used for forced coastal assault mine breechings by the Japanese in their attacks on Pacific

Islands -Major General Abrar Hussain ,HJ,MBE

Agha H Amin

Friday, September 9, 2011

Major General Abrar Hussain ,HJ,MBE

Major General Abrar Hussain ,HJ,MBE was an outstanding officer of pre 1947
British Indian Army and Pakistan Army.
 Born at Lucknow in on 2nd September 1918,Abrar hailed from a landed family
(Talukdar Family).

Educated at La Martniere School , Colvin Talukdars Colleges and Allahabad

University Abrar was a graduate of University of Allahabad.
He joined the Indian Military Academy Dera Dun and was commissioned on 31
July 1940 in 2nd Battalion of 10th Baluch regiment presently 7 Baluch of
Pakistan Army.

Abrar saw action in Malaya and at Singapore where he was taken as a prisoner of
war by the Japanese.

He was offered a commission in the Indian National Army by the Japanese which
he refused .

He was then sent along with Gurkhas and used for forced coastal assault mine
breechings by the Japanese in their attacks on Pacific Islands.His conduct again
was exemplary and at time of Japanese surrender he was discovered by a
relieving Australian force on New Britain Island in the Pacific in December 1945.

Abrar was declared an MBE (Member of British Empire ) for his exemplary and
most gallant conduct.

In 1947 he opted for the Pakistan Army.

He commanded the 17 Baluch and also served as Military Secretary.

 In 1964 he was promoted major general and tasked to upgrade the 100
armoured brigade into 6 Armoured Division.

Abrars conduct as 6 Armoured Division Commnader was outstanding and he was

awarded the Hilal i Jurrat.
 Ironically despite outstanding war performance Abrar was sidelined and not
promoted to three star rank by General Yahya Khan with whom he had some
professional differences.

He was not promoted and sent to the command and staff college as commandant
in 1968 from where he asked for retirement disgusted with the ham handed
manner in which he had been treated.
Interestingly the Pakistani DMI Irshaad and Brigadier AAK Niazi were promoted
to three star rank.Irshaad had been a failure as DMI and again proved a failure as
commander 1 Corps.

He settled in Rawalpindi into civilian life and tragically suffered a stroke in 1975
as a a result of which he was partially paralysed.

He died in 1992.

General Abrar , Hayauddin and Pirzadas wives were sisters I am told.Abrar did
not have any male issue.

His younger brother Brigadier Nur Hussain was a director of the ISSI .

Sadly long after his death his true role in Pakistani military history was
recognised only in 2003 when a book of his war despatches was published by the
Pakistani GHQ.

It is an irony of Pakistani military history that some other generals who perhaps
were far more dashing than Abrar like Major General Eftikhar Khan are
unrecognised till today because they belonged to a minority sect.

Others like Tajammul Hussain Malik and Akbar Khan are recognised because
they were rebels against a rotten Pakistani government

For a scientific and dispassionate examination of the arbitrary and ham handed
manner in which promotions were and are done in Pakstan Army see the article
below