M. Rahim Khan
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Mohammad Rahim Khan was a two star Pakistani military general, diplomat, and later civil servant who served as the 14th defence secretary of Pakistan from November 1980 to December 1981. Before the partition of the Indian subcontinent, he served in the
British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...
twice in 1943 with the second appointment in 1951. General Rahim also remained CGS of Pakistan Army. He has also served as president of the National Defence College from July 1974 to August 1975.NDU Commandant Gallery
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Early life and education

Khan was born to Qasim Khan who was a farmer and Qasir Bibi in
Rawalakot Rawalakot () is the capital of Poonch District, Pakistan, Poonch district in Pakistan–administered Azad Kashmir, in the disputed Kashmir region. It is located in the Pir Panjal Range. History 1947 Poonch rebellion On 15 June 1947, Sarda ...
that later became a part of
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
. He was the fourth of 10 children in the family. Survived by two siblings, he was married to Kamala Isaac in 1945 who died in 2007. He moved to
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 spent his life. He received his
primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...
at the government middle school in Rawalakot and later
secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...
at Victoria Jubilee high school in Poonch, Pakistan.


Military career

When Pakistan was declared as a sovereign state in 1947, he was sent to the UK by 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 ...
where he received his training from the
Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which ...
(now defunct). After returning from the UK, he served in the Pakistan Army and then he was promoted to the rank of major general in 1969. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he commanded an 39 Infantry Division in East Pakistan.


Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

Khan was among the other generals accused of Pakistan's defeat in Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. As a
general officer commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...
of the 39 Infantry Division stationed at Chandpur,
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 ...
, he allegedly left his divisional headquarter on 8 December 1971. He allegedly ordered the officers to move during the day time due to fear of Bangladeshi Forces. His orders caused the death of fourteen naval servicemen, four officers posted at his infantry division, with several others injured, including Khan himself. He reportedly avoided to alert the
general headquarters The General Headquarters (abbreviated Army GHQ) is the direct reporting and the command post of the Pakistan Army, located in the Chaklala at the vicinity of Rawalpindi, adjacent to the Joint Staff Headquarters (JS HQ). History In 1851, th ...
about the poor performance of communication equipments that caused the Indian troops to carry out the
ground attack Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...
s. During the war, he left for the
West Pakistan West Pakistan was the western province of Pakistan between One Unit, 1955 and Legal Framework Order, 1970, 1970, covering the territory of present-day Pakistan. Its land borders were with Afghanistan, India and Iran, with a maritime border wit ...
and avoided to submit a
debriefing Debriefing is a report of a mission or project or the information so obtained. It is a structured process following an exercise or event that reviews the actions taken. As a technical term, it implies a specific and active intervention process th ...
to the army headquarters. When he learned about the substandard situation, he went to
Dacca Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...
, for which he was reportedly criticised by his senior officer,
Khadim Hussain Raja Khadim Hussain Raja (; 23 November 1922 – 9 December 1999) was a Pakistani military officer and author. He is largely known for his role in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and was in charge of planning Operation Searchlight. He was the genera ...
.


Diplomatic career

After retiring from the military service and before serving in the
civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
s, he was appointed as ambassador of Pakistan to Mozambique and then ambassador to Malaysia. During his diplomatic career, he served as chairperson of
Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines, commonly known as PIA, is the flag carrier of Pakistan. With its primary hub at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, the airline also operates from its secondary hubs at Allama Iqbal International Airport ...
and
Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) () is a state-owned autonomous body under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation, which oversees and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in Pakistan. ...
.


Later work

When he retired in 1994, he, along with others established a network of educational institutions for the children. The network was co-supported by the UK NGOs or other schools associated with the network. Later, he and his brother established Kashmir Education Foundation (KEF) for the rural areas children and girls in particular. KEF was later shifted to his house in Rawalpindi. Two KEF institutions were registered under the Global Schools Partnership, operating under the
British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...
programme.


Awards and decorations


Foreign Decorations


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, N. Rahim Year of birth unknown 2020 deaths Place of death missing Pakistan Army major generals Chiefs of the General Staff (Pakistan) People from Rawalakot British Indian Army soldiers Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Pakistani military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Defence secretaries of Pakistan Pakistan International Airlines people Recipients of Hilal-i-Jur'at