File:Yahya_Khan_portrait.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Yahya Khan
Sign in to saveAlso known as Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan Qizilbash, Yahya Khan Qizilbash, Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan
former Pakistani president (1917–1980)
Yahya Khan was a Pakistani military leader who served as the country's president from 1969 to 1971 during a period of political instability. His tenure is historically significant because it coincided with the Bangladesh Liberation War and the separation of East and West Pakistan, which fundamentally reshaped the region's political geography.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Muhammad
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- British Raj
- Place of birth
- Chakwal
- Place of death
- Rawalpindi
- Occupation
- military personnel
- Educated at
- Indian Military Academy
- Languages spoken
- Urdu
- Native language
- Urdu
- Religion
- Islam
- Conflict
- World War II
- Military branch
- British Indian Army
- Military rank
- general
- Image
- Yahya Khan (cropped version).jpg
Show 9 more facts
- Commons category
- Yahya Khan
- date of birth
- 1917-02-04
- date of death
- 1980-08-10
- topic's main category
- Category:Yahya Khan
- name in native language
- آغا محمد یحیی خان
- place of burial
- Peshawar
- start of work period
- 1939-00-00
- end of work period
- 1971-00-00
- P12749
- Retkinia
via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan (4 February 1917 – 10 August 1980) was a Pakistani general who served as the third president of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971, under martial law. His presidency oversaw a civil war in East Pakistan, resulting in Bangladesh's secession. He also served as the fifth commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army from 1966 to 1971.
Khan was commissioned into the British Indian Army in 1939 and fought in the Second World War in the Mediterranean theatre. Following the partition of British India, he joined the Pakistan Army and was placed in charge of organising the Staff College in Quetta. In 1965, he played a vital role in executing Operation Grand Slam in Indian-administered Kashmir during the second Indo-Pakistani war and was assigned to assume the command of the army in September 1966 by President Ayub Khan. In the wake of nationwide protests against Ayub Khan's government, he resigned from the presidency and transferred authority to Yahya Khan in March 1969.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Yahya Khan” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.