GeneralMuhammad Musa Khan HPkHJHQAMBE (Urdu: محمد موسی خان; 20 October 1908 – 12 March 1991) was a Pakistani senior military officer who served as the 4th Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army from 1958 to 1966, under president Ayub Khan. Following his tenure as C-in-C of the Army, he later became a politician.
Khan retired shortly after the 1965 war and embarked on a career in national politics, after which he was appointed to serve as the Governor of West Pakistan, a position he held from 1966 to 1969. In 1985, he was appointed as the Governor of Balochistan and remained in office until his death in 1991.
In 1942, his heroic action for valor won him the praise and was appointed as Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for "gallant and distinguished services in the Middle East."[1] In 1945, he was promoted as substantive captain and substantive major in 1946 and was serving with the Machine Gun battalion, 13th Frontier Force Rifles by October 1942.[8]
During his time at the Indian Military Academy, Musa was selected as part of the first batch of cadets. Called "The Pioneers", his class also produced Smith Dun and Sam Manekshaw, future army chiefs of Burma and India, respectively.
In 1950s, Musa's commanding assignments included his role as the Commandant of the East Pakistan Rifles, and also having served as GOC of 14th Infantry Division in Dhaka, East Pakistan, in 1951.[3][9] In 1952, his last field assignment included his role as General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 8th Infantry Division positioned in Quetta before stationed at the GHQ.[9] Later, he soon became the Chief of Staff of the Pakistan Army (then the commander-in-chief of the army's deputy) in the rank of major-general at the Army GHQ.[9] His career progressed well in the army and he was ascended to Commander-in-Chief by President Ayub Khan in 1958 when the latter deposed President Iskander Mirza and appointed himself Field Marshal.
Musa's promotion to the four-star appointment came with controversy in the country as many saw that his appointment was based on "dependability rather than merit."[10][11] His elevation also meant that he would supersede three of the most senior officers in the Pakistan Army: Gen Adam Khan, Gen Sher Ali Khan Pataudi, and Gen Latif Khan, all of whom were decorated Sandhurst graduates.[12]
President Ayub delegated the military affairs to General Musa when heading the civic government.[13] In 1960, he was appointed to serve as the President of the Pakistan Hockey Federation which he remained in the post until being retired in 1966.[14] It was during his stint as president when the Hockey Team won its first Gold Medal against the Indian Hockey Team in the Summer Olympics in Rome in 1960.[15]
General Musa inspecting the Royal Afghan Guard in the 1950s on the Torkham border
In September 1960, Afghan Regular Troops disguised as local tribesmen started border incursions into the NWFP (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) province of Pakistan with the goal of starting a local rebellion to capture the Pashtun Inhabited Territory, under General Musa's leadership, Pakistani troops and Local Pashtun tribesmen along with Pakistan Airforce support pushed back the Afghans in 1961 and captured many Afghan soldiers.
The 1965 War
General Musa addressing Pakistani troops, circa 1965
In 1964, he became aware of covert operation studied by the Foreign ministry led by Foreign Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and presented views against the operation due to no linkage between the covert actions and the conventional backup.[16][17] General Musa also had the support from President Ayub Khan on his views; however, the war began in 1965.[17] General Musa did not order the Pakistan Army without the confirmation by President Ayub Khan despite Foreign Minister Bhutto's urging.[18] After the Indian Army moved to the Rann of Kutch, General Musa ordered Army GHQ to respond to the Indian Army by moving the 12th Division.[18] After reviewing the aerial view of the area and getting directions from President Ayub to make way for Maj General Yahya Khan, General Musa controversially relieved GOC Major-General Akhtar Hussain Malik and handed over the command of the 12th Division to Major-General Yahya Khan, which resulted in critical time delays of troops movements and eventual failure of the operation.[19]
About the failure due to command change, General Musa justified his actions that he had not had time to select a commander or staff despite the authority given to him.[10] He led and commanded the Pakistan Army in the largest tank battle, which earned him public fame.[20] His strategy based on classical trench method supported by armory, artillery and airpower was tactically powerful and successful as it stopped the advancing Indian Army but politically unsuccessful due to the country being party of the peace treaty brokered by the USSR in 1965.[20]
General Musa's military service is unique due to the fact that he had received two extensions as a Commander-in-chief from the period of 1958 until 1966.[21] Upon his retirement, General Musa did not recommend Yahya Khan's nomination as Commander-in-chief and Yahya's name was not included in the list of nominations sent to President Ayub Khan; nonetheless, General Musa was succeeded by General Yahya Khan as Commander in Chief.
About the war with India in 1965, General Musa provided his views and testimonies in two books written on military history of Pakistan Army: first being the My Version: India-Pakistan War, 1965[22] and the second being the Jawan to General: Recollections of a Pakistani Soldier,[23] the latter was mainly his biography.
At the time of his retirement in 1966, General Musa was a famed and popular military figure which led President Ayub Khan to appoint him as the Governor of West Pakistan.[24] News of the appointment was met with enthusiasm by the West Pakistani people.[24] In 1967, he became Governor of West Pakistan until submitting his resignation on 2 March 1969 when General Yahya Khan imposed martial law to takeover the presidency.[25]
However, the Balochistan High Court restored the provincial assembly amid public condemnation of the Governor's move.[27] The step towards dissolving the assembly was believed to have been taken with the consent of the President and Prime Minister.[27]
On 12 March 1991, General Musa died while in office and per accordance to his wishes, he was buried in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan, Iran.[3] In his honour, the provincial Balochistan government established a vocational school, the General Muhammad Musa Inter-College (GMMIC), in Quetta, Pakistan in 1987.[28]
Post-1965 war
About the war with India in 1965, General Musa provided his views and testimonies in two books written on military history of Pakistan Army: the first being My Version and the second being Jawan to General: Recollections of a Pakistani Soldier which was also his autobiography. General Mohammad Musa, who commanded the Army in the '65 war, gave his account of how the events unfolded at GHQ, the C-in-C and the Supreme Commander Field Marshal Ayub Khan surprising India on 6 September 1965 in My Version: India-Pakistan War, 1965
^ISPR. "General Muhammad Musa". pakistanarmy.gov.pk. Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
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