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.". OED ...

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 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 p ...

, he is considered a chief architect of the 1971 Bangladesh genocide which according to independent researchers led to the deaths of 300,000 to 500,000 people. Gaining a commission in 1940 as an artillery officer in the British Indian Army to participate in

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 ...

, he rose to command the 8th and 15th

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

divisions in the

war 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 o ...

with

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1965. In 1969, he was appointed as the commander of IV Corps while acting as martial law administrator 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 ...

under President

. In 1971, he took over the command of army's Eastern Command 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, wi ...

and appointed as

Governor of East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, 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 ...

where he oversaw the planning and the military deployments to execute the

military operations 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 ma ...

to quell the liberation war efforts by the Awami League. His tough rhetoric to deal with political enemies earned him notoriety and a nickname of ''Touka'' (meaning ''Cleaver'') and he was soon relieved of his command by President Yahya Khan. After commanding the II Corps in the

with India in 1971, Tikka Khan was promoted to four-star rank and appointed as the first chief of army staff of the Pakistan Army in 1972. As an army chief, Tikka Khan provided support to the Pakistan nuclear programme alongside

bureaucrat A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can compose the administration of any organization of any size, although the term usually connotes someone within an institution of government. The term ''bureaucrat'' derives from "bureaucracy", w ...

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 ...

. Upon retirement from the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

in 1976, he was subsequently appointed as National Security Advisor by 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 fourt ...

, only to be removed in 1977 as a result of enforced

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

. In the 1980s, he remained active as a political worker of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and emerged as its leader when appointed as

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

after the

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

held in 1988. His tenure ended when President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismissed Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's government in 1990 and he was succeeded by

Mian Muhammad Azhar Mian Muhammad Azhar ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a Pakistani politician and a business oligarch representing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. He is from an Arain noble and landlord family of Lahore, and remains a major political player of the city. He is a ...

. He retired from

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

in 1990. He died on 28 March 2002 and was buried with full military honours in Westridge cemetery in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan.

Early life and World War II

Tikka Khan Janjua was born on 10 February 1915 into a Punjabi family of

Janjua The Janjua (also spelt janjua'', Junjua, Janjuah'') is a Rajput clan found predominantly in Pakistan's Punjab Pothohar Plateau. History Connection with the Hindu Shahis The 10th century Arab historian Masudi mentioned that in his time the ki ...

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

clan, in Jochha Mamdot village of

Kahuta Tehsil Kahuta Tehsil ( pa, ; ur, تحصیل کہوٹہ) is one of the seven tehsils (subdivisions) of Rawalpindi District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The neighbouring tehsil of Kallar Sayedan used to be part of Kahuta, but was later created as ...

, Rawalpindi District,

British Indian Empire The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himse ...

. After his education in Rawalpindi, he joined the

Army Cadet College The Army Cadet College (ACC) is an defence service training institution which trains defence service personnel for the Indian Army. The Army Cadet College Wing trains defence service personnel of Personnel Below Officers Rank (PBOR) from the reg ...

in Nowgong, Madhya Pradesh in 1933 and joined the British Indian Army as a sepoy in 1935; he gained his commission in the army from the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

on 22 December 1940. During these early years he was known to be a particularly good boxer, with the famous British biographer Robert Payne describing him as "a heavy set man with a powerful chest and a boxer’s shoulders, and he would have been called handsome except for a rather swollen and misshapen nose acquired during a brief boxing career." He participated in

and fought with the 2nd Field Regiment,

Regiment of Artillery The Regiment of Artillery is a combat/fighting arm of the Indian Army, which provides massive firepower during all ground operations of the Indian Army. It is a successor to the Royal Indian Artillery (RIA) of British Indian Army, which itsel ...

in Libya against the

Afrika Korps The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the ...

led by German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in 1940. He was captured by German troops and held as a POW in Libya for more than a year. After successfully escaping, he saw military action in the Burma campaign against Japan in 1945 where he was wounded and hospitalised for some time. In 1946, he was posted in different parts of

such as

Deolali Deolali, or Devlali (), is a small hill station and a census town in Nashik district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Now it is part of Nashik Metropolitan Region. Deolali has an important army base. Deolali Camp, one of the oldest Indian m ...

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...

, and

Kalyan Kalyan (Pronunciation: əljaːɳ is a city on the banks of Ulhas River in Thane district of Maharashtra state in Konkan division. It is governed by Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation. Kalyan is a subdivision (Taluka) of Thane district ...

as an army officer. During the same time, he served as an infantry instructor at the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun. His British superiors quietly suspected that Captain Tikka Khan was in the Academy not by merit but by favouritism. At GHQ India, Tikka Khan was often subjected to jokes by his British officers.

Career in Pakistan

After the efforts of Pakistani nationalists culminated in the

partition of British India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

and the creation of Pakistan, Tikka Khan joined the Pakistan Army as a major where he was the only artillery officer in the Pakistan Army's

in 1947. His military career progressed well and he got accelerated promotions in the army. In 1949, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and commander of his unit. He worked hard to raise the Medium Regiment in the new army and commanded the first post of the artillery regiment. In 1950–54, he was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

and became the deputy director (Dy Director) at the Regiment of Artillery. In 1955, he was promoted to

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. I ...

to command the Medium Regiment. In 1962, Tikka Khan was promoted to

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 ...

and posted at the GHQ in Rawalpindi.

Between the wars:1965–1971

In 1965, Major-General Tikka Khan was the GOC of the 8th Infantry Division that was positioned in

, Pakistan. At that time, the 8th Infantry Division consisted of the 51st

Paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Worl ...

Brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

and the 52nd Infantry Brigade. In April 1965, the 8th Infantry Division intruded into the

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 ...

from Southern Command. Hostilities broke out in 1965 between India and Pakistan and Tikka Khan's 8th Infantry Division engaged in battle with the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

, notably in the tank battle in

Chawinda Chawinda ( ur, ) is a city located in Pasrur Tehsil, Sialkot District, Punjab, Pakistan. The town sits at an altitude of , close to the border with Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. Chawinda was the site of a key tank battle during ...

, Punjab that is remembered as one of the largest tank battles in history since the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history ...

in World War II. During the 1965 war, Tikka Khan earned a reputation as a victor of Rann of Kutch and was credited widely by the

print media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit informatio ...

for the victories he gained over the Indian Army. He made a bold stand against the Indian Army's encirclement in the Sialkot sector in 1965. He also led the 15th Infantry Division in the 1965 war. After President Ayub Khan handed over the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

to his army chief General

in 1969, Tikka Khan was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

to command the IV Corps, stationed 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 ...

. He was the martial law administrator of Punjab under President Yahya Khan who appointed him after replacing with

Attiqur Rahman Mohammed Attiqur Rahman (Punjabi, ur, ), MC (24 June 1918 – 1 June 1996) was a senior general in the Pakistan Army, a noted military historian, and a senior government official. He was the martial law administrator (MLA) of West Pakistan in ...

. His personality was well known in Pakistan as being tough and ruthless. In March 1971, Tikka Khan was sent to

Dacca Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

and left the post to Lieutenant General Bahadur Sher in March 1971.

Bangladesh Liberation and 1971 war

Governorship and 1971 war

The situation was very complex in both

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

and

after the

held in 1970 where the Bengali nationalist Awami League won 160 of the 162 seats in East Pakistan, whereas the leftist-socialist Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won 81 seats out of 138 in West Pakistan. By constitutional law,

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengali politi ...

of the Awami League was supposed to be the candidate for the post of

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pa ...

but

of the Pakistan Peoples Party was not ready to accept his role as Leader of the Opposition and refused to sit in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

in this role. Under pressure by Bhutto and the Pakistan Peoples Party, President Yahya Khan postponed the National Assembly session despite meeting with and inviting the Awami League to form the government on 7 March. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman reacted by calling upon the Bengali people to launch an armed liberation movement against Pakistan at a mass rally. Responding to this, President Yahya Khan accepted the resignation of Lieutenant General Yaqub Khan as governor of East Pakistan and commander of the army's Eastern Command in March 1971 and appointed Lieutenant General Tikka Khan as his successor. Tikka Khan arrived in Dacca the same month and took over the governorship. He assumed command of the Eastern Command on 7 March 1971. He has faced accusations of killing thousands of civilians. Acting on the instructions of President Yahya Khan's administration, Lieutenant General Tikka Khan began preparations of "direct-wise military operation" against the Awami League on the evening of 25 March 1971. Tikka Khan's order to his soldiers was ''I want the land and not the people''. Tikka Khan took assistance from loyal Bengalis and

Biharis The Biharis () is a demonym given to the inhabitants of the Indian state of Bihar. Bihari people can be separated into three main Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic groups, Bhojpuris, Maithils and Magadhis. They are also further divided into a v ...

for the operation and organized a paramilitary force called Razakars. He ordered the arrest of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, outlawed the Awami League and ordered a midnight attack on the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

. Tikka Khan was the architect and top planner of

Operation Searchlight Operation Searchlight was the codename for a planned military operation carried out by the Pakistan Army in an effort to curb the Bengali nationalist movement in former East Pakistan in March 1971. Pakistan retrospectively justified the opera ...

. Thousands were killed in this operation, including academics and other members of civil society, and the country was plunged into a bloody civil war. Tikka Khan followed the classical " Seek and destroy and Infiltration" method and captured all radio stations in East Pakistan at the price of systematic killings of Bengali people. In Pakistan, he was called "a soldier known for his eager use of force." He became notorious as the "Butcher of Bengal." In West Pakistan, domestic criticism and disapproval of Lieutenant General Tikka Khan grew to the point that President Yahya Khan replaced him with a civilian

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

led by a governor and a cabinet drawn from different political parties. Tikka Khan was recalled to Pakistan, relinquishing the Eastern Command to Lieutenant General Amir Khan Niazi, and given command of the II Strike Corps based 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 old ...

, Punjab. He commanded the II Strike Corps during the 1971 war with India. Indian Major General D. K. Palit has questioned the wisdom of Tikka Khan's tactics used in the Battle of Chhamb in December, citing high II Corps casualties incurred during Pakistani frontal attacks.

Chief of Army staff

In 1972, President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto removed Lieutenant General Gul Hassan Khan from his position as commander-in-chief of the army and reorganized the army leadership to replace the position with that of the chief of army staff (COAS). Bhutto then promoted Tikka Khan to four-star

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.". OED ...

and appointed him as COAS. Tikka Khan was a highly unpopular choice in military circles for the chief of army staff because it was felt strongly that he was professionally unprepared for the assignment. On the other hand, Tikka Khan was steadfastly loyal to Bhutto. In 1972, he supported the militarisation of the

Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) (Urdu: ) is a federally funded independent governmental agency, concerned with research and development of nuclear power, promotion of nuclear science, energy conservation and the peaceful usage of nuclea ...

by supporting

Munir Ahmad Khan Munir Ahmad Khan ( ur, ; 20 May 1926 – 22 April 1999), , was a Pakistani nuclear reactor physicist who is credited, among others, with being the "father of the atomic bomb program" of Pakistan for their leading role in developing their nati ...

to take over the commission's chairmanship and the directorship of the clandestine atomic bomb programme. He was implicated in the Hamoodur Rahman Commission's report on the 1971 war with India over East Pakistan, but much of the report remains classified. In 1974, Tikka Khan led the counterinsurgency military operation in

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

and successfully crushed Baloch independence movement. In 1976, he provided his support to

and Bhutto to expand the clandestine nuclear weapons programme. The same year, Tikka Khan was preparing to retire from the military, and evaluated the eight serving lieutenant generals who were his potential successors as chief of army staff. When asked by Bhutto for his opinion on Lieutenant General

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 ...

, Tikka Khan did not recommend him. Tikka Khan later remarked, "I thought he was dull. In any case, he was the most junior of all the eight lieutenant generals." However Bhutto by-passed his recommendations, approved Lieutenant General Zia-ul-Haq to four-star rank, and appointed him as army chief. Upon retirement from the army, Khan joined the Pakistan Peoples Party.

Political career

National security advisor and governor of Punjab

Tikka Khan was appointed National Security Advisor in 1976 by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. However, his tenure was short and ended when

was imposed by army chief General

in 1977. General Zia ordered the

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...

to arrest both Bhutto and General Tikka Khan and placed them under house arrest. Bhutto was executed in 1979, after which General Tikka Khan emerged as one of the leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), becoming its

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

at a time when many party stalwarts abandoned it. In 1980–88, Tikka Khan faced imprisonment numerous times for his political activities until President Zia-ul-Haq

died Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

in August 1988 in an aircraft explosion over

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur () is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. With inhabitants as of 2017, it is Pakistan's 11th most populous city. Founded in 1748, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur, ruled by the Abbasi fa ...

. In spite of Tikka's leadership position within the political opposition, many of his army protégés such as

Sawar Khan General Sawar Khan سوار خان, NI(M) is an ex-four-star general of the Pakistan Army who was the Governor of the largest province, Punjab and the Vice Chief of Army Staff during the era of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, when Zia was sim ...

, Iqbal Khan and Rahimuddin Khan were promoted to four-star rank and remained on deferential terms with him. In the 1988 general election, Tikka Khan ran unsuccessfully for a seat representing Rawalpindi. He was appointed as the

of Punjab by Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in December 1988. His governorship ended when President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismissed the government of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in August 1990, after which Tikka Khan retired from active politics.

Later life and death

In retirement, Tikka Khan lived a quiet life in Rawalpindi, Punjab. Throughout the 1990s, he battled with illness and was hospitalised in

CMH Rawalpindi The Combined Military Hospital Rawalpindi is a tertiary care military hospital in Rawalpindi.controversial events of 1971 and died on 28 March 2002. He was laid to rest with military honours in the Westridge cemetery in Rawalpindi.

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 and ...

Aziz Khan attended his funeral, accompanied by the Army Chief of Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Chief of Naval Staff and other senior military and civil officials. Former prime minister and PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto paid Tikka Khan tribute in a message to his son Colonel Khalid Masud; she described the Colonel's father as one who "rose to the highest offices of this country due to his hard work and respect for the rule of law."

Awards and Decorations

Foreign Decorations

References

External links

Official profile at Pakistan Army website

* ttp://www.dawn.com/2003/09/14/op.htm Article mentioning General Tikka Khan's tenure as Chief of Army Staff (1972–1976), A.R. Siddiqui, Dawn, 14 September 2003.
Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission Report, The Report of the Commission of Inquiry – 1971 War as Declassified by The Government of Pakistan, Volume-I: Supplementary Report – Top secret, PART III – MILITARY ASPECT, CHAPTER VI.

* [http://www.dawn.com/report/hrc/hrmp4c3.htm Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission Report, The Report of the Commission of Inquiry – 1971 War as Declassified by The Government of Pakistan, PART IV – MILITARY ASPECT, Chapter III, The formulation of defence plans.]
Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission Report, The Report of the Commission of Inquiry – 1971 War as Declassified by The Government of Pakistan, Volume-I: Supplementary Report – Top secret, PART IV – SURRENDER IN EAST PAKISTAN, CHAPTER I – The moral aspect.

* ttp://www.dawn.com/2002/04/05/nat1.htm Amin Fahim pays rich tributes to General Tikka Khan, Dawn, 5 April 2002.* ttp://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_3-7-2005_pg1_2 General Yahya Khan agreed to withdraw forces, India did not, by Khalid Hasan, Daily Times, 3 July 2005. , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Tikka 1915 births 2002 deaths Bangladesh Liberation War British Indian Army officers Causes and prelude of the Bangladesh Liberation War Chiefs of Army Staff, Pakistan Controversies in Pakistan Escapees from Italian detention Generals of the Bangladesh Liberation War Generals of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Governors of East Pakistan Governors of West Pakistan Governors of Punjab, Pakistan Indian Army personnel of World War II Indian escapees Indian prisoners of war Military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Pakistan Army Artillery Corps officers Pakistani generals Pakistan People's Party politicians People from Kallar Syedan Tehsil People of the insurgency in Balochistan World War II prisoners of war held by Germany World War II prisoners of war held by Italy 1971 controversies 1971 Bangladesh genocide perpetrators Pakistan Command and Staff College alumni