Tajammul Hussain Malik

Tajammul Hussain Malik (June 13, 1924 – 2003 ) was a senior officer in the Pakistan Army and the former General Officer Commanding of the 23rd Division of Pakistan Army, retiring with the rank of major general. He was the commanding officer of Pakistani forces at the Battle of Hilli during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971, and headed a failed coup attempt against the regime of Zia-ul-Haq in 1980 which resulted in a court-martial held by Judge Advocate General Branch of Pakistan Armed Forces headed by General Zia-ul-Haq.

Career

Tajammul Hussain Malik, from the Awan tribe, was born on June 13, 1924, in the Chakwal District in the Punjab province and became a career officer in the British Indian Army, 7 Rajput Regiment, later joining the army of the new state of Pakistan in 1947. He had participated in Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 and the 1965 War - Battle of Batapur. In 1969, he was promoted as Brigadier, and, in October 1971, he was posted as Director of Staff Duties (DSD) at the General Headquarters. From there, at his personal request to volunteer to fight in East Pakistan, he was posted to 205 Brigade deployed on the Hilli-Bogra Front. He joined the brigade on November 20, 1971, deployed at Hilli in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

During the war, he was cited for a live award of Nishan-e-Haider (the highest award for valour in the Pakistani Armed Forces); Malik's unit continued fighting even after Pakistani forces formally surrendered to Indian forces in Dhaka.

Coup attempt

After his release and repatriation to Pakistan and having undergone the Hamoodur Rehman Commission inquiry, he held the command of 23rd Division in Jhelum as a major general. However, he was retired by a military tribunal of the Judge Advocate General Branch headed by Army Chief General Zia-ul-Haq over accusations of attempting to overthrow the government of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and install a government headed by General Tajammul in its place. He published his autobiography, The Story Of My Struggle, in 1991.