Bakhtiar Rana

Bakhtiar Rana
Died Lahore, Pakistan 1999
Buried at Lahore, Pakistan
Allegiance  Pakistan
Service/branch Pakistan Army
Years of service 1947 – 1966
Rank Lieutenant General
Commands held I Corps
Frontier Corps
Battles/wars

Lieutenant General Bakhtiar Rana, M.C., was a senior officer in the Pakistan Army. He was Chief Martial Law Administrator (West Pakistan). As a Lieutenant General, he commanded one of Pakistan Army's strike corps, I Corps, as its Corps Commander from 1958 to 1966. As a Brigadier, he commanded the Frontier Corps as its Inspector-General from 1953 to 1955.[1]

Early life

Bakhtiar Rana was born in a Muslim Naru Rajput family in Hoshiarpur British India. His father, Rana Talia Muhammad Khan, was a former British Indian Army officer[2] and the first Muslim Inspector-General of Police in British India, serving as Inspector-General of Patiala State[3] and the North-West Frontier Province. Earlier, he served famously as Superintendent of Police, Kohat and District Officer, Frontier Constabulary, Hangu.[4]

Military career

British Indian Army

Bakhtiar Rana was trained at the Indian Military Academy and was commissioned in the British Indian Army in the Frontier Force Regiment, known as the "Piffers". His unit was "1 FF". He fought in the Second World War in the Middle East and was awarded the Military Cross, the third highest gallantry award of the British Empire.

Pakistan Army

After the creation of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, the Frontier Force Regiment was allocated to Pakistan and Bakhtiar Rana joined the newly established Pakistan Army and helped in its formation.

As a Brigadier, he commanded the Frontier Corps as its Inspector-General from 1953 to 1955. Lt. Gen. Bakhtiar Rana and his son, Major General Ghaziuddin Rana, who also commanded the Frontier Corps from 1988 to 1990, remain, to this day, the only father and son to have commanded the Frontier Corps.[5]

As a Lieutenant General, he commanded one of Pakistan Army's strike corps, I Corps, as its Corps Commander from 1958 to 1966. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Lt. Gen. Bakhtiar Rana was the only lieutenant general commanding a corps, namely 1 Corps, and he was one of only two lieutenant generals in the Pakistan Army during the war, the other being Lt. Gen. Altaf Qadir, who was on deputation to the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO).[6]

Family

Lt. Gen. Bakhtiar Rana had two sons and one daughter. Both his sons, Ghaziuddin Rana and Salahuddin Rana, joined the Pakistan Army and rose to the ranks of Major General and Brigadier respectively. His older son, Salahuddin Rana, also served as his Aide-de-camp. Lt. Gen. Bakhtiar Rana's sister, Begum Akhtar Sultan, was married to Amir Habibullah Khan Saadi and his daughter, Talat, was married to the grandson of Chaudhry Niaz Ali Khan.

Death

Lt. Gen. Bakhtiar Rana died in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1999.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.khyber.org/pashtohistory/frontiercorps/frontiercorps.shtml
  2. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36866. p. 12. 29 December 1944.
  3. ↑ Studies in History (Volume 1, Issue 2), Jawaharlal Nehru University, Centre for Historical Studies, New Delhi: Vikas Pub. House (1979), p. 231
  4. ↑ J. A. Robinson, Notes on Nomad Tribes of Eastern Afghanistan, Gosha-e-Adam, 1978, p. 187
  5. ↑ http://www.khyber.org/pashtohistory/frontiercorps/frontiercorps.shtml
  6. ↑ http://ia.rediff.com/news/2005/sep/09war1.htm

External links

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