Attiqur Rahman

Mohammed Attique Rahman (Urdu: محمد عتیق الرحمن‎), MC (24 June 1918 – 1 June 1996) was a three-star lieutenant general officer in the Pakistan Army, a noted military historian, and a senior government official. He was the martial law administrator (MLA) of West Pakistan in General Yahya Khan's military regime He was the last Governor of West Pakistan and implemented the dissolution of the One Unit scheme, after which he became the first Governor of Punjab province.

Mohammed Attiqur Rahman MC
7th Governor of Punjab
In office 1 July 1970 – 23 December 1971
President	Agha Yahya Khan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Preceded by	Mushtaq Ahmed Gurmani
Succeeded by	Ghulam Mustafa Khar
Personal details
Born	Mohammad Attiqur Rahman (1918-06-24)24 June 1918 Rawalpindi District, British Raj
Died	1 June 1996(1996-06-01) (aged 77) Lahore, Punjab
Alma mater	St Paul's School Indian Military Academy
Awards	Hilal-i-Quaid-i-Azam (HQA) Sitara-i-Pakistan (SPk) Military Cross (MC)
Military service
Allegiance	British India Pakistan
Branch/service	British Indian Army Pakistan Army
Years of service	1940–1971
Rank	Lieutenant General
Unit	Infantry (4/12 FF Regiment)
Commands	Vice Chief of General Staff (VCGS) 15th Infantry Division, Sialkot 7th Infantry Division, Peshawar Adjutant General (AG) 12th Infantry Division, Murree IV Corps, Multan (later Lahore) I Corps, Mangla
Battles/wars	Burma campaign Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Post-Retirement Work	Civil servant and former Governor of the Punjab

Early life

Born on 24 June 1918, Rahman was the son of Lt Colonel Abdur Rahman RIAMC and had two brothers. The first, Kaiser, died shortly after birth in 1915; the second was his younger brother, Mohammed Attaur Rahman (Knights Cross with Golden Chain Hungary<rDr M A Rahmanef> Rahman was schooled at St Paul's in London, UK, and then joined the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, British India, where he was awarded the Sword of Honor and the silver spurs as the best all-round Gentleman Cadet. His younger brother received a major scholarship at Jesus College Cambridge.ref>Dr M A Rahman<

Military service

Commissioned on 1 February 1940, Rahman joined the 4/12th Frontier Force Regiment (Template:A.k.a. "Charwanja") and was posted to Thall, Kurram Agency, (Ahmedzai Operations) then to Datta Khel (Lower Tochi Operations). In November 1941, his battalion went to join General Slim's Fourteenth Army to fight in Burma. His best friend in the battalion was Major Sam Manekshaw, later a field marshall, with whom he had a lifelong friendship.

In 1966, promoted to lieutenant general, he commanded his first corps, IV Corps, then headquartered at Multan (later it was moved to Lahore). When General Yahya Khan's martial law was instituted on 25 March 1969, Rahman was appointed Martial Law Administrator (MLA), Zone A (West Pakistan), due to his position as Commander IV  Corps. In August 1969, Rahman was relieved by Tikka Khan and moved to I Corps at Mangla. Rahman stayed there until February 1970. He was then replaced by Lt Gen Irshad Ahmed Khan. Rahman was appointed as the Governor of West Pakistan in February 1970, replacing Air Marshal Nur Khan. He stayed as governor until the breakup of One Unit in 1971, and then became Governor of Punjab. He retired from the army and from the governorship in December 1971.

Military analyst

After retirement in December 1971, he wrote extensively on military issues. In 1977, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq appointed him as Chairman of the Federal Public Services Commission, holding this position until 1985.

Works

• Rahman, Mohammed Attiqur (1973). Leadership: Junior Commanders.
• Rahman, Mohammed Attiqur (1973). Leadership: Senior Commanders.
• Rahman, Mohammed Attiqur (1976). Our Defence Cause: An analysis of Pakistan's past and future military role.
• Rahman, Mohammed Attiqur (1978). Reflections on Infantry.
• Rahman, Mohammed Attiqur (1980). Wardens of the Marches: a history of the Piffers, 1947-1971.
• Rahman, Mohammed Attiqur (1981). Reflections on the principles of surprise and deception.
• Rahman, Mohammed Attiqur (2005). Back to the pavilion. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-597861-7.

External links

• Herr Generalfeldmarschall Attiq von Rachmann by Ardeshir Cowasjee (Dawn)

Political offices
Preceded by Office established	Martial Law Administrator, Zone A (West Pakistan) 1969	Succeeded by Tikka Khan
Preceded by Yusuf Haroon	Governor of West Pakistan 1969	Succeeded by Tikka Khan
Preceded by Nur Khan	Governor of West Pakistan 1970	Succeeded by Office dissolved
Preceded by Part of West Pakistan	Governor of Punjab 1970 – 1971	Succeeded by Ghulam Mustafa Khar