Tikka Khan (1915–2002) was Chief of Army Staff, Pakistan (March 1972–March 1976).

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

He fought in World War II 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 II, 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. 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 Rann of Kutch. By most accounts, the Pakistani forces performed very well on the battlefield, routing the Indian forces; 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. Due to his performance there, and his victory during the Rann of Kutch clashes, 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.

General Tikka was also the core commander of Lahore during the late 1960s, 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.

In early 1971 East Pakistan was in severe turmoil. The long years of martial law had alienated the East Pakistanis, and the delay in handing over power to Sheikh Mujeeb, who had won the 1970 Pakistani elections, led to an explosion of pent-up rage against the West Pakistanis. In the wake of the resignations of two East Pakistan governors, General Sahibzada Yakub Khan and Admiral Ahsan, General Tikka Khan was sent to East Pakistan as the Governor 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 1971, he was ordered to keep the Army in the barracks as negotiations between Yahya Khan and Sheikh Mujeeb 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 and the Pakistan Army, causing high civilian casualties. The Bangladeshi separatists were actively supported by the Indians.

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 Pakistani 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. Lieutenant-General A. A. K. Niazi, however was left to bear the brunt of the loss that would seal the fate of East Pakistan.

After Pakistan's defeat, and the break up of the country, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became the Prime Minister. After a brief tenure by General Gul Hasan at the helm of the Pakistan Army, Bhutto appointed General Tikka Khan as the Chief of the Army Staff in March 1972. One of Tikka Khan's earliest responsibilities was to oversee Pakistan's nascent nuclear program, which Bhutto had initiated in early 1972. The goal of the nuclear program was to enhance Pakistan's security, and the program's pace was accelerated after India's 1974 nuclear test. Tikka Khan did not intrude into politics, and for the first time in many years, the policy making was left to the civilian Prime Minister Bhutto. Another major task undertaken by Tikka Khan was the repatriation and re-settlement of 93,000 Prisoners of War from India, which included many civilians as well.

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 took over the leadership of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and became 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. 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.

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 man who would strictly observe the army chain of command and never disobey a senior officer.

General Tikka Khan died on 28 March 2002 after several years of illness. 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.

See also

• Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
• Chronicles Of Pakistan