Iftikhar Ahmad Chaudhri (8 January 1920 – 2 June 2015) better known as ''Shufti'', was a

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 ...

officer with prior service 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 ...

, who served as an intelligence officer during the Italian campaign (World War II). Awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

in June 1944, Chaudhri displayed exemplary leadership in January of that year. While serving near Arielli, a village south of

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

, he braved intense enemy attacks, including locating missing personnel, leading his men against the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

at close range, and orchestrating a successful withdrawal under heavy fire. Chaudhri's actions described in the citation for the Immediate MC, showcased the finest traditions of Indian fighting men.

Early life and family

Iftikhar Ahmad Chaudhri was born on 8 January 1920 in

Kharian Kharian ( Punjabi, ), is a city in Gujrat District, as well as the Gujrat Division of the Punjab Province of Pakistan. It is the headquarters of Kharian Tehsil (sub-district). As of 2023 Kharian is the second largest Tehsil in the Gujrat Div ...

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 ...

, to Chaudhri Fazal Ahmad, a

tehsildar In Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, a tehsildar, talukdar, or mamlatdar is a land revenue officer accompanied by revenue inspectors. They are in charge of obtaining taxes from a tehsil with regard to land revenue. A tehsildar is also known as a ...

from

Jalalpur Jattan Jalalpur Jattan (, ) is a city in Gujrat District in the province of Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab, Pakistan. It is the centre of Jalalpur Jattan Tehsil and about 50 km from Azad Kashmir, Kashmir. History When Alexander the Great defeated Kin ...

. Iftikhar belonged to a prominent Warraich Jat family of

Gujrat district Gujrat ( Punjabi, ) is a district of Gujrat Division in the Pakistani province of Punjab. The Gujrat District was created by the British Government in 1846. According to the 2023 Pakistani census the population of the Gujrat District is 3,219 ...

. He attended the

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

and in 1941, he graduated from

Government College, Lahore The Government College University (colloquially known as GCU; Punjabi, Urdu: ) is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded as Government College, Lahore, in 1864 under British administration, it became a university i ...

. He married Farkhanda Akhtar in 1945, they had four sons and a daughter. Farkhanda passed away sometime before Chaudhri.

Military career

He enlisted into the

and completed officer training in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. He was commissioned into the 4th Battalion, 16th Punjab Regiment in 1942. He saw action during the Italian campaign towards the end of the war for which he was awarded the British

. After doing staff course at

Staff College, Quetta The Command and Staff College Quetta is a staff college for the Pakistan Armed Forces and military officers from allied countries. Established in 1905 as Staff College, Deolali, it was later shifted to its present location in 1907 and has been a ...

, he was posted GSO Grade 1 of Military Operations to GHQ, Rawalpindi.Solah Punjab The History of the 16th Punjab Regiment, page 169 Additionally, he wrote a paper on the defence of the Middle East against Soviet aggression. The paper was discussed at the

SEATO The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was an international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty signed in September 1954 in Manila, Philippines. The formal insti ...

Military Advisors Conference in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The report was well received by the

Ministry of Defence Main Building The Ministry of Defence Main Building or MOD Main Building, also known as MOD Whitehall or originally as the Whitehall Gardens Building, is a Listed building, grade I listed government office building located on Whitehall in London. The building ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Chaudhri opted for

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# ...

after the

Partition of British India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Pakistan is the Islam ...

in 1947 and transferred his service to the

. He served in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

as military attaché from 1961 to 1964 and during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, he became Assistant Adjutant Quartermaster general for his division in Kashmir. He retired in 1968.

Later life and death

After retiring, he setup a successful trading company. He resided in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

and died on 2 June 2015.

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaudhri, Iftikhar Ahmad 1920 births 2015 deaths Aligarh Muslim University alumni Pakistan Army officers Military personnel from Punjab, Pakistan Graduates of the Staff College, Quetta Technical intelligence during World War II People from Kharian Punjab Regiment officers Indian military personnel of World War II Government College University, Lahore alumni Indian people of World War II People from Gujrat, Pakistan Pakistani Muslims Recipients of the Military Cross World War II intelligence services personnel People of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Indian Army personnel of World War II Pakistani military attachés Pakistani recipients of the Military Cross