General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Abdul Hamid Khan () was a senior officer in the Pakistan Army. He served as the Chief of Staff of the Pakistan Army under president

Yahya Khan General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan , (Urdu: ; 4 February 1917 – 10 August 1980); commonly known as Yahya Khan, was a Pakistani military general who served as the third President of Pakistan and Chief Martial Law Administrator following his p ...

and led the army during the events in the Indo-Pakistani War in 1971. He is accused of inflicting genocide during the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Early career

Abdul Hamid Khan was born 29 April 1917.The Half Yearly Indian Army List April 1946 He attended the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

, Dehra Dun. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant on the Special List 15 July 1939 and was initially attached to the

Somerset Light Infantry The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Som ...

for experience from 11 August 1939. His date of commission was later antedated to 28 August 1938 and he was promoted Lieutenant 28 November 1940. He was admitted to the Indian Army 27 August 1940. He was appointed acting Captain then temporary Captain on 23 December 1940.The Half Yearly Indian Army List April 1946 He had been posted to 3rd battalion

10th Baluch Regiment The 10th Baluch or Baluch Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. After independence, it was transferred to the Pakistan Army. In 1956, it was amalgamated with the 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments. During more ...

by October 1942. He was promoted war substantive Captain and temporary Major 3 February 1944. He was briefly an acting Lieut-Col 15 August to 18 October 1945. He had attended a war time staff course.The Half Yearly Indian Army List April 1946 During the Partition of India, he opted for Pakistan and joined the newly created Pakistan Army; in 1947 he was promoted to Lt-Col and became commanding officer of 6th battalion, Baluch Regiment, he commanded from April 1948 - November 1948. Later he was appointed commanding officer of 3rd battalion, Baluch Regiment, he served in this post from November 1948 to December 1949.

1965 War with India

During the

1965 Indo-Pakistani War The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was ...

, then Major General Abdul Hamid Khan served as the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 11th Infantry Division at

Kasur Kasur (Urdu and pa, ; also romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab. The city serves as the headquarters of Kasur District. Kasu ...

. This division in addition to 10th Infantry Division under Major General Sarfaraz Khan repelled the Indian thrust at Lahore on 6 September 1965. His division captured the district of

Khemkaran Khem Karan is a town and a nagar panchayat, just 56km from Tarn Taran Sahib in Tarn Taran district of Patti tehsil of the Majha region of Indian state of Punjab. It was the site of a major tank battle in 1965. The Battle of Asal Uttar was th ...

Indian Punjab Punjab (; ) is a state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the north and northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, and ...

, though further advances were checked. He then was able to withstand multiple counter-attacks by the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

in an effort to retake

Career in the Yahya Government

After the

Indo-Pak war of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

, Abdul Hamid Khan was promoted to Lieutenant General and served as the commander of I Corps, then based in Kharian (it is currently based in Mangla). After martial law was imposed by General

on 25 March 1969, Lt Gen Hamid Khan was made the Chief of Staff of the Pakistan Army and Deputy Martial Law Administrator of the country.Pakistan : Martial Law "Who's Who"
''The American Papers - Secret and Confidential India.Pakistan.Bangladesh Documents 1965-1973,'' March 26, 1969 During that time he briefly held the cabinet portfolio of Home Affairs for four months. He was promoted to full general in August 1969 and was appointed as the Chief of Staff of the Army or in other sense the

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

commander-in-chief of the army in place of Yahya as he was the President. He is accused of war crimes during the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war.

Awards and Decorations

Foreign Decorations

References

External links

Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Abdul Hamid Pakistani generals Generals of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Baloch Regiment officers Indian Military Academy alumni British Indian Army officers 1917 births 1984 deaths