General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Khalid Mahmud Arif ( 29 December 1930 – March 2020) popularly known as K.M. Arif, was a senior officer of the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

, serving as the vice-chief of army staff under President Zia-ul-Haq, who retained the command of the army since 1976. His career in the army was mostly spent in the

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

, and served in the

East Pakistan Rifles East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

, briefly fighting in the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

aided by neighboring India. Upon

repatriation Repatriation is the return of a thing or person to its or their country of origin, respectively. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as the return of mi ...

to Pakistan in 1973, he continued with his

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

in the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

and eventually ascended as

director-general A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

before assuming the staff appointment at the Army GHQ. Appointed as vice-chief of army staff in 1984, he played crucial role in stabilizing the

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

of President Zia-ul-Haq, and was succeeded by General Mirza Aslam Beg as army chief in March 1987. Upon his retirement in 1987, he authored several books on the

political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

and military history of Pakistan, of which ''Working With Zia: Pakistan's Power Politics'' is the best known.

Early life and education

Khalid Mahmud Arif was born on 29 December 1930 in a

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

- Kakazai family in

East Punjab East Punjab was a state of Dominion of India from 1947 until 1950. It consisted parts of the Punjab Province of British India that remained in India following the partition of the state between the new dominions of Pakistan and India by the ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and immigrated to Pakistan following the partition. He attended Edwardes College in

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

and graduated in 1947. After passing the ISSB's examinations, he joined the

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) is a military academy located nearby Kakul village in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Established in October 1947, it is the only service academy in Pakistan that trains cadets to serve as army of ...

Kakul Kakul (Kakol) is a village situated in the Tehsil and District Abbottabad, at an elevation of 1300 metres, 5 km northeast of center of Abbottabad city near the Thandiani Hills. Abbottabad is a District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pa ...

as a cadet in 1947, where he was selected to do advance training on

Infantry tactics Infantry tactics are the combination of military concepts and methods used by infantry to achieve tactical objectives during combat. The role of the infantry on the battlefield is, typically, to close with and engage the enemy, and hold territo ...

Kohat Kohat (; ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century. With a population o ...

, North-West Frontier Province. His family permanently moved in Kohat as he gained commissioned into the

Armoured Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other arm ...

. In 1952, he was selected for further military training in the United States and was sent to attend the United States Army Armor School at

Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository (also known as Fort Knox), which is used to house a larg ...

, where he graduated in specializing in the armoured tactics. He was further educated in Military College of Signals in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

where he excelled in intelligence management, and graduated in the staff course degree from the Command and Staff College in

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

, Pakistan.

Military career

War appointments and in East Pakistan

In 1965, Arif, as a Major, served in the

armoured corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other arm ...

along with then-Lieutenant Colonel Zia-ul-Haq and participated in the second war with India over the disputed

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

. Arif commanded an American M48

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

Squadron against the Indian Army. After the war, he was sent back to the

and stationed in

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

(in the

). Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1967, he greatly aided towards troop redeployment of the Eastern Command in formulating a battle plan, codename: "Operation X-Sunderbans-1." The deployment, however, was non combative and it was only designed to form the basis for the operational combat plan. In 1969, he was posted in Dhaka as a martial law officer under the

Government of East Pakistan The Government of East Pakistan or formerly Government of East Bengal governed the province East Bengal (later East Pakistan, now Bangladesh) and was centered in its provincial capital Dhaka. The head of the province was the Governor, who was nom ...

led by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Syed Mohammad Ahsan in 1969. During this stint, Arif reportedly relied a secretive message in his complied report in regards to the situation in East that ultimately warned off the consequences of the civil war. In March 1971, he was promoted to full

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

and witnessed the meeting with President

Yahya Khan Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan (4 February 191710 August 1980) was a Pakistani army officer who served as the third president of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971. He also served as the fifth Commander-in-Chief, Pakistan, commander-in-chief of the Pakistan ...

who decided the launch of the military operations against the rebels in the East should take place. Arif took over the situation himself to control the law and order. About this meeting, Arif described the meeting as: President Yahya took matters in his hands, thus good bye to civil bureaucracy. In East, he fought and led an Infantry Battalion to fight the approaching

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

, and was captured by the Indian Army units who held him as war prisoner after the instrument of surrender was signed between

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

A.A.K. Niazi and

Jagjit Singh Aurora, GOC-in-C of Eastern Command of Indian military in 1971.

Command and staff appointments

His efforts and actions in the

liberation war Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

in East that accounted his bravery had earned admiration in Pakistan which led to Prime Minister

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

accepting recommendations to decorate Major Arif with service award, '' Sitara-e-Basalat''. In 1973, he was repatriated to Pakistan from the Wagha and was allowed to resume his military service. He testified in the War Enquiry Commission led by Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman, giving accounts of military intelligence failures took place in East. In 1976, he was promoted as

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

. In 1977, he assumed the command of the 111th Brigade stationed in

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

; this command appointment lasted only eight months. The

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

held in 1977 saw the victory of

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...

led by

, caused the public agitation led by the conservative alliance whose politicians refused to accept the results amid alleged vote rigging. Brig. K. M. Arif ultimately leaked and informed Prime Minister Bhutto of covert

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

took place under his appointed- army chief General Zia-ul-Haq, but the latter refused to believe him. Acting upon warnings by Brig. Arif, Bhutto did accept all demands by the conservative alliance but the

had already took place. After receiving orders from

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

F.A. Chishti, GoC-in-C of X Corps, Brigadier Arif rotated the 111th Brigade to take control of the

civilian government Civil authority or civil government is the practical implementation of a state on behalf of its citizens, other than through military units (martial law), that enforces law and order and that is distinguished from religious authority (for exampl ...

in support of Chief of Army Staff General Zia-ul-Haq and Chairman joint chiefs Mohammad Shariff. After the

was completed, General Zia's promoted Brigadier Arif as Major-General and appointed him as

Director-General A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

Military Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

(DGMI). In a views of Lieutenant-General

Chishti The Chishti order () is a Sufi order of Sunni Islam named after the town of Chisht, Afghanistan where it was initiated by Abu Ishaq Shami. The order was brought to Herat and later spread across South Asia by Mu'in al-Din Chishti in the city ...

who noted: "General Zia was lucky to have Major-General Arif as his life long confidante. He had experience as a Martial Law Officer during General's Yahya's regime and handled matters efficiently." In 1979, he helped and aided in preparing a

national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...

strategy against the Russian invasion of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, after a meeting with President Zia-ul-Haq upon the latter's request.

Vice Chief of Army Staff (1984–87)

A quintessential staff officer, Major-General Arif's career accelerated and gained reputation as an effective commander in the military intelligence. Major-General Arif served in the military intelligence until 1983 when he promoted as

and posted in a staff assignment in the Army GHQ. At the Army GHQ, he brought most qualified officers who had worked with him in the past assignments, and built up his reputation in army as an effective leader. On 11 March 1983, Lieutenant-General Arif, along with Chairman Senate Ghulam Ishaq Khan, was invited by

Munir Ahmad Khan Munir Ahmad Khan (; 20 May 1926 – 22 April 1999), , was a Pakistani nuclear engineer who is credited, among others, with being the "father of the atomic bomb program" of Pakistan for their leading role in developing their nation's nuclear we ...

, then-Chairman of PAEC, to witnessed the subcritical testing of an atomic device that took place in a hidden weapons-testing sites. Despite never effectively commanding the field assignments, he was named and appointed as Vice Chief of Army Staff under President Zia in 1984. Upon being promoted to four-star rank army general, he assumed the command of

as its Vice-Chief of Army Staff under President Zia. To many observers, this promotion, in fact, made General Arif the chief of army staff of the

with the entire commanding staff reporting to him. As an army chief, General Arif played a crucial role towards the successful implementation of the secretive atomic bomb programme after removing the civilian administrator,

Mubashir Hassan Mubashir Hassan (; 22 January 1922 – 14 March 2020) was a Pakistani politician, Humanism, humanist, political adviser, and an engineer who served in the capacity of Finance Minister of Pakistan, Finance Minister in Zulfikar Ali Bhutto#Prime M ...

. Towards diplomacy with the United States, General Arif made frequent trips with United States, successfully convincing the

Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following his landslide victory over ...

to allow the secretive atomic bomb development by making it very clear to the United States that " akistanwon't compromise on its nuclear weapons programme, but won't conduct a test to harm to relationship between two nations." In 1983, the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

(CIA) placed a mole near the

Kahuta Research Laboratories The Dr. A. Q. Khan Research Laboratories (shortened as KRL), is a federally funded research and development laboratory located in Kahuta at a short distance from Rawalpindi in Punjab, Pakistan. Established in 1976, the laboratory is best know ...

but was thwarted by the ISI, which according to General Arif, the ISI took the mole to its secret museum to train its own spies in espionage operations. He was described as a very uptight and strict army officer by civilian scientists, specifically dr.

Abdul Qadeer Khan Abdul Qadeer Khan (1 April 1936 – 10 October 2021) was a Pakistani Nuclear physics, nuclear physicist and metallurgist, metallurgical engineer. He is colloquially known as the "father of Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction, Pakistan's ...

in his memoirs, did not compromise on his morals and disciplines throughout his career. In 1984, General Arif's tenure also saw the commissioning of the

Bell AH-1 Cobra The Bell AH-1 Cobra is a single-engined attack helicopter developed and manufactured by the American rotorcraft manufacturer Bell Helicopter. A member of the prolific Huey family, the AH-1 is also referred to as the HueyCobra or Snake. The ...

Attack helicopter An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive (military), offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their ...

s in the aviation corps. In 1986–87, he deployed and rotated the V Corps, with support from the Southern Air Command to deter the

's major military exercise that took place near Pakistan's border under supervision of General Sundarji, then- army chief of Indian Army. During this time, he refuted the claims made by dr. A.Q. Khan and immediately issued directives towards the

policy of deliberate ambiguity In the context of global politics, a policy of deliberate ambiguity (also known as a policy of strategic ambiguity or strategic uncertainty) is the practice by a government or non-state actor of being deliberately ambiguous with regard to all or c ...

over the clandestine atomic bomb programme.

Post retirement

In 1987, General Arif sought retirement from his military service and did not seek extension and handed over the army command to

Mirza Aslam Beg who was promoted to the four-star rank and as an army chief. Upon retiring, he focused towards

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

and became a military historian when he authored the notable eyewitnessed and famed text on the military interference led General Zia-ul-Haq, ''Working with Zia'', published in 1995. In 2001, he published ''Khaki Shadows: Pakistan 1947–1997'', about the politics, government, and armed forces of Pakistan during and shortly after the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. In 2010, he authored another book, ''Estranged Neighbours: India, Pakistan (1947-2010)'' on the

foreign relations Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. Gen (Retd) K M Arif died on 6 March 2020 in ICU CMH Lahore due to kidney disease.

Awards and decorations

Foreign decorations

Works

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arif, Khalid Mahmud 1931 births 2020 deaths People from Jalandhar district Edwardes College alumni People from Kohat District Pakistan Military Academy alumni Pakistan Armoured Corps officers Military intelligence People of East Pakistan People of the Bangladesh Liberation War Pakistani military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Pakistani military writers Pakistani prisoners of war Pakistani generals Military government of Pakistan (1977–1988) Project-706 people Pakistani memoirists Pakistani military historians Pakistani poets Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz Recipients of the Legion of Merit People from Punjab Province (British India) Bangladesh Liberation War prisoners of war