The surrender on 16 December 1971 shocked West Pakistan. On 17 December, Ali wrote his resignation letter accepting his own responsibility, also expecting that General Yahya Khan and his close advisors would accept responsibility and resign. Next day when he heard that Yahya Khan was planning a new Constitution, he was livid. He went to his Division Commander ‘Bacchu Karim’ and asked him to send a message to GHQ to convey feelings of officers that the ruling regime had lost the confidence of officers. Bacchu Karim was a Bengali officer who was in a completely hopeless situation of commanding a division in West Pakistan while his compatriots had won their freedom in the Eastern Wing. He was not sure about his future. On 19 December, Ali confined Bacchu Karim in his caravan and took command of the division. He ordered the Commander of Signal Battalion to cut all communications out of headquarters and all calls to GOC to be routed to him. Bashir came to visit Bacchu Karim and when told about the events he shouted at Ali “You are under arrest. Go and sit in my jeep and I will take you to Corps Headquarter”. Ali simply said “No, Sir” and when three young armed officers showed up, Bashir deflated quickly. Soon Major General Shamim and Commander of Armoured Brigade Brigadier Iqbal Mehdi Shah also showed up.
They decided to invite Chief of General Staff (CGS) Lieutenant General Gul Hassan to come to division Head Quarters (HQ). When he refused to come, it was decided to send Colonel Aga Javed Iqbal and Colonel Aleem Afridi to meet him at GHQ. Iqbal had served as Adjutant of Gul Hassan when he was commanding 5thProbyn’s Horse. When both officers entered Gul Hassan’s office, he was in a despondent mood and told them that he planned to leave the army. When the two officers told him about the ultimatum for the regime, he brightened up. He called Air Force Chief Rahim Khan to his office. Gul Hassan admired the stance and courage of the officers and told them to sit in his staff officer Major (later Lieutenant General) Javed Nasir’s office. Gul Hassan and Rahim went to see Chief of Staff (COS) General Abdul Hamid ‘Ham’ and later went to see General Yahya Khan. While the senior officers’ huddle was going on, Ali had not heard from Iqbal and Aleem and got concerned whether GHQ was planning to neutralize them. He ordered an Infantry Company to deploy to defend division HQ.
The regime tried to salvage the situation and approached some commanders. Several calls were also made to Division HQ. Lieutenant General Tikka Khan called and when told that generals were not available and Brigadier Ali would take the call, he hung up. Quarter Master General (QMG) Major General A. O. Mitha who had raised Special Services Group (SSG), saw SSG Commander Brigadier (later Lieutenant General) Ghulam Muhammad nicknamed GM to see if he could send some SSG to take control of division headquarters. GM told Mitha that he had no troops to spare and went to his boss Gul Hassan, informing him of the events.
Governors of all four provinces were also military men. Governor of Punjab was Lieutenant General Atiqur Rahman ‘Turk’, Lieutenant General Rakhman Gul was governor of Sindh, Lieutenant General K. M. Azhar governor of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Lieutenant General Riaz Hussain Shah governor of Baluchistan. Yahya probably called all of them, but I know only of his conversation with Governor of Punjab Lieutenant General Atiqur Rahman ‘Turk’. A large crowd had gathered outside the Governor House and Turk allowed few in small groups to try to explain the debacle in East Pakistan. Yahya Khan called and asked him about the situation, Turk told him that a large crowd had gathered outside. When Yahya asked what did they want, Turk bluntly said, ‘They want your head’. Yahya did not grasp it first time, so Turk repeated the sentence. Yahya said, ‘even you have turned against me’ and hung up the phone. Seeing no response from several quarters in the army, Yahya decided to quit and announced his resignation.
There was internal struggle among senior officers. Gul Hassan riding on the backs of disgruntled officers hoped that with the removal of Yahya and Hamid, he would be a natural choice for the top post. A happy Gul Hassan came back to office and gave the good news that Yahya had resigned and spoke to Bacchu Karim and Bashir and told them that he will come to division HQ next morning to thank officers and men. Mitha was part of the inner clique and thought that with Yahya out, there may be room for elevation of Hamid to the top slot. Mitha called and talked to Ali suggesting that General Abdul Hamid should take over from Yahya Khan. Hamid was too close to Yahya and was blamed for the disaster. Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (DG ISI) Brigadier (later Lieutenant General) Ghulam Jilani and Director General Military Intelligence (DG MI) Brigadier (later General) Iqbal Khan were dispatched by Hamid to visit the Div. HQ without informing Gul Hassan. Iqbal tried to convince Brigadier Iqbal Mehdi Shah to send the infantry company guarding Div HQ back and went to another infantry battalion commander to convince him to send troops to take over Div. HQ, but he declined. When Gul Hassan called Div. HQ and told that DG ISI and DG MI were visiting the HQ, he was furious. Seeing the changing winds, Iqbal went back to Rawalpindi but reported to Gul Hassan rather than to Hamid. In the morning, Hamid’s military secretary called Div. HQ asking for the whereabouts of DG MI. Hamid decided to address officers at GHQ auditorium where his fate was sealed and he was hooted out by Majors, Colonels and Brigadiers. In a strange twist, Brigadier (later General and COAS) Zia ul Haq also showed up at Div. HQ while he was posted hundred miles away. Zia was Gul Hassan’s protégé and Gul Hassan had saved his career and it is likely that Gul Hassan sent him to Div. HQ to give firsthand report about what was happening.
Power was handed to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto after the departure of Yahya Khan. Gul Hassan and Bhutto were fully aware of the danger posed by officers who had forced their own brass to resign after the disastrous conduct of war. Gul Hassan in hubris made the mistake of trying to settle personal scores by retiring three generals with good reputation in the army (Major Generals Ehsan ul Haq Malik, Shaukat Raza and Khadim Hussain Raja). This caused some resentment as many with direct responsibility of the disaster were not touched. Ali drove to Governor House without any appointment asking to see Governor Ghulam Mustafa Khar; a close confidant of Bhutto. Ali told Khar that Gul Hassan was misleading the government and leaving incompetent generals in place. Bhutto was visiting Lahore and staying at the Governor House. Khar’s military secretary took Ali to his office and took away his pistol. A little while later, Bhutto came to office with Khar and Ali narrated the whole story to him.
Gul Hassan started an inquiry against officers involved in the incident. In the meantime, Gul Hassan was unceremoniously removed by Bhutto and the inquiry was completed during General Tikka Khan’s time. After the events of December 1971, he was removed from command and appointed Commandant of School of Artillery. In August 1972, he was retired from the army. Tikka called Ali and told him that he would be retired from the army and Ali hung his boots in August 1972.
Many bright and decorated young officers brashly talked about their disappointment and this led to talk about changing the government by force. They were all junior officers and they approached Ali to try to rope in some senior officers in their plan. Ali attended some meetings but in the last meeting told them that they were too emotional, and they should forget about everything. In early 1973, several officers including Ali were arrested and charged with conspiracy to overthrow the government. A Field General Court Martial headed by Major General (later General & Chief of Army Staff) Zia ul Haq was convened at Attock Fort. The Court convicted several officers and Ali was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Bhutto had a bug in his bonnet about Ali, he had not forgotten the day when Ali walked into governor house with his side arm. He took personal interest in the proceedings and Zia frequently traveled to Rawalpindi to brief Bhutto on the progress of the case. Now, there is evidence from several sources that Bhutto wanted a death sentence for Ali – GHQ sent back the judgement to Field General Court Martial for enhancement of sentences. Ali was given life sentence and enhancement of sentence meant death penalty. Junior members of the court prevailed and Field General Court Martial did not reconsider the sentences. The junior most member of the court Major (later Lieutenant General) Muzaffar Usmani was instrumental in this decision.
Bhutto even promulgated Constitutional amendments specifically targeting Ali. Life sentence normally means fourteen years imprisonment but with Constitutional amendment, it was changed to whole life in prison. The law was also changed to specify that military prisoners would not be entitled to any remission in their sentence. Ali was kept in solitary confinement in prison far away from home. After the 1977 Martial Law, Zia allowed his transfer to Lahore. When Bhutto was convicted for ordering the assassination of a political opponent, he was put in the death cell of the same jail only a hundred yards away from Ali’s cell. Ali was released in May 1978. He moved to Canada and helped to set up a Disaster Management Department of the Ontario government.
Ali had a sharp mind and was of intellectual bent. GHQ had an annual essay competition and for several years, Ali won the competition. Others only got a chance when Ali was stopped from participating in the contest. His essays during his professional career and papers for staff college were first rate and won praise from his superiors. He also wrote short stories and poetry.
Several years ago, Ali contacted me after someone forwarded to him some of my writings on the Pakistan army. We kept in touch and he was kind enough to always correct, add and offer critique of my own work. He was kind enough to share with me details of the tumultuous days of 1971 war and his role in these events. He would always take time to answer many follow-up questions and comments on views of my other sources of that era. He also shared many aspects of his family and personal life with me. He was constantly broadening his horizons till the very end of his life. His personal journey went through cultural Islam, personal piety, political Islam, in-depth study and translation of Quran to the valleys of atheism. In this long journey a simple code of ethics and a moral compass were his guides. This was the reason why he impressed everyone who met him, even those who strongly disagreed with him. Lieutenant General Jahan Dad who was deputy of the court martial that tried Ali had great respect for him and told me that Ali was a fine officer and head and shoulder above his peers. He considered him a thinking officer. Ali’s course mate Colonel EAS Bukhari viewed him as a gunner with considerable repute and acumen and even in young age, he was viewed as intellectual and thinker.
It is an irony that the senior most member of the Field General Court Martial Major General Zia ul Haq who sentenced Ali, overthrew the government in a successful coup d’état in 1977 and the junior most member of the court Major Muzaffar Usmani was involved in the coup of General Pervez Musharraf in 1999.
In Attock prison in 1973, Ali wrote following poem “I am not Christ”
I am not Christ
Yet, there are these many hills
Up each one of whichI have wound my weary war
I am no Christ
Yet, there are these many hills
Upon each one of which
I am crucified.
Note: Details of the events of 1973 trial are based on my interviews with direct participants and first-hand witnesses including Brigadier F. B. Ali, Colonel Aga Javed Iqbal, Lieutenant General Jahan Dad Khan and others who wish to remain anonymous.
