Tikka Khan (1915-2002) was Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff from March 1972–March 1976).

General Tikka Khan was born in the village of Jochha Mamdot (Tehsil Kallar Seydan)  in 1915 (in what was then British India). He was a graduate of the Indian Military Academy at Derahdun, and was commissioned in 1939.

He fought in world war 2 as part of the British indian army, and was injured on multiple occasions during the fighting. He was in action in numerous battles on both the Burmese and Italian fronts. He was also a prisoner of war for more than two years during the war, before he and his fellow troops escaped from their captors.

After his return from World war 2, he was an instructor at the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun for some time. During the Partition of India, Major Tikka Khan remained in what is now Pakistan, and became an officer in the Pakistan army.

He was promoted to the rank of Major General in 1962.

1965 War

One of General Tikka's greatest successes on the battlefield came in the spring of 1965, during the series of clashes between India and Pakistan in the Raan of Kutch. By most accounts, the Pakistani forces performed very well on the battlefield ; this led to a very high level of confidence among Pakistani Army commanders.

General Tikka Khan was at the Sialkot front during the 1965 India-Pakistan war, and successfully defended the city from an Indian attack, during the epic Battle of Chawinda, halting and then pushing back the Indians. Due to these performances, General Tikka became something of a hero to the Pakistani people, having the image of being an extremely tough commander and a loyal soldier who strictly followed the army chain of command.

Between the wars

General Tikka was the corps commander of  Lahore during the late 1960's, during which time he earned a reputation of being a tough administrator and strict disciplinarian. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General in 1969.

1971 War

In early 1971, East Pakistan was in severe turmoil. The long years of severe martial law had alienated the East Pakistanis, and the delay in handing over power to Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, who had won the 1970 Pakistani elections, led to an explosion of pent-up rage against the West Pakistan. In the wake of the resignations of two west Pakistan  governors, Lt.General Sahabzad Yaqub Khan and Admiral Ahsan, General Tikka Khan was sent to East Pakistan as the Governor and Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA) by the President, General Yahya Khan. Yahya correctly believed that Tikka would not disobey the orders of a superior officer.

As General Tikka landed in Dacca on 7 March 71, he was ordered to keep the Army in the barracks as negotiations between Yahya Khan and Sheikh Mujibur Rehman proceeded; this he did. With the failure of negotiations, General Yahya Khan ordered General Tikka to commence a crackdown on the Awami league and its militant supporters. On 25 March, Operation searchlight commenced and Sheikh Mujeeb was arrested. Heavy fighting erupted between Bangladeshi separatists ( Mukti Bahani) and the Pakistan army.

After many weeks of heavy fighting, General Tikka and the Pakistan Army managed to extend the writ of the government to most of East Pakistan, although the separatists frequently committed acts of sabotage and enjoyed support from the locals. The lack of support from the local populace meant that the Pakistan Army had problems gathering intelligence. For some time in April–June 1971 there was a lull in the fighting, and the Pakistan army felt that it had achieved military success. However, the insurgency continued with active support from the Indians. With the fighting continuing and pressure on Yahya Khan to seek a political solution to the conflict, General Tikka Khan was called back to West Pakistan in early September, even though President Yahya Khan felt he had done a good military job.

Post retirement

Tikka Khan’s tenure ended in March 1976, and he was later appointed Defence Minister by Bhutto. Muhammad Zia ul Haq's July 1977 coup led to the arrest of both Bhutto and General Tikka Khan. Bhutto was executed in 1979, after which General Tikka Khan emerged as one of the leaders of the (PPP), becoming its Secretary General, during a time when many party stalwarts abandoned it. General Tikka was imprisoned numerous times for his political activities during the late 1970s and 1980s, until Zia-ul-Haq died in August 1988 in an airplane explosion over Bahwalpur. General Tikka Khan was appointed the governor of Pakistan’s largest province, the Punjab, in December 1988 . His tenure as the Governor was cut short by the dismissal of the Benazir government in August 1990, after which he retired from active politics.

Life after death

General Tikka Khan died on 28 March 2002 after several years of illness. In a message to the General's son, Col. Khalid M. Khan, Benazir Bhutto, who had spent many years campaigning with the General, remembered him as a person who, "rose to the highest offices of this country due to his hard work and respect for the rule of law." He was buried with full military honours in the Army Graveyard in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

Legacy

As a politician, Tikka Khan will be remembered for his intense loyalty to the Bhutto political clan, whatever the political climate in the country, first to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto  and then later to Benazir Bhutto . As a soldier, he will be remembered as a loyal and capable general. Always controversial, Tikka's career can be perhaps sumed up this way, it is the duty of a General to win, and Tikka won most of the time. We of tehsil Kallar seydan are all proud of him