Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Iftikhar Khan Janjua ( ur, ) (died December 9, 1971) of 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 ...

is one of the most senior Pakistani officers to have been killed in action. He is known in Pakistan as the hero of

Rann of Kutch The Rann of Kutch (alternately spelled as Kuchchh) is a large area of salt marshes that span the border between India and Pakistan. It is located in Gujarat (primarily the Kutch district), India, and in Sindh, Pakistan. It is divided into t ...

, as he was a brigadier in command of 6 Brigade, during the fighting in April 1965 prior to the

Indo-Pakistani 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 ...

. He was killed in a helicopter crash, in Kashmir, during the

Battle of Chamb The Battle of Chamb was a battle in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The Pakistan Army attacked Chamb on the same principle as the Battle of Chamb (1965). The Pakistan Army's primary objective was to capture the town of Chamb and surrounding ...

while in command of 23 Infantry Division during the

Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decemb ...

. He is one of the only two Generals of Pakistan army to die in combat.

1965 War

In April 1965, as part of a tri-service exercise (Arrow Head), the Indians brought in 31 and 67 Infantry Brigades in area Karim Shahi - Kavda. The IAF and the Indian

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

, supported by other naval vessels, also moved into the gulf. On 8/9 April, in a series of events not entirely clear, clashes broke out between the Indians and the Pakistanis at a post near Ding, Rann of Kutch.On 23 April Brigadier Iftikhar Janjua ordered the 4 Punjab to capture point 84 by first activity around Chad Bet. Since the progress of 6 Punjab was slow 2 Frontier Force (FF) was directed to join them. By first light, the battalion reached its objective without suffering too many casualties. 2 FF later attacked Biar Bet along with a squadron of 12 Cavalry. Biar Bet was captured by 0600 hours on 26 April. The outcome of the Rann of Kutch was considered as a positive for the Pakistan Army. As described by Lt General

Gul Hassan Khan Gul Hassan Khan ( ur, گل حسن خان) (1921; b. 1921—10 October 1999), was a Pakistan Army senior general who served as the 6th and the last Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army, serving under President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from 20 Decembe ...

, then Director of Military Operations, in his later memoirs - "the set back in Kutch proved immeasurably disconcerting to the Indian army. As a result, the Government of India was in a quandary. On the other hand, ours was in a state of euphoria. The high command of our army was intoxicated by our showing and our morale could not possibly have been higher. We were ready for any task that may be assigned to us without any question.".Quoted by Altaf Gauhar in ''1965 War: Boomerang'' (possibly from The Nation, September 24, 1999) retrieved from Pakistan Link website July 26, 2006 The restraint shown by India would later convince

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...

that the Indian Government was in no mood to fight. This encouraged them into launching the Kashmir offensive, which led to the War in September 1965. After the 65 War, Janjua was the divisional commander of 6 Armoured Division even though he himself was an infantry officer - no mean feat. He spared himself the time to learn about the nuances of armoured fighting vehicles and their operations. Soon after, Janjua would command 23 Division based at Jhelum.

1971 War

In the

1971 War The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decemb ...

, Janjua was divisional commander of 23 Infantry Division. He was assigned the task of capturing Chhamb, a strategically important town in Kashmir, which would turn out to be the only decisive victory for

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

on the

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

front of 1971. The fighting around Chhamb was fierce and took toll on both the advancing Pakistani troops and the fiercely resisting Indian regiments. Although Janjua was advised by high command to try to take Chhamb from the south, Janjua said it was a better to take Mandiala bridge his troops would outflank the Indians eventually forcing them out of Chhamb and all the area west of Tawa. After intense fighting Mandiawala was captured, then Pallanwala and Chak Pandit, and on 9 December 1971, the first Pakistani troops entered the surrounding area around Chhamb under the personal supervision of Janjua. In the middle of fighting around Chhamb proper, on 9 December 1971, Janjua was killed when his OH-13S (Sioux) light helicopter, in which he was travelling on to coordinate and position his troops, was attacked.News article in Jang
Iftikhar Khan Janjua Road is named after him in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

, Cannt.

Iftikhar Janjua was a brilliant and charismatic leader who inspired his troops to continue to fight. It was leading from the front for which General Iftikhar Janjua is remembered even today by the troops who served in 23 Division during the Battle of Chhamb. It was this quality which enabled him to arrive at a realistic appraisal of the actual situation without undue reliance on exaggerated reports from lower echelons and successfully take Chhamb.

Personal life

Major General Iftikhar Janjua was known for his boldness and for the confidence he inspired among his men by being in the front lines during the heat of the battle. His father Raja Mehmood Amjad was a barrister and the family was settled in Sargodha District. He is brother of Major General Ijaz Amjad.

Awards and decorations

Foreign Decorations

Explanatory footnotes

Notes

External links

by Lt Gen (retd) Kamal Matinuddin

by Major Agha Humayun Amin {{DEFAULTSORT:Janjua, Iftikhar 1971 deaths Punjabi people Pakistani generals Recipients of Hilal-i-Jur'at Pakistani military personnel killed in action Pakistani Ahmadis Year of birth missing St. Anthony's High School, Lahore alumni Baloch Regiment officers