Abdul Majeed Malik (1919 3 June 2016) was a lieutenant general in the Pakistan Army,

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

veteran, diplomat and later politician who served as minister of Kashmir Affairs & Northern Areas and minister of States & Frontier Regions from 11 July 1997 to 12 September 99. Prior to entering in the political race, he served as a director for military operations at

general headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

. Before the

partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

, he was a commissioned officer in the British Indian Army. He also drafted 1958 martial law, the first military coup of Pakistan. He was born in 1919 in

Jand, Chakwal Jand Awan is a village and union councils of Pakistan, union council, an administrative subdivision, of Chakwal District in the Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab Province of Pakistan, it is part of Chakwal Tehsil.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 ...

(in modern-day

Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...

). He received his

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

from a school at Hasola in 1935, and later went to Government High School Chakwal (in modern-day Government Post Graduate College).

Career

Military

Before entering in politics and diplomatic career, he worked in the British Indian Army in 1939 as a sepoy. He initially served at a clerical job at the

Punjab Regiment Punjab Regiment may refer to the following existing units: *Punjab Regiment (India) *Punjab Regiment (Pakistan) From 1922 to 1947, the British Indian Army included 6 numbered Punjab Regiments: *1st Punjab Regiment * 2nd Punjab Regiment *8th Punj ...

. In 1943, he was selected as a commissioned officer in the British Indian Army. He was one of the veterans who observed the partition of India. Before the partition, he was also assigned the security duty of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

following the

Direct Action Day Direct Action Day (16 August 1946), also known as the 1946 Calcutta Killings, was a day of nationwide communal riots. It led to large-scale violence between Muslims and Hinduism in India, Hindus in the city of Calcutta (now known as Kolkata) ...

peace talks between Gandhi and

Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy ( bn, হোসেন শহীদ সোহ্‌রাওয়ার্দী; ur, ; 8 September 18925 December 1963) was a Bengali barrister and politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1956 t ...

. After the India subcontinent was divided into two sovereign states such as India and Pakistan, he entered in the Pakistan Army and served at various posts, including as an instructor at the

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy ( ur, ), also referred to by its acronym PMA. PMA is an officers training school located near Kakul village in the city and district of Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa established in 1947. It is the sole service academy ...

in 1962. After he qualified entrance examination from the Command and Staff College, he was sent to

Canadian Army Command and Staff College The Canadian Army Command and Staff College (CACSC), formerly the Canadian Land Force Command and Staff College, is a school for officers of the Canadian Forces, specializing in staff and army operations courses. It is located at Fort Frontenac, ...

where he received his military training. Upon his return, he was posted at

Murree Murree (Punjabi, Urdu: مری) is a mountain resort city, located in the Galyat region of the Pir Panjal Range, within the Muree District of Punjab, Pakistan. It forms the outskirts of the Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area, and is about ...

and

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

. When the country came under 1958 military coup, president

Iskander Mirza Sahibzada Iskander Ali Mirza ( bn, ইস্কান্দার আলী মির্জা; ur, ; 13 November 1899 – 13 November 1969), , was a Pakistani Bengali general officer and civil servant who was the first President of Pakista ...

was forced to submit his resignation from the presidency. Mirza's resignation letter was written by Malik. He was later appointed as commander of Special Services Group during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. He later commanded 11th Infantry Division. During the

Indo-Pakistani 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 Decem ...

, he served as director for Military Operations at general headquarters in 1969. When he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, he commanded

XI Corps 11 Corps, 11th Corps, Eleventh Corps, or XI Corps may refer to: * 11th Army Corps (France) * XI Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XI Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

. When

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 a ...

retired from the service,

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourt ...

had to appoint Malik as the Chief of the Army Staff. However, Lt General Zia-ul-Haq, who, after Lt General Majeed Malik, was at the seventh step in the race to become CASO, had earned Bhutto's favour. This resulted in Zia's appointment as CASO and being superseded, Lt General Malik resigned from the military service.

Politics

He started his political career in 1988 after electing to the National Assembly of Pakistan. He represented Chakwal constituency four times in 1988, 1990, 1993 and 1997. He won the first two terms on the ticket of

Islami Jamhoori Ittehad The Islami Jamhoori Ittehad ( Islamic Democratic Alliance; acronym: IJI; ur, ) was a right-wing conservative alliance formed in September 1988 to oppose the democratic socialist Pakistan Peoples Party in elections that year. The alliance compri ...

, and the third and the fourth term on the ticket of Pakistan Muslim League (N). During his political career, he served as minister of petroleum and minister of States & Frontier Regions in the government of

Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi Ghulam Mustafa ‘Joseph’Jatoi (Sindhi:غلام مصطفا جتوئي) ( ur, ) (14 August 1931 – 20 November 2009) was a Pakistani politician who served as the Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan for three months, from 6 August 1990 to ...

from 11 August 1990 to 6 November 1990. After

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime minister of Pak ...

was elected prime minister, Malik was selected as minister of Kashmir Affairs & Northern Areas from 11 July 1997 to 12 September 1999. After 1999 coup d'état, he left politics and supported his son-in-law, Tahir Iqbal in the politics from his constituency.

Diplomatic career

After he retired from the politics, he was appointed ambassador of Pakistan to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

and later ambassador to France. During his diplomatic career in Morocco, he wrote several letters to

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...

suggesting on foreign affairs. He also sent a letter to general Zia advising to withdraw execution of

. In the latter years, he established Majeed Malik Education and Health Foundations. In 2008, he re-established his associations with Pakistan Muslim League (N) and supported

Ayaz Amir Ayaz Amir () is a Pakistani Journalist, columnist, former military officer,diplomat and politician. Previously, he had been a member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab in 1990s and a member of the National Assembly between 2008 and 2013. I ...

in the politics than contesting general election for himself.

Books

He wrote autobiography titled ''Hum Bhi Wahan Mojood Thay'' (we were there too). The book was published in 2015 by Sang-e-Meel Publications. The book contains detailed account of his life,

Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...

and how Pakistan conducted underground nuclear tests. He wrote in his book that

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...

conducted military operations confidentially and didn't reveal the truth to

Ashfaq Parvez Kayani General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani (Urdu: ; born 20 April 1952), is a retired four-star general of the Pakistan Army who served as the 8th Chief of Army Staff , being appointed on 29 November 2007 after his predecessor Pervez Musharraf retired fro ...

. Kayani knew very little about the 1999 Kargil war. The book future claims that when Musharraf spoke to Chinese military general to discuss 1999 conflict, his phone call was allegedly tapped by the Indian intelligence agencies. The book also criticises Nawaz Sharif for appointing

Ziauddin Butt General Khawaja Ziauddin Abbasi ( ur, خواجہ ضیاء الدین عباسى), also known as Ziauddin Butt ( ur, ضیاء الدین بٹ), is a retired four-star rank army generalChaudhry, Aminullah (2009) Hijacking from the Ground: The Bi ...

as chief of army staff and unsuccessful attempts of dismissing Musharraf in 1999. Malik was one of the close associates of Nawaz Sharif, however after 1999 military takeover, he changed his mind and established his political association with Musharraf.

Controversies

In 2005, Malik had to contest district nazim election, however, his candidacy on the grounds of his alleged fake matriculation certificate was challenged in the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...

by Chaudhry Aurangzeb Khan, controller of examination (certificate) of the

University of the Punjab The University of the Punjab (Urdu, pnb, ), also referred to as Punjab University, is a public, research, coeducational higher education institution located in Lahore, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. ...

and Mirza Rafiuzzaman, Rawalpindi district

returning officer In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies. Australia In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a state electoral ...

. He later filed a petition to the Supreme Court contesting the paper rejection by returning officer. Malik pleaded in his petition that returning officer had never produced reliable material to prove his alleged bogus certificate. Returning officer alleged that Malik had never passed his

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...

in 1939. In December 2005, the supreme court lifted the ban on his nomination paper after the University of the Punjab declared his certificate valid.

Death

Malik was suffering from coronary artery disease. He was admitted to the

Combined Military Hospital Combined Military Hospitals ( ur, , abbreviated as CMH) are Pakistan Armed Forces hospitals situated in various cantonments of Pakistan. History During the British Raj, the British Indian Army troops depended for their medical treatment enti ...

for medical treatment. He died in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

on 3 June 2016 in late Friday at the hospital. His body was shifted to his hometown in Chakwal, Punjab and was buried on Saturday in a cemetery at his village, Jand, Chakwal.