Mohammed Attiqur Rahman ( Punjabi, ur, ), MC (24 June 1918 – 1 June 1996) was a senior general in the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

, a noted military historian, and a senior government official. He was the martial law administrator (MLA) of

West Pakistan West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was d ...

in General

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 pr ...

's military regime. He was educated at St.Paul's school, London and joined IMA in 1939 with a sword of Honour and then joined 4th/12th FFR. He was the last Governor of West Pakistan and implemented the dissolution of the

One Unit The One Unit Scheme ( ur, ; bn, এক ইউনিট ব্যবস্থা) was a geopolitical programme launched by the Government of Pakistan led by Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Bogra on 22 November 1954 and passed on 30 September 1955 ...

scheme, after which he became the first Governor of Punjab province.

Early life

Born on 24 June 1918, Rahman was the son of Lt Colonel Abdur Rahman, RIAMC. Rahman was schooled at St Paul's in London, UK, and then joined the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military Academy,

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, where he was awarded the Sword of Honor and the silver spurs as the best all-round Gentleman Cadet.

Military service

Commissioned on 1 February 1940, Rahman joined the 4/

12th Frontier Force Regiment The 12th Frontier Force Regiment was formed in 1922 as part of the British Indian Army. It consisted of five regular battalions; numbered 1 to 5 and the 10th (Training) Battalion. During the Second World War a further ten battalions were raised. ...

( "Charwanja") and was posted to Thall,

Kurram Agency Kurram District ( ps, کرم ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Kohat Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan.The name Kurram comes from the river Kuramá ( ps, کورمه) in Pashto which itself derives from the Sanskrit name Kr ...

, (Ahmedzai Operations) then to Datta Khel (Lower Tochi Operations). In November 1941, his battalion went to join General Slim's Fourteenth Army to fight in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. His best friend in the battalion was Major

Sam Manekshaw Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw (3 April 1914 – 27 June 2008), widely known as Sam Manekshaw and Sam Bahadur ("Sam the Brave"), was the Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army during the Indo-Pakistani War of ...

, later a field marshal, with whom he had a lifelong friendship. In 1966, promoted to lieutenant general, he commanded his first corps, IV Corps, then headquartered at Multan (later it was moved to

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

). When General

's martial law was instituted on 25 March 1969, Rahman was appointed Martial Law Administrator (MLA), Zone A (

), due to his position as Commander IV Corps. In August 1969, Rahman was relieved by

Tikka Khan General Tikka Khan ( ur, ٹکا خان; 10 February 1915 – 28 March 2002) was a Pakistan Army general who was the first chief of army staff from 3 March 1972 until retiring on 1 March 1976. Along with Yahya Khan, he is considered a chief ar ...

and moved to I Corps at Mangla. Rahman stayed there until February 1970. He was then replaced by Lt Gen Irshad Ahmed Khan. Rahman was appointed as the Governor of

in February 1970, replacing Air Marshal Nur Khan. He stayed as governor until the breakup of

in 1971, and then became Governor of Punjab. He retired from the army and from the governorship in December 1971.Back to the pavilion LT Gen. Attique Rahman

Military analyst

After retirement in December 1971, he wrote extensively on military issues. In 1977, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq appointed him as Chairman of the Federal Public Services Commission, holding this position until 1985.

Awards and Decorations

Foreign Decorations

Works

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References

External links

Herr Generalfeldmarschall Attiq von Rachmann by Ardeshir Cowasjee (Dawn)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahman, Attiqur 1918 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Pakistani historians British Indian Army officers Frontier Force Regiment officers Generals of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Governors of Punjab, Pakistan Governors of West Pakistan Indian Army personnel of World War II Pakistani generals Pakistani military historians People from Rawalpindi District Punjabi people Recipients of the Military Cross