1971 Pakistan Military Officers' Revolt

none May 2024 August 2025 1971 Pakistan Mutiny Military coups in Pakistan Handing over power 1971.jpg General Yahya Khan (right) hands over power to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (center), 20 December 1971 Gujranwala, Punjab, Pakistan 17–20 December 1971 Yahya Khan resigns Start of the presidency of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Release of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman PAK Government of Pakistan Flag of the Pakistani Army.svg Pakistan Army mutineers: 6th Armoured Division Artillery 9th Armoured Brigade Signals Battalion 9th Frontier Force Regiment Flag of the President of Pakistan.svg thumb right Presidential Standard (1998-present).svg Yahya Khan Flag of the Chief of the Army Staff (Pakistan).svg Abdul Hamid KhanUntil 19 Decemberhttps://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Illustrated_Weekly_of_India/qXY6AQAAIAAJ?hl=en The Illustrated Weekly of India 1972 Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited, Times of India Press 35 enPakistan army S. G. M. M. PeerzadaPakistan army A. O. MithaPakistan army Iskander Al-Karim Flag of the Pakistani Army.svg Farrukh Bakht AliFlag of the Pakistani Army.svg Iqbal Mehdi ShahFlag of the Pakistani Army.svg Aleem Afridi Flag of the Pakistani Army.svg Agha Javed Iqbal Flag of the Pakistani Army.svg Mohammed Khursheed HussainAir Force Ensign of Pakistan.svg Abdur Rahim KhanPakistan army Gul Hassan Khan 1971 Pakistan Military Officer's Revolt, also known as the Majors and Colonels Revolt, refers to the deposition of the Yahya Khan's regime in Pakistan by Pakistani military officers such as Brigadier Farrukh Bakht Ali, Brigadier Iqbal Mehdi Shah, Colonel Aleem Afridi, Colonel Agha Javed Iqbal, Lt Col Mohammed Khursheed Hussain and other officers. Their goal was to overthrow the government and transferring power to the elected civilian representatives. The revolt succeeded as General Yahya Khan and his government resigned, with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto then taking power as president of Pakistan.Hussain Hamid 2021-03-10 Brigadier Farrukh Bakht Ali https://defencejournal.com/2021/03/10/obituary-of-an-officer-gentleman-of-a-bygone-era/ 2024-05-19 Defence Journal en-US 13 February 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240213232722/https://defencejournal.com/2021/03/10/obituary-of-an-officer-gentleman-of-a-bygone-era/ live Talbot Ian https://books.google.com/books?id=kwIPEAAAQBAJ&dq=Staff+Gul+Hassan&pg=PT182 The History of British Diplomacy in Pakistan 2020-12-28 Routledge 978-1-000-32670-3 enCloughley Brian https://books.google.com/books?id=TliCDwAAQBAJ&dq=General+Gul+Hassan&pg=PT16 War, Coups and Terror: Pakistan's Army in Years of Turmoil 2009-05-01 Simon and Schuster 978-1-62636-868-2 en Background The plan to separate East Pakistan from Pakistan had been suggested since 1962 when then president Ayub Khan had requested assistance of West Pakistani politician Abdul Wali Khan to ensure a breakup of Pakistan into two parts, but he refused and insisted to work against him. Ayub also offered an independent East Pakistan to Muhammad Ibrahim, who was the minister of law in Pakistan and a Bengali. Ayub removed Ibrahim because of his refusal and replaced him with Muhammad Munir, who was supportive of Ayub in his attempt to break up Pakistan.Singh Chaitram 2011 Military Coups in Pakistan and the Corporate Interests Hypothesis https://www.jstor.org/stable/45194760 Journal of Third World Studies 28 1 47–59 45194760 8755-3449 19 May 2024 19 May 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240519100545/https://www.jstor.org/stable/45194760 live Ibrahim Muhammad https://books.google.com/books?id=7xP6zQEACAAJ Diaries of Justice Muhammad Ibrahim: 1960 to 1966 2012 Academic Press and Publishers Library 978-984-08-0267-8 en The Santahar massacre (perpetrated by the Mukti Bahini, the Bengali resistance force, and Bengali mobs) led to the deaths of more than 14,000 Muhajirs, Biharis, and West PakistanisKamrani Farrukh 2017-12-15 Fall of Dhaka: How Mukti Bahini ‘cleansed’ Santahar town of non-Bengalis https://tribune.com.pk/story/1585095/mukti-bahini-cleansed-santahar-non-bengalis 2026-03-27 The Express Tribune en 3 December 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20221203225827/https://tribune.com.pk/story/1585095/mukti-bahini-cleansed-santahar-non-bengalis live was used by the Pakistan Army as a justification to launch Operation Searchlight against the Bengali nationalist movement.D'Costa Bina Nationbuilding, Gender and War Crimes in South Asia Routledge 2010 978-0415565660 103 During Operation Searchlight in 1971, many civilians were killed and Bengali nationalists retributed equal amounts of violence on the communities of Muhajirs, Biharis, and West Pakistanis. Due to Operation Searchlight, the Pakistani policemen and military personnel of Bengali origin had deserted and defected to the Mukti Bahini, which led to the start of the Bangladesh Liberation War.Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report http://www.bangla2000.com/Bangladesh/Independence-War/Report-Hamoodur-Rahman/default.shtm 2024-05-19 www.bangla2000.com 16 August 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160816211333/http://www.bangla2000.com/bangladesh/Independence-War/Report-Hamoodur-Rahman/default.shtm live When the news of Pakistan's surrender was broadcast by Pakistani media, the spontaneous and overwhelming public anger over the defeat and over the breakup of Pakistan into two parts led to street demonstrations throughout Pakistan.Yahya Khan: president of Pakistan on Encyclopedia Britannica https://web.archive.org/web/20241203021418/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yahya-Khan 3 December 2024 Retrieved 22 July 2020 The mutiny thumb|right|200px|Officers of the 9th Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment on 23 March 1974 On 17 December 1971 just one day after the surrender by the Pakistan Army's Eastern Command, Brigadier Farrukh Bakht Ali, who was an Army officer, wrote his resignation letter, accepting his own responsibility for the loss of East Pakistan and expected that Yahya Khan and his advisers would follow suit and also resign. But the next day Brigadier Ali had heard that President General Yahya was planning to create a new constitution, which infuriated Ali. Brigadier Ali determined that the loss of the war with India was enough and that it was imperative to get rid of Yahya's military government. He gathered up other army officers such as Brigadier Iqbal Mehdi Shah, Colonel Aleem Afridi, Colonel Agha Javed Iqbal, Lt Col Khursheed, and others and told them that they owed it to Pakistan to get rid of the discredited junta and hand over power to the elected civilian representatives of 1970 Pakistani general election. All officers present, agreed. However, there was a problem as more senior officers such as Maj Gen Bashir "Ranghar", Major General R.D. Shamim, and Major General "Bachoo" Karim were in Gujranwala and had the authority to counter Farrukh Bakht Ali's orders. On 19 December 1971, Farrukh Bakht Ali arrested the three generals and seized command of Major General "Bachoo" Karim's 6th Armoured Division. Brigadier Ali then sent Colonel Aleem Afridi and Colonel Agha Javed Iqbal to deliver a letter demanding Yahya Khan's resignation by 8 PM that night for being responsible for the loss of East Pakistan. The two colonels took the letter to Chief of General Staff Gul Hassan, who initially felt saddened by the defeat in the war and told them that he planned to leave the army. However, upon learning about the contents of the letter from the two Colonels, Hassan's mood brightened, and he went to Air Marshal Abdur Rahim Khan. Hassan told Colonel Aleem Afridi and Colonel Agha Javed Iqbal to sit in Major Javed Nasir's office. Earlier in the day, during an address by General Abdul Hamid Khan in Gujranwala, young officers, led by Brigadier Fazal-e-Rasiq Khan, unleashed a barrage of insults in English, Urdu, and Punjabi towards Abdul Hamid, Yahya Khan, and other superiors. They called them "bloody bastards," "debauches," and "drunkards", expressing their deep frustration. Aftermath and Reactions General Abdul Hamid Khan was rushed out of the auditorium and sought advice from Major General Abu Bakr Osman Mitha, who stated that he could deploy Special Service Group troops to prevent a potential takeover by 6 Division but there were not enough troops. Major General Abu Bakr Osman Mitha then reached out to Brigadier Ali suggesting that Abdul Hamid Khan should take over from Yahya Khan. Brigadier Ali refused stating that Hamid was too close to Yahya Khan and was just as responsible for the loss of East Pakistan. Lt Gen. S. G. M. M. Peerzada, Principal Staff Officer to Yahya Khan, is said to have ordered SSG commandos to carry out an air assault on the Mangla HQ and arrest F. B. Ali and other officers. The order was refused as it was not possible.Haider Sajad Flight of the Falcon: Demolishing Myths of Indo-Pak Wars 1965 & 1971 – Story of a Fighter Pilot 2016 Vanguard Books 978-9694025261 Meanwhile, the reports of near mutiny in Gujranwala prompted Gul Hassan Khan and Air Marshal Abdur Rahim Khan to go to Yahya Khan, requesting him to resign. Abdur Rahim Khan had threatened to bring in the Pakistan Air Force to back the mutiny while General Hassan told Yahya that the junior brass of the Army were also not happy with him. A Pakistan International Airlines flight was sent to fetch Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from New York City, where he was presenting Pakistan's case before the United Nations Security Council on the East Pakistan Crisis. Bhutto returned home on 18 December 1971. On 20 December, he was taken to the President House in Rawalpindi, where he took over two positions from Yahya Khan, one as the President (a position which had been under the control of the military since 1958) and the other as the first civilian Chief Martial Law Administrator.Khan Abdul Rahim 1971-12-29 Man in the News https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/29/archives/key-pakistani-military-leader-abdul-rahim-khan.html 2024-05-19 The New York Times en-US 0362-4331 7 June 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240607203543/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/29/archives/key-pakistani-military-leader-abdul-rahim-khan.html live Within hours of Yahya Khan stepping down, President Bhutto reversed the Judge Advocate General Branch's verdict against East Pakistani leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and instead released him, allowing him to fly to London. President Bhutto also issued orders for the house arrest of Yahya, the man who imprisoned Mujib in the first place. Both actions made news headlines around the world. See also Tikka Khan Operation Grand Slam Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 List of wars involving Pakistan Notes References Category:1971 in Pakistan Category:Coups d'état in Pakistan Category:Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Category:Aftermath of the Bangladesh Liberation War Category:Yahya Khan