Vice-AdmiralSyed Mohammad AhsanHQA, SPk, DSO, (Urdu: ﺴﻴﺩ ﻣﺤﻣﺪ ﺍﺣﺴﻦ) (b. 1921 – d. 1989) was a senior 3 star rank admiral who was the 4th Chief of Naval Staff of Pakistan Navy from October 20, 1966 to August 31, 1969. A naval intelligence officer by profession, Vice-Admiral Ahsan was an integral to established and expand the capabilities of Naval Intelligence and the elite Naval Special Service Group, and took initiatives to modernize the navy. As director-general of Naval Intelligence, Vice-Admiral S.M. Ahsan participated actively in the war and led the Naval intelligence operations during Indo-Pak 1965 September war.
He was the most trusted companion of President and Chief Martial Law Administrator Field Marshal Ayub Khan and was presented in every meeting chaired by Khan. In 1969, after his tenure was completed as Chief of Naval Staff, Chief Martial Law Administrator General Yahya Khan led the appointment of Vice-Admiral Ahsan as the Martial Law Administrator of East Pakistan as he accepted the request from former President. On 1st September of 1969 Vice-Admiral Ahsan presumed the command of East-Pakistan as Martial Law Administrator with given gubernatorial and political power|political and military power of the East-Pakistan. Admiral Ahsan was the unified commander of the Pakistan Combatant Forces in the Eastern contingent, and served as the Commander of the Pakistan Eastern Military Command until his resignation on 7th March of 1971.
In 1952, he was promoted to Commander and was made the Deputy Director of the Naval Intelligence, and played an integral and major role in formulating the policies and instutitional set up of the Naval Intelligence and the directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).[5] At the end of December of 1952, Major-General Robert Cawthome, Director-General of the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI), sent a priority report to the Commander Ahsan, and asked for a detailed reactions of Pakistan Armed Forces personnel for the Basic principles for the ISI.[5] During the meeting with the ISI officials, Ahsan concluded that East-Pakistan mustn't be ignored and should be given equal ranks as of West-Pakistan. Ahsan feared that such actions might triggered the war which would result in partitioning the East and West Pakistan.[5] In 1958, he was made Captain, and was made staff officer and also served as the Principle military secretary to Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan, wife of former Prime ministerLiaquat Ali Khan.[6]
In 1960, he was promoted to 1 star rank Commodore, and was situated in the Naval Combatant Headquarters (NHQ) in Karachi.[2] Ahsan established the Logistics Command as Pakistan Navy had suffered logistics problems that were absent in East and West Pakistan.[2] He established the Karachi Naval Logistic base, known as COMLOG, and served its first commander.[2] In 1957, he was made Commander of Pakistan Fleet (COMPAK).[2] As commander of COMLOG, he also supervised the navy-led projects and supervise the construction of Naval Operation Headquarters in Karachi. However in 1961, Ahsan was made Director-General of the Naval Intelligence and established the naval intelligence unit within the navy. In 1964, Ahsan was promoted to 2 star rank of Rear Admiral and was situated in Ayub Khan's Presidential office. He was the principal military secretary to Ayub Khan, Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army and President at the same.[7] At short span of time, Rear-Admiral Ahsan gained influence on President Ayub Khan and advising him on important military issues.[7] Ahsan was presented at every meeting chaired by President Ayub Khan and played an major role in Ayub Khan's decision on military affairs.[7] Ahsan also played an influential role in the establishment of Pakistan's Eastern Military High Command.[7] Ahsan was opposed of any military action against Bengalis of East-Pakistan, therefore, he kept preventing Khan from taking military actions in East Pakistan despite the calls were made.[7]
Following the failure of airborne operation, codename Operation Gibraltar, in Kashmir, India attacked Pakistan and a second war was fought between India and Pakistan. As Director-General of Naval Intelligence, Ahsan planned the naval operation Operation Somnath at Dwarka and selected a combatant fleet to conduct the operation. The operation met with mixed results but it had prevented the Indian Air Force to conduct raids in Karachi. A series of naval operations were conducted under his command and passed intels to Pakistan Armed Forces stationed at the harbor, and prevented Indian Armed Forces to launch the naval operations in Pakistan's coastal areas. As director-general of Naval Intelligence, Ahsan gathered the successful intelligence reports on the Indian Navy's strategic western naval positions, and orchestrated naval operations against the Indian Navy. In 1965, after the war ended, Ayub Khan awarded him the highest hierarchy award Star of Pakistan, making him the only naval officer to win the award. He was promoted to the [[3 star rank
3 star officer]] rank, a Vice-Admiral. After the war, Ayub Khan personally appointed him as the 4th Chief of Naval of Pakistan Navy on October 20, 1966, nearly a year after the war with India in September 1965.[8]
As he assumed the command, his tenure saw the induction of Hangor in the Naval Submarine Service Branch (SSB). As Chief of Naval Staff, he modernized the Pakistan Navy and created an Intelligence circle in the Pakistan Navy. He also expanded the navy's operations throughout the country, and established a well-maintained Naval Intelligence Directorate, directly reporting to him. In 1966, he accepted the recommendation from United States Navy and established the Naval Special Service Group, an equivalent organization to that of U.S. Navy SEALs. He also established the Naval Academy in Karachi, and also served as the as Board of Governors of Cadet College Petaro from 1966–1968.[9]
Vice Admiral Ahsan is also credited for founding Port Qasim – Pakistan's second port after exploring the coast around Phitti Creek in the late 1960. He immediately met with then Energy Minister Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto where he had convincing Mr. Bhutto in 1972 to locate the port there. After convincing Bhutto, he had supervised the construction and establishment of the port where he had set up the main industries and machineries at the Port. The main channel of this port bears his name.
Upon his relieved as Chief of Naval Staff of the Navy at the end of August 1969, Chief Martial Law Administrator and Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army General Yahya Khan appointed him to become the Governor and Martial Law Administrator of East-Pakistan on 1 September of 1969, as Ayub Khan had requested his brother for the appointment. The assignment was considered high difficult for the Pakistan High Military Command, and many high command officers from Pakistan Armed Forces were highly cautious about their appointment in East-Pakistan. The crises in East Pakistan was at its peak and situation was deteriorated under the Military administration of Major-General Muzaffaruddin. Therefore, the Pakistan High Military Combatant Command handed over the control of the province to an active uniformed admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan. As tradition, the Commanders of the Services were expected to retired from their services once they had complete their tenure. However, Vice-Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan was not given retirement from the navy, instead was given a command assignment that was considered very difficult. On 1 September of 1969, Admiral Ahsan assumed the control of the East contingent when he arrived. He was the unified commander of the Pakistan Combatant Forces with both political and military powers in his hand. As military administrator of East Pakistan, Admiral S.M. Ahsan tried to led the solution for the East Pakistan crisis, continuously meeting General Yahya Khan, and the political leadership at both East and West Pakistan. During the time, he was made military administrator, the country had been in turmoil with riots and disturbances all over the country (East and West Pakistan) against the rule of former President Field Marshal Ayub Khan.
It was in his charged atmosphere that elections were held in the country in December 1970. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Awami League was the clear victor having secured more than 39.2% of the seats in the Parliament. This was a shock to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who ended up with around 18.6% of the seats — all from West Pakistan. Bhutto refused to accept a government led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman which led to the disastrous action by Pakistan Army in East Pakistan, and the eventual independence of Bangladesh after the Indian invasion in December 1971.
Admiral Ahsan was opposed to any military action in East Pakistan. In an article titled A nation's shame published in the Newsline magazine of September 2000, the author states:
"But who was responsible for creating this hostile atmosphere and hatred among the people? The situation deteriorated further after General Yahya Khan postponed the first session of the newly elected constituent assembly. It became very clear immediately after the election results that the generals were not prepared to transfer power to the Awami League. First the delay in summoning the National Assembly session and later its postponement confirmed the Bengalis' worst fears, that the election results were not acceptable both to the generals and to the majority of West Pakistani politicians. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto publicly called for a boycott of the assembly session. Such a transgression was bound to further fuel public resentment".
"The anti-Bengali bias of the military leadership was very obvious. There was no representation from East Pakistan in the decision-making forums".
In his statement before the Commission, Admiral Ahsan, the former governor of East Pakistan, aptly described the hostile mood of the military leadership when they decided to postpone the assembly session and launch a military operation in the eastern province. 'On arrival in Rawalpindi I was alarmed to notice the high tide of militarism flowing turbulently.... There was open talk of a military solution according to plan ', maintained Admiral Ahsan. 'I was caught quite unaware in this atmosphere for I know of no military solution which could possibly solve whatever crisis was supposed to be impending in the minds of the authorities.'
" It was evident from the statement that the decision to launch a military operation was taken without consulting the governor of East Pakistan who was the only sane voice in the government. Ahsan went on to describe the atmosphere at a crucial high-level meeting in Rawalpindi on February 22, 1971 ".
" The president presided over the meeting of the governors and martial law administrators attended as usual by the military and the civilian officers of the intelligence agencies. It is relevant to record that among the tribe of governors and MLAs I was the only non-army governor and the only retired officer in the midst of active service men. I was the only person, though a non-Bengali, who had to represent the sentiments of seventy million Bengalis to a completely West Pakistani generalship", said Admiral Ahsan. 'During the past 17 months, in meetings and conferences, my brief ran counter to the cut-and-dried solutions of West Pakistan representatives and civil servants. The president invariably gave decisions which accommodated East Pakistan's viewpoint, at least partially. This made me unpopular with my colleagues who probably thought I was 'difficult' at best and 'sold' to the Bengalis at worst.'[10]
Resignation and Legacy
Due to his opposition to the apparent planned military operation, Vice-Admiral Ahsan resigned from his position as Martial Law Administrator of East Pakistan on 7 March, 1971, less than three weeks before the military action. He immediately flew to West Pakistan and moved to Karachi where he lived a very quiet life. Upon Ahsan's return, he reported to Naval Combatant Headquarters in Karachi. Therefore, he received honorary retirement from the navy. Admiral Ahsan is also credited for founding Port Qasim- Pakistan's second port after exploring the coast around Phitti Creek in the late 60's and convincing Mr Bhutto in 1972 to locate the port there. The main channel of this port bears his name.The late Benazir Bhutto acknowledged Ahsan as the founder of Port Qasim at a speech on the occasion of the opening of a new terminal at PQA on 4 August 1989.Ahsan also served as Chairman of the National Shipping Corporation between 1975–76.
Ahsan's years immediately preceding his death were quiet ones. He learnt French and played bridge.[11][12][13]
Honors
For his services and honors, Pakistan Navy, in the honor and recognition of Vice-Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan, commissioned an intelligence and naval base on 30 October1991, known as PNS Ahsan. The base was given commissioned by Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Yastur-ul-Haq Malik.
References
^ abcCowasjee, Ardeshir (Sunday of the September 25, 2005). "Sayeed of Singapore"(HTML). Ardeshir Cowasjee. Ardeshir Cowasjee. Retrieved 2011. ((cite web)): Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ abcdefghijklPervaiz Iqbal Cheema. The Armed Forces of Pakistan: The Pakistan Navy, New York: New York University Press. 2003. pp. 86~90
^ abWin Carruthers (1999.). "Mohammad Ahsan and Lord Mountbatten"(HTML). Win. Win Carruthers. Retrieved 2011. ((cite web)): Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)Cite error: The named reference "Win Carruthers" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
^ abcdeShafiullah, PA, Major-General K.M., "The Establishment of Eastern High Command.", Bangladesh at War, Agamee Prakshani, pp. 26–31, ISBN9-844-01322-4.((citation)): Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |chapterurl= and |month= (help)
Pakistan
Pakistan Navy
Vice-Admiral
