MyronMullet1862 at 15:19, 11 January 2026

2026-01-11T15:19:29Z

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{{Short description|Pakistan Army general (1909–1949)}}
{{about||the Mughal governor|Iftikhar Khan (governor)}}
{{Distinguish|Iftikhar Khan Janjua}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| native_name = محمد افتخار خان
| name = Mohammad Iftikhar Khan
| nickname = ''Ifti''<ref name="FT">{{cite news |date=27 December 2019 |title=A 1949 Air Crash that may have Changed Pakistan's History |work=The Friday Times |url=https://www.thefridaytimes.com/2019/12/27/a-1949-air-crash-that-may-have-changed-pakistans-history/|access-date=22 June 2023}}</ref>
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1909|01|10}}
| birth_place = [[Chakwal]], [[Punjab Province (British India)]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1949|12|13|1909|01|10}}
| death_place = Karo Jabal mountain, [[Sindh]], [[Dominion of Pakistan]]
| death_cause = [[List of accidents and incidents involving the DC-3 in 1949#December|Pakair C-53 crash]]
| office = [[General officer commanding|GOC]] [[Structure of the Pakistan Army#Corps|10th Infantry Division]] [[Lahore]]
| term_start = 1 January 1948
| term_end = 13 December 1949
| office1 = [[Commanding officer|Commanding Officer]] [[7th Light Cavalry#World War II|7th Light Cavalry]] to [[Occupation of Japan]]
| term_start1 = 12 September 1946
| term_end1 = December 1946
| office2 = [[Second-in-command|2IC]] [[45th Cavalry (India)|45th Cavalry]]
| term_start2 = 1945
| term_end2 = 11 September 1946
| office3 = [[Staff (military)#Commonwealth staff system|General Staff Officer Grade II]] [[Pakistan Command and Staff College|Army Staff College]]
| term_start3 = July 1943
| term_end3 = April 1944
| office4 = [[Staff (military)#Commonwealth staff system|General Staff Officer Grade II]] Ceylon Army Command Headquarters
| term_start4 = January 1943
| term_end4 = July 1943
| office5 = [[Indian Army Armoured Corps|No.2 Indian Armoured Corps Training Center]]
| term_start5 = 17 December 1941
| term_end5 = January 1943
| office6 = Regimental [[Adjutant]]
| term_start6 = 19 April 1938
| term_end6 = 5 August 1940
| office7 = Regimental [[Quartermaster]]
| term_start7 = 1 August 1937
| term_end7 = 18 April 1938
| image = Geniftikhar.jpg
| caption = Official military portrait
| spouse = Begum Iftikhar
| allegiance = {{flag|British India}} {{small|(1929-1947)}} {{flag|Pakistan}} {{small|(1947-1949)}}
| branch = {{army|British India}} {{small|(1929-1947)}} {{army|PAK}} {{small|(1947-1949)}}
| serviceyears = 1929–1949
| unit = [[Manchester Regiment|2nd Battalion Manchester Regiment]] {{small|(1929-1930)}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.284996/page/n275/mode/2up?q=Iftikhar+Khan | title=Indian Army List for July -1930 | date=1930 }}</ref> [[7th Light Cavalry]] [[3rd Cavalry (India)|3rd Cavalry]]
| rank = [[File:OF-7_Pakistan_Army.svg|20px]] [[File:US-O8 insignia.svg|15px]] [[Major General]]
| commands = {{ubl|[[7th Light Cavalry]] | [[Structure of the Pakistan Army#Corps|10th Infantry Division]]}}
| battles = {{ubl|[[World War II]]|[[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947]]}}
| relations = [[Muhammed Akbar Khan]] (brother) [[Muhammad Anwar Khan]] (brother) [[Muhammed Zafar Khan]] (brother) [[Masud Khan]] (brother)
| education = *[[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
*Joint Services Staff Course {{small|([[United Kingdom|UK]])}}
| awards =
| honorific_prefix = [[Major General]]
}}
'''Mohammad Iftikhar Khan''' {{small|[[psc (military)|psc]]}} ({{Langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|محمد افتخار خان}}}}; 10 January 1909 — 13 December 1949) also known as ''Ifti'', was a [[two-star rank|two-star]] general in the [[Pakistan Army]] serving as [[General officer commanding|GOC]] 10th Division. Prior to the [[Partition of India|Partition of British India]], he was an officer in the [[British Indian Army]]. He was the most senior to succeed General [[Douglas Gracey]] as the [[Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army]], but was killed in a [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain|C-53]] [[List of accidents and incidents involving the DC-3 in 1949#December|crash]] with 22 others, including his wife and infant daughter before he could take office leading to [[Ayub Khan]] being appointed instead.<ref name="SMH">{{cite news |title=29 KILLED IN AIR CRASHES|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/18145933/1032061|work=trove.nla.gov.au|date=14 December 1949}}</ref><ref name="IE">{{cite book|last1=Reuter|first1=PTI|title=TWO PAK. GENERALS & 23 OTHERS BELIEVED KILLED IN AIR CRASH|date=14 December 1949|publisher=Indian Express|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=msU-AAAAIBAJ&dq=mohammad+iftikhar+khan&pg=PA1&article_id=6330,7294452|language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|Jalal, Struggle for Pakistan|2014|p=79}}<ref name="FT" />

[[Sher Ali Khan Pataudi|Pataudi]], a close friend of Iftikhar, claimed that Iftikhar was concerned about the politicization of officers and he distrusted politicians. According to him, Iftikhar once stated that ‘it would be better for both of us if we both got out before our hands were stained and garments polluted’. Additionally, [[Sher Ali Khan Pataudi|Pataudi]] believed that if Iftikhar had lived to be [[Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army|C-in-C]], "he would not have allowed the Army to be used for political purposes and ‘would have never used his position as [[Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army|C-in-C]], to come into power through the Army".<ref name="SP">{{Cite book| title=The Story of Soldiering and Politics in India and Pakistan| author1=Muhammad Sher Ali Khan| year=1978|publisher=Wajidalis|language=English}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Iftikhar was born on 10 January 1909 into a family which belonged to the Punjabi [[Minhas]] [[Rajput]] clan of [[Chakwal]].<ref name="SP" /><ref>{{cite web | url=https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/88742572 | title=(552) - Army lists > Half-yearly Army lists 1923 - Feb 1950 (From 1947, annual, despite the name) > 1938 > Second half - British Military lists - National Library of Scotland }}</ref>

===Family===
His father was Sardar Bahadur [[Ressaidar]] Raja Fazal Dad Khan, who was a [[Zamindar]] and had served as a [[Viceroy's Commissioned Officer]] with the [[12th Cavalry (Frontier Force)|12th Cavalry Unit]] of the [[British Indian Army]].

Iftikhar had nine brothers and four sisters. Six brothers including Iftikhar were in the army, namely Major General [[Muhammed Akbar Khan]], Major General [[Muhammad Anwar Khan]], Brigadier Muhammad Afzal, Brigadier [[Muhammed Zafar Khan]], and Brigadier Muhammad Yusuf Khan. The three other brothers Baqir Khan, Tahir Khan, and [[Masud Khan]] chose civilian careers.<ref>Linda B. Hopkins, ''False Self: The Life of Masud Khan''</ref>

==Personal life==
He was married to Begum Iftikhar, a [[Parsis|Parsi]] woman who was the number one woman rider in [[India]].<ref name="SP"/>

===Personality===
[[Major General]] [[Sher Ali Khan Pataudi]], recalled that Iftikhar was professionally sound, well read and highly intelligent. He added that Iftikhar was a shy person and people wrongfully assumed he was conceited.<ref name="SP" />

He was amongst a group of officers who were more tolerable to the British than the rest because they were [[Anglicisation|anglicized]]. [[Syed Shahid Hamid]] stated that Iftikhar was "more English than the English themselves and looked down on everything native".

[[Major General]] Shaukat Riza credited Iftikhar in his book, ''The Pakistan Army 1947-49'', as “a handsome and forceful character who was never slowed by obstacles”.

[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]] Mohammad Yusuf, who was concurrently adjutant of 7th Light Cavalry remembered Iftikhar as “a fine horseman and a strict adjutant.”

[[Major General]] [[Aboobaker Osman Mitha|A.O. Mitha]], the founder of Pakistan's [[Special Service Group]], in his book ''Unlikely Beginnings: a Soldier’s Life'' recalls that “Iftikhar was a tough commander and had the reputation of eating a brigadier or a colonel for breakfast every day. However, he was big enough to tolerate outspoken, forceful subordinates”.<ref name="FT" />

== Military career ==
On 29 August 1929, after attending the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]], Iftikhar was commissioned as a second lieutenant on the Unattached List for the [[British Indian Army]].<ref>[[The London Gazette]], 30 August 1929, page 5646</ref> He then spent a year on attachment to the 2nd Battalion of the [[Manchester Regiment]].<ref>July 1930 Indian Army List</ref>

=== British Indian Army ===
Khan transferred to the Indian Army on 16 October 1930 and was posted to the [[7th Light Cavalry]].<ref>January 1931 Indian Army List</ref> He was promoted to lieutenant on 29 November 1931.<ref name="April 1934 Indian Army List">April 1934 Indian Army List</ref>

He then transferred to the [[3rd Cavalry (India)|3rd Cavalry]] on 1 October 1932, a regiment which was in the process of being Indianised.<ref name="April 1934 Indian Army List"/>

He was promoted to captain on 29 August 1938 and served as regimental quartermaster from 1 August 1937 to 18 April 1938, then as regimental Adjutant from 19 April 1938 to 5 August 1940.<ref>October 1937 Indian Army List</ref><ref>July 1940 Indian Army List</ref><ref name="January 1941 Indian Army List">January 1941 Indian Army List</ref> He was appointed a Staff Captain on 7 August 1940.<ref>War services of British and Indian officer of the Indian Army 1941</ref><ref name="January 1941 Indian Army List"/><ref>July 1941 Indian Army List</ref>

From 17 December 1941, Khan was attached to the No. 2 Indian Armoured Corps Training Center.<ref>April 1942 Indian Army List</ref> By January 1943, he was a General Staff Officer Grade 2 on the staff of Headquarters Ceylon Army Command.<ref>January 1943 Indian Army List</ref>

By July 1943 he was a local lieutenant colonel and a General Staff Officer Grade 2 at the [[Pakistan Command and Staff College|Command and Staff College, Quetta]].<ref name="July 1943 Indian Army List">July 1943 Indian Army List</ref> He was still in this role in April 1944.<ref>April 1944 Indian Army List</ref>

In early 1945, he was a temporary major and second in command of the 45th Cavalry, a war raised armoured unit then serving in [[Burma campaign|Burma]], later posted to the 7th Light Cavalry as temporary major and second in command.<ref>October 1945 Indian Army List</ref>

He was promoted to major on 29 August 1946. He commanded the [[7th Light Cavalry]] in [[Japan]] as part of the [[Occupation of Japan|occupation forces]] from September to December 1946.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wVwaAAAAIAAJ&q=pre-partition%20Indian%20Commandant|title=We Lead: 7th Light Cavalry, 1784-1990|publisher=Lancer International|author=C. L. Proudfoot|date=1991|isbn=9788170621058 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Pakistan Army ===
On the [[Partition of India|Partition of British India]] in August 1947, Khan opted to join the new [[Pakistan Army]]. He was quickly promoted to major general and on 1 January 1948 assumed the command of the 10th Division.<ref name=Riza/>

Khan had been nominated by the [[Government of Pakistan|Government of Liaquat Ali Khan]] to become the first local [[Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army]] after General [[Douglas Gracey]]'s retirement.<ref name=Riza>Major-General Shaukat Riza, ''The Pakistan Army 1947-49'', p. 183</ref> He was senior to later [[Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army|Commander-in-Chief]] and dictator [[Ayub Khan (President of Pakistan)|Ayub Khan]].<ref>Shaukat Hyat Khan, ''Memoirs'' Lahore, 1993, np</ref>

In [[Ayub Khan]]'s book ''Friends, not masters'', he alleged "the British were backing Major General Iftikhar and that he was short tempered and difficult to get on with."<ref>{{citation |last=Abbas |first=Hassan |title=Pakistan's Drift into Extremism: Allah, the Army, and America's War on Terror: Allah, the Army, and America's War on Terror |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N3GsBwAAQBAJ |date=2015 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-46327-6 |ref={{sfnref|Abbas, Pakistan's Drift into Extremism|2015}}}}</ref>

==Death==
While Iftikhar planned to go by train from [[Lahore]] to [[Karachi]] and then take a flight to the [[United Kingdom]] as the first Pakistan Army Officer selected for a course at the [[Royal College of Defence Studies|Imperial Defence College]], while {{citation needed span|date=January 2026|Brigadier Sher Khan had been appointed to the [[United States]] and was headed there for the [[United Nations Security Council|UN Security Council]] discussion on [[Kashmir conflict|Kashmir]] along with Cabinet Secretary General Mohammad Ali, Under-Secretary Mohammad Niaz and Deputy Director of Public Relations Mushtaq Ahmad.}} Sher Khan called Iftikhar and persuaded him that they all travel by air together.<ref name=SMH/>

Before Khan could assume his new post, tragedy struck when his flight on a Pakistan Airways [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain|C-53]] [[List of accidents and incidents involving the DC-3 in 1949#December|aircraft crashed]] on 13 December 1949 at 10 PM PST, claiming his life as well as the lives of his wife and infant daughter. Also among the victims were Director of Military Operations Brigadier Sher Khan, and his wife. Additionally, Lala Murli Dhar {{small|(the oldest son of [[Lala Shri Ram]])}} and his wife Mrs. Murli Dhar who were on their way to buy jewelry for their son Shri Dhar's wedding, Mr. Yaktar, Mr. Sher Ali, Mr. Rana Mohammed Sidiq, Mohammed Niaz, Mushtaq Ali, Len Mitchell (a British owner of a fruit farm in Pakistan), Mrs. Bergie (wife of a British Bank manager in Karachi), and the crew members including Captain Farooqi, Co-Pilot Saleem, Radio Officer Derby, and air hostess Margaret Drake.<ref name=IE/>
The plane was flying from Lahore to Karachi when it crashed at Karo Jabal, near Malmari Jalalji Village, Thatta, 102 kilometers from Karachi and several miles away from the nearest rescue base in [[Jungshahi]].<ref name=SMH/><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/dcm-s-split-family-disorder-111041400059_1.html|title=DCM's split family disorder|newspaper=Business Standard India|date=14 April 2011|last1=Bhandari|first1=Bhupesh}}</ref>

===Funeral===
The funeral procession began at the [[Frere Hall]] in [[Karachi]], making its way 1.5 miles through [[Saddar|Saddar Bazaar]]. Thousands of people witnessed the procession before it reached its final destination at the Armed Forces Cemetery, commonly known as [[List of cemeteries in Karachi#Muslims|Fauji Qabristan]].<ref name="FT" />

The remains of Iftikhar and Sher Khan were transported to [[Gun carriage#State and military funerals|Gun carriages]] by military personnel, namely Commodore Chaudhri, Brigadier Rodham, Brigadier Sher Ali, and Group Captain Murad.<ref name="FT" />

Among the chief mourners was the brother of Iftikhar, [[Major General]] [[Muhammed Akbar Khan]], and Lieutenant Colonel Yusuf Khan, the brother of Sher Khan. Following them were Admiral Jefford, Major General Raza, and Ghulam Muhammad, who represented [[Prime Minister of Pakistan|Prime Minister]] [[Liaquat Ali Khan]]. Furthermore, diplomats, government officials, military personnel, and prominent individuals from Karachi were present in the procession.<ref name="FT" />

Each [[Gun carriage#State and military funerals|Gun carriage]] was pulled by 8 [[Junior commissioned officer|JCOs]]. Over 30,000 people attended the [[Funeral prayer (Islam)|Funeral prayers]] at the Fauji Qabristan.<ref name="FT" />

==Dates of rank==
{|class="wikitable" style="background:white"
! Insignia !! Rank !! Component !! Date of rank
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_(1920-1953)_OF-1a.svg|35px]] || [[Second lieutenant#United Kingdom & other Commonwealth countries|Second Lieutenant]] || [[British Indian Army]] || 29 August 1929 (unattached 2-Lt.)<ref name="GRAD list">{{cite news|date=1938|title=Second half Half-yearly Army lists 1923 - Feb 1950 (From 1947, annual, despite the name)|url=https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/88742572}}</ref> 16 October 1930<ref>{{cite web | url=https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/89287245 | title=(572) - Army lists > Half-yearly Army lists 1923 - Feb 1950 (From 1947, annual, despite the name) > 1941 > Second half - British Military lists - National Library of Scotland }}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_(1920-1953)_OF-1b.svg|35px]] || [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|Lieutenant]] || [[British Indian Army]] || 29 November 1931<ref name="GRAD list" /><ref>{{cite web | url=https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/104459072 | title=(527) - Army lists > Monthly army lists > 1937-1940 > July 1938 - British Military lists - National Library of Scotland }}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British Army (1920–1953) OF-2.svg|35px]] || [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|Captain]] || [[British Indian Army]] || 1 August 1938<ref>{{cite web | url=https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/105613544 | title=(588) - Army lists > Monthly army lists > 1937-1940 > August 1939 - British Military lists - National Library of Scotland }}</ref> 7 August 1940 (Staff Captain)<ref name="January 1941 Indian Army List"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_(1920-1953)_OF-3.svg|35px]] || [[Major (United Kingdom)|Major]] ||[[British Indian Army]] || 10 February 1943 (acting)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/89443811 | title=(755) - Army lists > Quarterly Army Lists (Second Series), July 1940-December 1950 > 1944 > Second quarter > Part 2 > Volume 1 - British Military lists - National Library of Scotland }}</ref> 20 April 1943 (temporary)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.278926/page/n169/mode/2up?q=Mohammad+Iftikhar | title=Indian Army List for October I Part 1 - 1945 }}</ref>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:British_Army_(1920-1953)_OF-4.svg|35px]] || [[Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant Colonel]] || [[British Indian Army]] || July 1943<ref name="July 1943 Indian Army List"/>
|-
|align="center" | [[File:OF-7_Pakistan_Army.svg|35px]] || [[Major General]] || [[Pakistan Army]] || 14 August 1947
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{citation |last=Abbas |first=Hassan |title=Pakistan's Drift into Extremism: Allah, the Army, and America's War on Terror: Allah, the Army, and America's War on Terror |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N3GsBwAAQBAJ |date=2015 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-46327-6 |ref={{sfnref|Abbas, Paksitan's Drift into Extremism|2015}}}}
* {{citation |last=Jalal |first=Ayesha |author-link=Ayesha Jalal |title=The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and Global Politics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=87VnBAAAQBAJ |year=2014 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-74499-8 |ref={{sfnref|Jalal, Struggle for Pakistan|2014}}}}
* {{citation |last=Kapur |first=Teg Bahadur |title=Unknown Significant Facts from a Soldier's Diary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aiBuAAAAMAAJ |date=2004 |publisher=Minerva Press |isbn=978-81-7662-304-9 |ref={{sfnref{{harvtxt|Kapur, Unknown Sigificant Facts from a Soldier's Diary|2004}}}}}}
* {{citation |last=Singh |first=V. K. |title=Leadership in the Indian Army: Biographies of Twelve Soldiers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cJDsk_g6tXUC&pg=PA160 |year=2005 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-0-7619-3322-9 |page=160 |ref={{sfnref|V. K. Singh, Leadership in the Indian Army|2005}}}}
* {{citation |last=Zaheer |first=Hasan |title=The Times and Trial of the Rawalpindi Conspiracy, 1951: The First Coup Attempt in Pakistan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rjNuAAAAMAAJ |year=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-577892-2 |ref={{sfnref|Zaheer, The Times and Trial of the Rawalpindi Conspiracy|1998}}}}

== Further reading ==
* Barua, Pradeep. ''The Army Officer Corps and Military Modernisation in Later Colonial India''
* Sharma, Gautam. ''Nationalisation of the Indian Army''

==External links==
* [http://pakistanlink.org/Opinion/2005/July05/08/01.HTM The Quaid: Pakistan’s Tom Paine or Thomas Jefferson? By Mohammad Ashraf Chaudhry]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Iftikhar Mohammad}}
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:1949 deaths]]
[[Category:Pakistan Army major generals]]
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:Indian Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Pakistani Muslims]]
[[Category:People from Chakwal District]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
[[Category:Pakistan Army personnel]]
[[Category:People from Punjab Province (British India)]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Punjab, Pakistan]]
[[Category:20th-century Pakistani military personnel]]
[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1949]]
[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Academics of the Staff College, Quetta]]

Iftikhar Khan - Revision history

MyronMullet1862 at 15:19, 11 January 2026