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Yahya Khan Politician

Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan (Urdu: آغا محمد یحیی خان, Bengali: জেনারেল ইয়াহিয়া খান 4 February 1917 – 10 August 1980), popularly known as Yahya Khan was a four-star general and statesman who served as the third President of Pakistan from 1969 until the fall of East-Pakistan as a follow-up to Pakistan's defeat in the war with India in 1971. Serving with distinction in World War II as a British Indian Army officer, Yahya opted for Pakistan in 1947 and held critical command assignments.After helping to conduct military infiltration against India in the 1965 war, Yahya was appointed commander-in-chief of army in 1966– a position he held until the final days of 1971 war. Amid political upheaval forced President Ayub Khan to resign in 1969, Yahya installed a military government after enforcing the martial law for the second time in Pakistan's history. After promulgating executive order to disestablishment West-Pakistan, he held the country's first nationwide free and fair general elections in 1970, which witnessed Awami League led by Mujibur Rahman gaining majority in East Pakistan. Under pressured by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto whose PPP which had won from the four provinces of Pakistan but had far fewer votes, Yahya delayed handing over power to Awami League. As civil unrest erupted all over East Pakistan, Yahya initiated military operations to quell the rebellion. With reports of genocide by the Pakistan army and their local collaborators against Bengali civilians. During the nine-month-long Bangladesh war for independence, members of the Pakistani military and supporting militias killed about 3,000,000 people.Tensions escalated with India, which intervened on the side of the Mukti Bahini insurgency in 1971. In the resulting Indo-Pakistani war of 1971, which lasted less than two weeks, Pakistan surrendered its eastern command, with about 93,000 soldiers in East-Pakistan becoming prisoners-of-war. Following the independence of Bangladesh, powerful public demonstrations and mass rallies against Yahya in Pakistan forced him to hand over the power to Zulfikar Bhutto as well as stepping down from the post of commander-in-chief in disgrace. Military decorations and honors were stripped from Yahya and he was placed under house arrest for most of the 1970s. With Bhutto's removal in 1977, Yahya was released by provincial administrator Fazle Haq. He died in 1980 in Rawalpindi. He is viewed largely negatively by Pakistani historians, and is considered among the least successful of the country's leaders. He is also accused to be inept, womanizer and alcoholic.

Personal facts

Birth date	February 04, 1917
Birth place	Pakistan , Punjab region , Chakwal , British Raj
Religion	Islam
Date of death	August 10, 1980
Place of death	Pakistan , Punjab Pakistan , Rawalpindi
Education	United States Army Command and General Staff College Indian Military Academy University of the Punjab

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