Major General Tajammul Hussain Malik (June 13, 1924 - 2003) was a senior officer in the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the 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 British India, which occurred as a result ...

and the former General Officer Commanding of the 23rd Division of Pakistan Army, retiring with the rank of

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 ...

. He was the commanding officer of Pakistani forces at the

Battle of Hilli The Battle of Hilli or the Battle of Bogura was a major battle fought in the Bangladesh Liberation War. It is generally regarded as the most severe pitched battle that took place in East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. The battle of Hilli took place ...

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 ...

, and headed a failed coup attempt against the regime of

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 ...

in 1980 which resulted in a

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

held by Judge Advocate General Branch of

Pakistan Armed Forces The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...

headed by

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.". O ...

Zia-ul-Haq.

Career

Tajammul Hussain Malik, from the

Awan Awan may refer to: Places * Awan (ancient city), a city-state in Elam in the 3rd millennium BCE * Awan (region), a town in Guna district, Madhya Pradesh, India * Awan, Bhulath, a village in Kapurthala district, Punjab, India, Punjab, Pakistan ...

tribe, was born on June 13, 1924 in the

Chakwal District Chakwal District (Punjabi and ur, ) is in Pothohar Plateau of Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the north of the Punjab province, Chakwal district is bordered by Khushab to its south, Rawalpindi to its north east, Jhelum to its east, Mian ...

in the Punjab province and became a career officer in the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which cou ...

, 7 Rajput Regiment, later joining the army of the new state of Pakistan in 1947. He had participated in Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 and the 1965 War-Battle of Batapur. In 1969, he was promoted as

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. ...

, and, in October 1971, he was posted as Director of Staff Duties (DSD) at the

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 ...

. From there, at his personal request to volunteer to fight in

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wit ...

, he was posted to 205 Brigade deployed on the Hilli-Bogra Front. He joined the Brigade on November 20, 1971 deployed at Hilli in

(now

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

). During the war, he was cited for a live award of Nishan-e-Haider (the highest award for valour in the Pakistani Armed Forces); Malik's unit continued fighting even after Pakistani forces formally surrendered to Indian forces in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest ...

. He was the Commander of the Pakistani Forces in the

. He was the only red tape Pakistani officer who did not surrender even as his GOC 16 Division had surrendered. He had been taken from the battle field unconscious, and refused to undergo the surrender ceremony and it was his GOC, Major General Nazar Hussain Shah, who went through the surrender ceremony of 205 Brigade to the opposing commander Major General Lachhman Singh. He became a well known war hero in

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 ...

War achievements

Malik was the commanding officer of the 3rd

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 and Bahawalpur Regiments with the Baluch Regiment. Since then, further raisings have brought the strength of ...

which had defended Lahore in the 1965 war. He was at the time a

Lt Col Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

and had destroyed the Batapur Bridge and defended a vital opening of the grand trunk road to save Lahore on 6 September 1965. A monument has been laid at the site and the day is celebrated in Pakistan as ' Defence Day' to remind the nation of General Tajammul's war efforts and those of the other vital commanding officers. He was a

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. ...

during the 1971 Pakistan-India War at the Bangladesh scene. He had volunteered to go and fight while he was director of staff duties at the GHQ (

), a coveted position. He took over command of 203 Infantry Brigade and defended Hilli while he was up against an Indian division and a brigade of Bengali insurgents on the then Pakistani soil next to the Indian border. Bogra was surrounded from all sides by the greater numbers of the Indian army and the

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...

. Brig. Malik (who retired as Maj. Gen.) continued to resist even after the Pakistani Eastern Command surrendered in Dhaka on 16 December. He, in his staff car with flags and stars uncovered, went around the streets of Bogra motivating his soldiers to keep fighting. The Indian army had, by then, surrounded the city of Bogra. The

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section dire ...

(B.M.) along with some 50 other ranks surrendered but Malik, still full of vigour, refused to give up. He ordered the rest of his brigade to break out in small groups to Naogong, where one of his units was still fighting on. However, en route, his jeep was ambushed, severely injuring him and his orderly. Muktis captured both of them and subjected them to torture. They broke his arms and split his head, after which he was taken semi-conscious to an

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

hospital. Major General Nazar Hussain Shah was especially flown in from Natore for the surrender of this brigade on 18 December 1971, due to the refusal of Malik to surrender. Upon return from captivity, he was the only brigadier, who fought the 1971 War in East Pakistan to have been promoted to the rank of major general.

Coup attempt

After his release and repatriation to Pakistan and having undergone the Hamoodur Rehman Commission inquiry, he held the command of 23rd Division in Jhelum as a

. However, he was retired by a military tribunal of the Judge Advocate General Branch headed by Army Chief General

over accusations of attempting to overthrow the government of

Zulfiqar 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 ...

and install a government headed by General Tajammul in its place. Malik organized two coups, first of the two on June 26, 1977 (which was aborted later). In 1980, he organized yet another coup attempt against the military regime of

, with many other senior army officers, including his son Naveed Tajammul. The plan was to assassinate Zia-ul-Haq during the Pakistan Day parade on March 23, 1980. However the plot was exposed and Malik, his son (Naveed Tajammal) and the other conspirators were arrested and sentenced to rigorous

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes fo ...

. Though offered chances of exile, even when the risk of being executed was high, General Malik and his son (Naveed Tajammal) never took the offer to be exiled and preferred their homeland.

Later life

Malik was released from imprisonment in 1988 following the

death of Zia-ul-Haq The state funeral of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq was held on 19 August 1988 in the Shah Faisal Mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan. General Zia-ul-Haq, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) who was also serving as the President of Pakistan, was killed when a C-130 Hercul ...

in a plane crash. He published his autobiography, ''The Story Of My Struggle'', in 1991. He joined the field of politics, and twice contested elections for the

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower legislative house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which also comprises the Senate of Pakistan (upp ...

as an independent candidate from Chakwal district. He formed his own Islamic political party in 1977. His two children Naveed Tajammal and Waseem Pasha Tajammal became politicians, and after retiring from politics entered the business world in the energy and defense sectors.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malik, Tajammul Hussain 1924 births 2003 deaths Pakistani generals Coup d'état attempts in Asia Pakistan Army personnel who were court-martialed Pakistani prisoners of war Pakistani prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment People from Chakwal District Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Pakistan Punjabi people Hashemite people Alids Awan Alvis