Naseerullah Babar
Encyclopedia
Major-General Naseerullah Khan Babar (Urdu: نصيرالله خان بابر; born 1928—10 January 2011), SJ
, HJ, was a retired 2-star rank general officer in the Pakistan Army
, and later career military officer-turned statesman from the leftist democratic soclialist
, the Pakistan Peoples Party
. In 1975, Babar took the early voluntarily retirement from the Pakistan Army
to start his political career and joined the Pakistan Peoples Party immediately after retiring. A leading member of Pakistan People's Party, Babar was born in Pirpiai, North-West Frontier Province, British Indian Empire. His family is from the Babar
tribe of Pakhtuns and hails from the village of Pirpiai in district Nowshera
.
Having started his career in 1948, Babar rose to became a 2-star general and led Frontier Corps
as its Commandant in 1974. During 1974, Babar was tasked to fund and train Afghan mujahedin, by the order of Bhutto, in order to suppressed the government of Davood Khan, and disbandment of Pashtunistan
policies led by the government of Davood Khan. This operation was a complete and produced an ultimate success, and Baber proceeded to retire from the army, in order to start his career in politics. However, the operation takes new direction when he became governor of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa from 1975–1977 under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's government until his term was cut short due to Operation Fair Play
— a clandestine operation undertook to remove Bhutto. In 1988, Babar was the "Special Advisor on Internal Affairs" in Benazir Bhutto's first government and between 1993 till 1996, Babar was appointed and tenured as the Interior Minister during Benazir Bhutto
's second government where he supervised and successfully contended the Operation Blue Fox.
between 1935 to 1939. From 1939 to 1941 he attended Burn Hall School
then located at Srinagar
. The school was subsequently shifted to Abbottabad
after Partition. He also attended Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College in Dheradun and joined the Pakistan Army in 1948.
He was part of the first PMA long course which graduated in 1950.
Corps and Aviation. During the 1965 war with India, Babar single handedly captured an entire Indian company of soldiers (over 70 POWs) and was awarded Sitara-e-Jurat
for this action.
In the 1971 war, he commanded an artillery brigade in support of 23 Division and later commanded an infantry brigade until he was wounded and evacuated from the battlefield. He also had the distinction of having been awarded SJ & Bar. In 1972, he was appointed Inspector General Frontier Corps
. He resigned from the Army in 1974 while commanding an infantry division and was appointed Governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
. On October 22, 2011, the family of Naseerullah Babar officially announced their withdrawal from PPP and during a press conference with the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, formally joined PTI.
from Chitral during the preceding elections.
Elected in the 1993 general election on a People's Party Ticket from Nowshera he defeated Awami National Party
President Ajmal Khattak
, with the PPP's victory in the election and was appointed Federal Minister for the Interior by Benazir Bhutto.
It is believed that General Naseerullah Babar was one of the major proponents of backing what eventually became the Taliban. This support was driven by a desire to influence the future of Afghanistan
, and to provide some stability on Pakistan's Western border.
General Babar was also involved in a crackdown on MQM. This operation was very controversial.From the second quarter of 1996, Karachi became governable yet the political process to remove the grievances of people in urban Sindh was not launched.
's nominee Ejaz Shafi.
Contesting again in the 2002 general elections he was defeated in the electoral sweep of the religo-political alliance the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, mainly due to Musharaff's goals of bringing Islamists in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan to power.
In October 2007, he left the Pakistan Peoples Party due to his disagreement with Benazir Bhutto over her support for General Pervez Musharraf. This action was considered as a major blow for the Pakistan Peoples Party because he was their major political leader in the Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa.
Sitara-e-Jurat
Sitara-e-Jurat is the third highest military award of Pakistan. It was established in 1957 after Pakistan became a Republic; however, it was instituted retrospectively back to 1947...
, HJ, was a retired 2-star rank general officer in the Pakistan Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
, and later career military officer-turned statesman from the leftist democratic soclialist
Democratic socialism
Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation...
, the Pakistan Peoples Party
Pakistan Peoples Party
The Pakistan Peoples Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International. Pakistan People's Party is the largest political party of Pakistan...
. In 1975, Babar took the early voluntarily retirement from the Pakistan Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
to start his political career and joined the Pakistan Peoples Party immediately after retiring. A leading member of Pakistan People's Party, Babar was born in Pirpiai, North-West Frontier Province, British Indian Empire. His family is from the Babar
Babar (tribe)
The Babar tribe is a Pakhtun tribe descending from Sarban, a son of Qais Abdur Rashid along with other tribes such as the Yusafzais, Tareens, Durranis and Mohmands....
tribe of Pakhtuns and hails from the village of Pirpiai in district Nowshera
Nowshera District
Nowshera is a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan - the principal city is Nowshera. Nowshera District is divided into 47 Union Councils and 5 provincial seats....
.
Having started his career in 1948, Babar rose to became a 2-star general and led Frontier Corps
Frontier Corps
The Frontier Corps is a federally-controlled paramilitary force of Pakistan, recruited mostly from the tribal areas along the western borders and led by officers from the Pakistan Army...
as its Commandant in 1974. During 1974, Babar was tasked to fund and train Afghan mujahedin, by the order of Bhutto, in order to suppressed the government of Davood Khan, and disbandment of Pashtunistan
Pashtunistan
Pakhtunistan or Pashtunistan, meaning the "land of Pakhtuns" or "land of Pashtuns", is a modern term used for the historical region inhabited by the native Afghans or Pashtun since at least the 1st millennium BC...
policies led by the government of Davood Khan. This operation was a complete and produced an ultimate success, and Baber proceeded to retire from the army, in order to start his career in politics. However, the operation takes new direction when he became governor of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa from 1975–1977 under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's government until his term was cut short due to Operation Fair Play
Operation Fair Play
Operation Fairplay was the code-name for the coup d'etat conducted at midnight on July 4, 1977 by the Pakistan Army's 111th Infantry Brigade led by Chief of Army Staff General Zia-ul-Haq against the elected civilian government of then-Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.-1977 election:The coup was...
— a clandestine operation undertook to remove Bhutto. In 1988, Babar was the "Special Advisor on Internal Affairs" in Benazir Bhutto's first government and between 1993 till 1996, Babar was appointed and tenured as the Interior Minister during Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
's second government where he supervised and successfully contended the Operation Blue Fox.
Early education
Babar's early education was from Presentation Convent School, PeshawarPresentation Convent School, Peshawar
Presentation Convent School, Peshawar, was founded by the Presentation Sisters and is regulated by the Catholic Board of Education under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi....
between 1935 to 1939. From 1939 to 1941 he attended Burn Hall School
Burn Hall School
Burn Hall School is a missionary school for boys situated in Srinagar, India, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The school was established by the Mill Hill fathers/missionaries of Ireland....
then located at Srinagar
Srinagar
Srinagar is the summer seasonal capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. It is one of the largest cities in India not to have a Hindu majority. The city is famous for its gardens, lakes and houseboats...
. The school was subsequently shifted to Abbottabad
Abbottabad
Abbottabad is a city located in the Hazara region of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in Pakistan. The city is situated in the Orash Valley, northeast of the capital Islamabad and east of Peshawar at an altitude of and is the capital of the Abbottabad District...
after Partition. He also attended Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College in Dheradun and joined the Pakistan Army in 1948.
He was part of the first PMA long course which graduated in 1950.
Army career and Indo-Pakistani Wars
In his long career in the Army, Babar served in the ArtilleryArtillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
Corps and Aviation. During the 1965 war with India, Babar single handedly captured an entire Indian company of soldiers (over 70 POWs) and was awarded Sitara-e-Jurat
Sitara-e-Jurat
Sitara-e-Jurat is the third highest military award of Pakistan. It was established in 1957 after Pakistan became a Republic; however, it was instituted retrospectively back to 1947...
for this action.
In the 1971 war, he commanded an artillery brigade in support of 23 Division and later commanded an infantry brigade until he was wounded and evacuated from the battlefield. He also had the distinction of having been awarded SJ & Bar. In 1972, he was appointed Inspector General Frontier Corps
Frontier Corps
The Frontier Corps is a federally-controlled paramilitary force of Pakistan, recruited mostly from the tribal areas along the western borders and led by officers from the Pakistan Army...
. He resigned from the Army in 1974 while commanding an infantry division and was appointed Governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Joining the PPP
Babar joined the Pakistan People's Party (the PPP) in 1977 after the arrest of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. He famously threw away his Hilal i Jurat (with bar) and other army medals at the presiding officer of a military tribunal, when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged by the military regime of General Muhammad Zia-ul-HaqMuhammad Zia-ul-Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq , was the 4th Chief Martial Law Administrator and the sixth President of Pakistan from July 1977 to his death in August 1988...
. On October 22, 2011, the family of Naseerullah Babar officially announced their withdrawal from PPP and during a press conference with the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, formally joined PTI.
Assassination of Sheikh Abdullah Azzam
Naseerullah Babar became the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 1988. He extradited some 100 Egyptians to Cairo. Also believed to have played a role in the assassination of Palestinian-Afghan Mujahideen leader Sheikh Abdullah Yusuf Azzam in Peshawar on November 24, 1989 in a car bomb killing him and his two sons.Interior Minister 1993–1996
In 1988, Babar was a Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto and successfully ran the election for Begum Nusrat BhuttoNusrat Bhutto
Begum Nusrat Bhutto was an Iranian-Pakistani who was the wife of the 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, serving as the First Lady of Pakistan during his premiership from 1971 until Bhutto's removal in 1977. She became her husband's successor as the chairman of the Pakistan Peoples...
from Chitral during the preceding elections.
Elected in the 1993 general election on a People's Party Ticket from Nowshera he defeated Awami National Party
Awami National Party
The Awami National Party is an Pashtun nationalist, socialist, centre-left political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International...
President Ajmal Khattak
Ajmal Khattak
Ajmal Khattak was a Pakistani politician, writer, Pashtun poet, Khudai Khidmatgar, former President of Awami National Party and close friend of the late Khan Wali Khan....
, with the PPP's victory in the election and was appointed Federal Minister for the Interior by Benazir Bhutto.
It is believed that General Naseerullah Babar was one of the major proponents of backing what eventually became the Taliban. This support was driven by a desire to influence the future of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, and to provide some stability on Pakistan's Western border.
General Babar was also involved in a crackdown on MQM. This operation was very controversial.From the second quarter of 1996, Karachi became governable yet the political process to remove the grievances of people in urban Sindh was not launched.
1997 and onwards
After the dismissal of Benazir Bhutto's second government by Farooq Leghari, Babar contested the 1997 elections again from Nowshera as well as from Karachi. He was defeated in Nowshera by ANP candidate Wali Muhammad Khan and from Karachi by Nawaz SharifNawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
's nominee Ejaz Shafi.
Contesting again in the 2002 general elections he was defeated in the electoral sweep of the religo-political alliance the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, mainly due to Musharaff's goals of bringing Islamists in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan to power.
In October 2007, he left the Pakistan Peoples Party due to his disagreement with Benazir Bhutto over her support for General Pervez Musharraf. This action was considered as a major blow for the Pakistan Peoples Party because he was their major political leader in the Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa.