Ghulam Jilani Khan: Difference between revisions

| name                = Ghulam Jilani Khan

| successor2          = [[Muhammad Riaz]]

| successor3          = [[Muhammad Riaz]]

| birth_place        = [[Gujranwala]], [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]], [[British Raj]]

| death_place        = [[Lahore]], [[Punjab, Pakistan]]

| birthname          = Ghulam Jilani Khan, {{lang-ur|{{Nastaliq|غلام جيلانى خان}}}}

| alma_mater          = [[Indian Military Academy]]

| awards              = <i>[[File:Hilal-e-Imtiaz.png|40px]]{{small|[[Hilal-i-Imtiaz|Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military)]]}}<br>[[File:Sitara-e-Basalat.png|40px]]{{small|[[Sitara-i-Basalat|Sitara-e-Basalat]]}}

'''Ghulam Jilani Khan''' {{small|{{small|[[Hilal-i-Imtiaz|HI(M)]] [[Sitara-e-Basalat|SBt]]}}}} ([[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], {{lang-ur|{{Nastaliq|غلام جيلانى خان}}}}), (1925–1999) was a senior general of the [[Pakistan Army]] who served as the [[Governor of Punjab, Pakistan|14th Governor]] of [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab Province]] and [[Defence Secretary of Pakistan|11th Defence Secretary of Pakistan]] in the [[Stratocracy|military government]] of [[President of Pakistan|President]] General [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq|Zia-ul-Haq]].

Educated at the [[The Doon School|Doon School]], [[Dehradun]],<ref name=sharma>Neena Sharma, [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20101018/main7.htm Doscos to celebrate 75th anniversary] from ''[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]'' dated 18 October 2010, at tribuneindia.com, Retrieved 24 March 2012: "Old-timers will happily tell you that the school inspired old Doscos from Pakistan to establish a similar school in their country "The Chand Bagh school is inspired by the Doon and was founded by Lt Gen Ghulam Jilani Khan (retd) in 1998 in Lahore", said Piyush Malviya, Public Relations officer, Doon School."</ref> and the [[Indian Military Academy]], Jilani was commissioned into the [[British Indian Army|Indian Army]] in 1944 in the [[129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis|129th DCO Baluchis]] of the [[10th Baluch Regiment]] as an infantry officer. Between 1944 and 1945 he served in Burma as a [[Second Lieutenant]], second-in-command of the Mortar Platoon of the Support Company<ref name=times1980>Hasan Akhtar 'Pakistan Army hierarchy switch by President Zia' in ''[[The Times]]'', issue 60608 dated 23 April 1980, p. 6, col. B</ref> Between 1945 and 1947 as a Lieutenant and Platoon Leader he commanded a Rifle platoon of the Pathan Rifle Company of the [[129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis|129th Baluchis]]. The troops in his unit were from the [[Mahsud]] and [[Awan (tribe)|Awan]] tribes.

In 1947, with the [[Partition of India|independence]], his unit was transferred to the new [[Pakistan Army]]. Between 1947 and 1948 he was granted a leave of absence to become a [[guerrilla]] fighter in Kashmir. He was not only a fierce opponent of India but also a supporter of the United States. During the 1950s, as a captain, he was a 2 i/c of the Support Company and also Rifle Company Commander in the [[Baloch Regiment]] as well as a Battalion Adjutant as a Major, and for a time his Battalion was posted in [[East Pakistan]]. He was promoted to [[Major]] in 1952 and to [[Lieutenant Colonel]] in 1957. He attended the Senior Staff Course (for Division level staff officers) at the Staff College Quetta in 1954–55. After serving briefly as [[Brigade Major]] and as [[aide-de-camp]] to [[Iskandar Ali Mirza]] in 1955-56 and as an Instructor and [[Adjutant]] at the [[Pakistan Military Academy]] between 1956 and 1958, he was the Commanding Officer of the 11th Battalion of the [[Baloch Regiment]] between 1958 and 1960 and CO of the 12th Battalion between 1960 and 1961. In his capacity as Battalion Commander he was for a time also the Martial Law Administrator of [[Pakpattan District]]. In 1961 he was selected for a Military Intelligence appointment under the Directorate-General of Military Intelligence. He was promoted to [[Colonel]] in 1963, and in 1965 he was the Military Intelligence Field Officer attached with the [[6th Armoured Division (Pakistan)|6th Armoured Division]] at [[Chawinda]]. He was promoted to the rank of [[Brigadier]] in 1967 and was for most of the time after that a Departmental Director in the [[Inter-Services Intelligence|Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence]], except for a short stint as Commandant of the Baluch Regimental Centre & Recruit Depot (BRC&RD) at Abbottabad in 1969–70.

During 1971 he was with the Pakistani forces fighting [[Bangladesh]]i independence which suffered painful defeats at the hands of the [[Indian Army]].<ref>Abhijit Bhattacharyya, ''[http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120228/jsp/opinion/story_15186514.jsp THE TURBULENT HISTORY OF THE STATE WITHIN A STATE]'' from [[The Telegraph (Calcutta)|The Telegraph]]'' dated 12 February 2012, at telegraphindia.com, accessed 6 April 2012</ref> With the rank of [[Brigadier]] he was Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-chief of Eastern Command until the middle of 1971, when he was promoted Major-General and posted to Pakistan's principal intelligence agency, the [[Inter-Services Intelligence|Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence]], or ISI, as Director General.<ref>Hasan Zaheer, ''The Separation of East Pakistan: the rise and realisation of Bengali Muslim Nationalism'' (Oxford University Press, 1994), p. 505: "Brigadier Ghulam Jillani, Chief of Staff to the Commander Eastern Command until the middle of the year...</ref>

From 1971 to 1978 Jilani headed the ISI, being the third man to hold the position.<ref>Sabir Shah, [http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-96947-Lieutenant-General-Zaheer-18th-DG-ISI-since-1959 Lieutenant General Zaheer 18th DG ISI since 1959] dated 10 March 2012, at thenews.com.pk, Retrieved 24 March 2012: "The 17 Pakistan army officials who have headed the ISI to date, are: Brigadier Riaz Hussain (1959 to 1966), Major General (then Brig) Mohammad Akbar Khan (1966 to 1971), Lieutenant General (then Major General) Ghulam Jilani Khan (1971 to 1978)..."</ref> In that role, he served three Pakistani governments, those headed successively by [[Yahya Khan]], Z. A. Bhutto, and Zia-ul-Haq.<ref>Ashok Kapur, ''Pakistan in Crisis'' (Routledge, 2002), p. 128</ref> In 1976, when [[Tikka Khan]] retired as [[Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan)|Chief of Army Staff]], Jilani was the fifth most senior army officer. Tikka Khan considered those in the first, second and fourth positions unsuitable to replace him, so recommended the third most senior officer, [[Zahid Ali Akbar Khan|Akbar Khan]], to [[Prime Minister of Pakistan|Prime Minister]] and Defence Minister [[Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto]]. In the event, Bhutto ignored this recommendation and chose instead [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq|General Zia-ul-Haq]], seventh in the list of seniority. Jilani, who lacked the experience of combat formation command above higher than an infantry Battalion, was thus passed over, but in fact he had lobbied Bhutto to appoint Zia, and Bhutto later wrote that he had been influenced in the matter by General Jilani Khan.<ref>Ḥusain Ḥaqqānī, ''Pakistan: between Mosque and Military'' (Carnegie Endowment, 2005), [https://books.google.com/books?id=nYppZ_dEjdIC&pg=PA111#v=onepage&q&f=false pp. 111, 112]</ref>

In April 1976, and again in October, Jilani sent reports to Bhutto which recommended the holding of fresh elections sooner rather than later, and Bhutto agreed with this advice.<ref name=haqqani>Ḥaqqānī (2005), [https://books.google.com/books?id=nYppZ_dEjdIC&pg=PA114#v=onepage&q&f=false p. 114]</ref> The [[1977 Pakistani general election|1977 general election]] had been expected in the second half of the year, but on 7 January Bhutto announced that the election would be held on 7 March.<ref>Surendra Nath Kaushik, ''Pakistan under Bhutto's leadership'' (1985), p. 259: "Bhutto stated in the National Assembly on January 7, 1977 that general elections in Pakistan would be held on March 7, 1977."</ref> When he was later awaiting execution, Bhutto hinted that he might have been trapped in a conspiracy.<ref name=haqqani/>

Unlike Zia-ul-Haq, Jilani was not particularly pietistic in his private life.<ref>Ḥaqqānī (2005), [https://books.google.com/books?id=nYppZ_dEjdIC&pg=PA112#v=onepage&q&f=false p. 112]</ref> In political life, he became well known for his conviction that most of Pakistan's political troubles were due to feudal influences, which he was anxious to weaken. He was suspicious of most politicians from rural areas, so he attempted to encourage and promote new urban leaders. Among these was [[Nawaz Sharif]], an industrialist to whom Jilani gave his first political appointment, as Finance Minister in the Punjab provincial government. In 1985 he nominated Sharif as Chief Minister of the Punjab, and Sharif went on to become [[Prime Minister of Pakistan]].<ref>Aminullah Chaudry, 'The Army in Pakistan's Politics' in ''Hijacking from the Ground: The Bizarre Story of PK 805'' (2009), [https://books.google.com/books?id=pCiZiwsUW9EC&pg=PA14#v=onepage&q&f=false p. 14]</ref>