Mian Ghulam Jilani

Mian Ghulam Jilani
میاں غلام جیلانی
Jilani in 1962
Member of Provincial Assembly of North West Frontier[1]
In office
7 December 1970 – 1977
ConstituencyPF-21 Mardan
GOC
15th Infantry Division (Sialkot)
In office
?–1962
Force Commander Bajaur Campaign
In office
October 1960 – September 1961
Previous Commands
Master General of Ordnance (Pakistan)
In office
December 1958 – October 1960
Commandant
Command and Staff College
In office
July 1957 – December 1958
Military attaché of Pakistan to Washington
In office
October 1952 – June 1955[2]
Commanding Officer Gilgit
In office
April 1948 – January 1949
Commanding Officer 4 Frontier Force Regiment
In office
1947 – April 1948
Personal details
Born1913 (1913)
Sibi, British Balochistan
Died1 March 2004(2004-03-01) (aged 90–91)
Fairfax, Virginia, USA
Cause of deathPneumonia
Political partyNational Awami Party (Wali)
Spouse
Nancy Habiba Jilani
(m. 1949)
RelationsMian Hayaud Din (cousin)
Children4
Education
Nickname(s)Kaka
Speen Dada
Jilly
Military service
AllegianceBritish Raj British India (1936-47)
Pakistan Pakistan (1947-62)
Branch/serviceBritish Raj British Indian Army
 Pakistan Army
Years of service1936–1962
Rank Major General
Unit4th Battalion 19th Hyderabad Regiment
Commands
Battles/wars
Awards
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Major General Mian Ghulam Jilani SQA, Imtiazi Sanad (Pashto, Urdu: میاں غلام جیلانی; 1913 — March 1 2004) also known as Kaka, Speen Dada, and Jilly, was a politician, businessman, and former two-star general in the Pakistan Army. As a British Indian Army officer during World War II, he survived a Japanese POW camp in Singapore.[3] He played a key role in establishing the ceasefire during the First Kashmir War. During his stint as the Military attaché of Pakistan to Washington (1952-1955), he helped negotiate Pakistan's membership in the Baghdad Pact and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization.

An ethnic Pashtun, he retired from the Pakistan Army in 1962 due to the autocratic rule of Ayub Khan. Afterwards, he was involved in business and joined politics.[4]

He was repeatedly arrested by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the 1970s for his political beliefs and was in jail for more than three years with Amnesty International declaring him a prisoner of conscience in 1974. During a medical checkup, he escaped from custody and took political asylum in the United States in 1975 becoming a citizen in 1981.[5]

  1. ^ "PF-21 Mardan Election 1970 Full Result Votes NWFP KPK Assembly".
  2. ^ "Mian Jilani - Recipient -".
  3. ^ Indian Army List October 1936
  4. ^ "Pakistani Gen. Mian G. Jilani". washingtonpost.com. 13 March 2004. Gen. Jilani was military attache at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington from 1952 to 1955 and helped to negotiate Pakistan's membership in the Baghdad Pact, a Western-sponsored military pact later called the Central Treaty Organization. He also helped to negotiate Pakistan's membership in the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, a defense alliance. He retired from the Army in 1962, citing the autocratic rule of Pakistani President Mohammad Ayub Khan. He later was involved in business ventures and ran successfully for membership in the provincial legislature of the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan
  5. ^ "Pakistani Gen. Mian G. Jilani". washingtonpost.com. 13 March 2004. Gen. Jilani spoke against then-President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's repressive regime and was repeatedly arrested and jailed for more than three years.