Rahimuddin Khan (21 July 1926 – 22 August 2022)
was a general 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 ...
who served as the 4th
Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
The Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) ( ur, ) is, in principle, the highest-ranking and senior most uniformed military officer, typically at four-star rank, in the Pakistan Armed Forces who serves as a Principal Staff Officer an ...
from 1984 to 1987, after serving as the 7th
governor of Balochistan
The Governor of Balochistan is the head of the province of Balochistan, Pakistan. The post was established on 1 July 1970, after the dissolution of West Pakistan province and the end of One Unit. Under Pakistan's current parliamentary system, the ...
from 1978 to 1984. He also served as the 16th
governor of Sindh
The governor of Sindh is the appointed head of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. The office of the governor as the head of the province is largely a ceremonial position; the executive powers lie with the Chief Minister of Sindh, chief minister and t ...
in 1988.
Opting for Pakistan during 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 ...
, Rahimuddin enrolled as the first cadet of 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 ...
. He was part of
military action
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...
during the
1953 Punjab disturbances, and later commanded
111 Brigade 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 ...
and
II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to:
France
* 2nd Army Corps (France)
* II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...
in
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the List ...
. As Chairman Joint Chiefs, he rejected the future
military plan
A military operation plan (also called a war plan before World War II) is a formal plan for military armed forces, their military organizations and units to conduct operations, as drawn up by commanders within the combat operations process in ach ...
for the
Kargil Conflict
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 referred ...
.
As the longest-serving governor of Balochistan, Rahimuddin declared a general amnesty and ended all
military operations in the province. His tenure saw widespread
development
Development or developing may refer to:
Arts
*Development hell, when a project is stuck in development
*Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting
*Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped
*Photographi ...
, including the opening of
Sui gas field
Sui Gas Field is a natural gas field near Sui in Balochistan Province, Pakistan that is operated by Pakistan Petroleum Limited. Sui gas field was discovered in 1952, its current production is per day at standard conditions.https://www.ppl.com.p ...
s to
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...
, the construction of
nuclear test sites
Nuclear may refer to:
Physics
Relating to the nucleus of the atom:
*Nuclear engineering
*Nuclear physics
*Nuclear power
*Nuclear reactor
*Nuclear weapon
*Nuclear medicine
*Radiation therapy
*Nuclear warfare
Mathematics
*Nuclear space
*Nuclear ...
in
Chaghai, and the halting of the
Baloch insurgency
The Insurgency in Balochistan is an insurgency or revolt by Baloch nationalists against the governments of Pakistan and Iran in the Balochistan region, which covers the Balochistan Province in southwestern Pakistan, Sistan and Baluchestan Prov ...
.
He was credited with financial honesty, but controversially suppressed
mujahideen
''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...
entering the province during the
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
.
He refused an extension of service as chairman joint chiefs, retiring in 1987.
Early life and family
![Rahimuddin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Rahimuddin.jpg)
Rahimuddin Khan was born on 21 July 1926,
in
Qaimganj
Kaimganj is a town in Farrukhabad district in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. Kaimganj Railway Station is a major station between Farrukhabad and Kasganj on Rajputana railway link of North Eastern Railway.
Description
Kaimganj is just 10&nb ...
,
United Provinces,
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 ...
, to a ethnic
Pashtun
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
family, that had ancestry from
Tirah
The Tirah also spelled Terah ( ps, تیراہ) also called the Tirah Valley (), is a mountainous tract located in the Khyber district, lying between the Khyber Pass and the Khanki Valley in Pakistan.
Society
Lying close to the Pak-Afghan bord ...
. He was the nephew of educationist
Zakir Husain
Zakir Husain Khan (8 February 1897 – 3 May 1969) was an Indian educationist and politician who served as the third president of India from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969.
Born in Hyderabad in a Afridi Pashtun family, Husain ...
, later the
President of India
The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...
, and the son-in-law of Husain's brother,
Pakistan Movement
The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the pe ...
figure and member of the first
Constituent Assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
Mahmud Husain
Mahmud Husain Khan (5 July 1907 – 12 April 1975) was a Pakistani historian, educationist, and politician, known for his role in the Pakistan Movement, and for pioneering the study of social sciences. He served as Minister for Kashmir Af ...
.
He attended
Jamia Millia Islamia University
Jamia Millia Islamia () is a central university located in New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla in ...
in
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
, founded by Zakir Husain.
He opted for Pakistan during
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
in 1947, enrolling as Gentleman Cadet-1 of 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 ...
.
Military service
As a captain, Rahimuddin was part of the military operation under
Azam Khan during the
1953 Lahore riots
The Lahore riots of 1953 were a series of violent riots against the Ahmadiyya Movement, a faith marginalized in Pakistan, mainly in the city of Lahore, Pakistan as well as the rest of Punjab, which were eventually quelled by the Pakistan Army wh ...
. He attended
Command and General Staff College
The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...
at
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest perman ...
, and
Command and Staff College in
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...
in 1965, and was posted to
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
in 1969. He served as inaugural commander of
111 Brigade 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 ...
in 1970. Rahimuddin served as Chief Instructor at the Armed Forces War College at the then
National Defence College,
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 ...
, until 1975. Prime Minister
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 fourth ...
requested Rahimuddin to head the new
Atomic Energy Commission and
nuclear programme, but was declined. As lieutenant-general, he became
Commander II Corps in
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the List ...
in 1976. He was made
Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
The Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) ( ur, ) is, in principle, the highest-ranking and senior most uniformed military officer, typically at four-star rank, in the Pakistan Armed Forces who serves as a Principal Staff Officer an ...
by General
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 ...
on 22 March 1984, a position he served in till 29 March 1987.
Rejection of Kargil plan
As Chairman Joint Chiefs, Rahimuddin was asked to approve the
military plan
A military operation plan (also called a war plan before World War II) is a formal plan for military armed forces, their military organizations and units to conduct operations, as drawn up by commanders within the combat operations process in ach ...
for an offensive in
Kargil
Kargil ( lbj, ) is a city and a joint capital of the union territory of Ladakh, India. It is also the headquarters of the Kargil district. It is the second-largest city in Ladakh after Leh. Kargil is located to the east of Srinagar in Ja ...
,
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 ...
, in 1986.
The plan was authored by Commander
I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to:
France
* 1st Army Corps (France)
* I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...
. Both Rahimuddin and Air Chief Marshal
Jamal A. Khan
Air Chief Marshal Jamal Ahmad Khan Afridi ( ur, ; b. 15 April 1934) is a retired four-star air officer who served as the Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force from 1985 until 1988. He also commanded the United Arab Emirates Air For ...
rejected it as untenable, citing the harsh conditions, strategy, and concurrent conflict with the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in Afghanistan.
The plan was later approved by General
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 the ...
, leading to the
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 ...
in 1998.
Extension refusal
Rahimuddin declined an extension of service at superannuation, and retired in 1987. After his retirement on time, Prime Minister
Muhammad Khan Junejo
Mohammad Khan Junejo (Urdu: ; Sindhi: ; 18 August 193216 March 1993) was a Pakistani politician and an agriculturist who served as the tenth prime minister of Pakistan, having elected in this capacity in 1985 until being dismissed in 1988.
Junej ...
rejected Zia's proposal of extension for Vice Chief of Staff General
KM Arif
General Khalid Mahmud Arif ( ur, 29 December 1930 – 6 March 2020) popularly known as K.M. Arif, was a senior officer of the Pakistan Army, serving as the vice-chief of army staff under President Zia-ul-Haq, who retained the command of th ...
, embarrassing Zia. Arif was replaced by
Mirza Aslam Beg
General Mirza Aslam Beg ( ur, ; born 2 August 1931), also known as M. A. Beg, was a Pakistan Army officer, who served as the 3rd Chief of Army Staff from 1988 until his retirement in 1991. His appointment as chief of army staff came when hi ...
as Vice Chief.
Governor of Balochistan
End of operation and withdrawal
A
military operation
A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations may ...
against separatists was commenced in Balochistan by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto led by army chief
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 ...
in 1973, claiming thousands of lives.
Rahimuddin was appointed
Governor of Balochistan
The Governor of Balochistan is the head of the province of Balochistan, Pakistan. The post was established on 1 July 1970, after the dissolution of West Pakistan province and the end of One Unit. Under Pakistan's current parliamentary system, the ...
on 16 September 1978. He declared an end to the operation, and announced a
general amnesty
Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offic ...
for fighters willing to give up arms.
Army withdrawal was completed by 1979. The Baloch
separatist movement
Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seeking greate ...
came to a standstill.
Under Rahimuddin, the
Foreign Policy Centre
The Foreign Policy Centre (FPC) is a British think tank specialising in foreign policy. It was founded in 1998 by Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and his colleagues. It was launched at an event with Prime Minister Tony Blair, with the aim of develop ...
held that "the province's tribal sardars were taken out of the pale of politics for the first time." He was known for a clean reputation during corrupt regimes.
Development
Rahimuddin opened the
Sui gas field
Sui Gas Field is a natural gas field near Sui in Balochistan Province, Pakistan that is operated by Pakistan Petroleum Limited. Sui gas field was discovered in 1952, its current production is per day at standard conditions.https://www.ppl.com.p ...
to provide gas directly to
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...
and other Baloch towns for the first time. Electricity expansion from Quetta to
Loralai
Loralai ( ps, لورلايي, ur, ), also known as Bori ( ps, ), is the division headquarter of Loralai Division and district headquarter of Loralai District. It is in the northeast of Balochistan province in Pakistan. It is above sea level ...
converted vast areas with sub-soil water into fertile ones.
["Tribal Politics in Balochistan 1947–1990" Conclusion (1990) p. 8] He also
consolidated the then-contentious integration of
Gwadar
Gwadar ( Balochi/ ur, ) is a port city with located on the southwestern coast of Balochistan, Pakistan. The city is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea opposite Oman. Gwadar is the 100th largest city of Pakistan, according to the 2017 ...
into Balochistan, notified as a district in 1977. Despite opposition from finance minister
Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Ghulam Ishaq Khan ( ur, غلام اسحاق خان; 20 January 1915 – 27 October 2006), was a Pakistani bureaucrat who served as the seventh president of Pakistan, elected in 1988 following Zia's death until his resignation in 1993. He wa ...
, Rahimuddin heavily promoted large-scale manufacturing and investment in infrastructure, leading to provincial
GDP growth
Economic growth can be defined as the increase or improvement in the inflation-adjusted market value of the goods and services produced by an economy in a financial year. Statisticians conventionally measure such growth as the percent rate of ...
rising to the highest in
Balochistan's history. Addressing the
province's literacy rate, the lowest in the country, he administered the freeing up of resources towards education, created girls'
incentive programs, and had several girls' schools built in
Dera Bugti District
Dera Bugti ( Balochi and Urdu: ) is a district within the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It was established as a separate district in 1983.
Administration
The district is administratively subdivided into Four sub-divisions, these are:
* Pirko ...
. He also oversaw the construction of
nuclear test site
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...
s in
Chaghai where
tests were conducted in 1998.
Containment of Afghan refugees
During the
Soviet–Afghan War
The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...
, the Zia regime began aiding the
anti-communist
Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
Afghan mujahideen. Millions of Afghan refugees, believed to be the largest refugee population in the world, crossed over the border into Balochistan and
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
. Under Zia and General
Fazle Haq
Lieutenant General Fazle Haq (Pashto/ Urdu language: فضل حق; (10 September 1928 – 3 October 1991)), was a high-ranking general in the Pakistan Army, and the former martial law administrator (MLA) of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakis ...
in KP,
heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
and weaponry freely entered with the mujahideen. In Balochistan however, Khan detained the mujahideen in
barbed wire
A close-up view of a barbed wire
Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is t ...
military camps and seized their arms. Several fighters were allegedly transported back into Afghanistan by force, criticized by Pakistani human rights agencies. He also restricted refugees to civilian encampments during the war. Pakistan's Balochistan policy became highly unpopular in the eyes of Afghans, but drugs and weapons remained low in the province while becoming widespread in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Al-Zulfikar hijacking
In March 1981, the militant group
Al-Zulfikar, led by
Murtaza Bhutto
Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto (; 18 September 1954 – 20 September 1996) was a Pakistani politician and leader of al-Zulfiqar, a Pakistani left-wing militant organization. The son of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, he earne ...
, hijacked a
Pakistan International Airlines
Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...
airplane from
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
to
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
,
and shot and killed passenger Captain Tariq Rahim, mistakenly believing him to be the son of General Rahimuddin Khan.
The decision to kill Rahim was taken after Murtaza Bhutto consulted
KHAD
prs, ریاست عمومی امنیت ملی
, nativename_r =
, seal = Emblem of the KHAD (1980-1987).svg
, seal_width = 100px
, seal_caption = KHAD emblem from 1980 to 1987.
, formed =
, preceding1 = Da Af ...
chief
Mohammad Najibullah
Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai (Pashto/ prs, محمد نجیبالله احمدزی, ; 6 August 1947 – 27 September 1996), commonly known as Dr. Najib, was an Afghan politician who served as the General Secretary of the People's Democratic Par ...
.
Governor of Sindh
Zia dismissed his own government in May 1988. Khan became civilian
Governor of Sindh
The governor of Sindh is the appointed head of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. The office of the governor as the head of the province is largely a ceremonial position; the executive powers lie with the Chief Minister of Sindh, chief minister and t ...
, and
governor's rule
In India, President's rule is the suspension of state government and imposition of direct Union government rule in a state. Under Article 356 of the Constitution of India, if a state government is unable to function according to Constitutional ...
was imposed after citing emergency. Claiming corruption, Khan began dismissing large numbers of police and civil servants. Khan also launched a brutal police crackdown on
land mafia
''Mafia Raj'' is a term for a criminalized nexus (or "mafia") of government officials, elected politicians, business interests and other entities (such as law-enforcement authorities, non-governmental organisations, trade unions or criminal org ...
, one of the widest ever in
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
, criticized by both
PPP and the
Zia regime
The history of preceding the country's independence in 1947 is shared with that of Afghanistan, India, and Iran. Spanning the western expanse of the Indian subcontinent and the eastern borderlands of the Iranian plateau, the region of prese ...
for its heavy-handed tactics. It was stopped by the government immediately after he resigned. He moved to create separate police forces for the city and the rural areas, but this was also resisted after his resignation for fears of complicating the
Sindhi-
Muhajir
Muhajir or Mohajir ( ar, مهاجر, '; pl. , ') is an Arabic word meaning ''migrant'' (see immigration and emigration) which is also used in other languages spoken by Muslims, including English. In English, this term and its derivatives may refer ...
relationship.
Special
riot control
Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest.
If a riot is spontaneous and irration ...
officers were trained to cope with ethnic riots, and river and forest police were also set up to battle
dacoity
Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word ''daaku''; "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with this meaning and it appears in the ''Glossary of Colloquial ...
.
Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Ghulam Ishaq Khan ( ur, غلام اسحاق خان; 20 January 1915 – 27 October 2006), was a Pakistani bureaucrat who served as the seventh president of Pakistan, elected in 1988 following Zia's death until his resignation in 1993. He wa ...
became acting President after
Zia's death in an aircrash on 17 August, and reintroduced the
Chief Minister of Sindh
Chief Minister of Sindh (, ur, —), is the elected head of government of Sindh. Syed Murad Ali Shah is a PPP politician and the current Chief Minister of Sindh.
The Chief Minister is the head of the provincial government alongside the Chief S ...
office. Khan resigned in response to the attempt to limit his gubernatorial powers.
Post-retirement, he promoted his former chief of staff
Asif Nawaz
General Asif Nawaz Janjua NI(M), HI(M), SBt, psc, (Urdu: ; 3 January 1937 – 8 January 1993) was a senior officer of the Pakistan Army who served as the fourth Chief of Army Staff from 16 August 1991 until his death by Arsenic poison ...
for appointment as
Chief of Army Staff.
[Shuja Nawaz (2007). ''Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army and the Wars Within''.]
Death
Khan died on 22 August 2022, in
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. ...
, Pakistan, at the age of 96.
See also
*
1970s Operation in Balochistan
*
Baloch Regiment
The Baloch Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army. The modern regiment was formed in May 1956 by the merger of 8th Punjab Regiment, 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments with the 10th Baluch Regiment, Baluch Regiment. Since then, furt ...
*
Mahmud Hussain
Mahmud Husain Khan (5 July 1907 – 12 April 1975) was a Pakistani historian, educationist, and politician, known for his role in the Pakistan Movement, and for pioneering the study of social sciences. He served as Minister for Kashmir Af ...
*
Asif Nawaz
General Asif Nawaz Janjua NI(M), HI(M), SBt, psc, (Urdu: ; 3 January 1937 – 8 January 1993) was a senior officer of the Pakistan Army who served as the fourth Chief of Army Staff from 16 August 1991 until his death by Arsenic poison ...
References
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Rahimuddin
1926 births
2022 deaths
Baloch Regiment officers
Chairmen Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
Governors of Balochistan, Pakistan
Governors of Sindh
Jamia Millia Islamia alumni
National Defence University, Pakistan faculty
Non-U.S. alumni of the Command and General Staff College
Pakistani anti-communists
Pakistani generals
Pashtun people
People from Farrukhabad
People of the insurgency in Balochistan
People of the Soviet–Afghan War
Project-706 people
Project-706
Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz
Pakistan Command and Staff College alumni