Mirza Aslam Beg (born 15 February 1928), also known as M. A. Beg, is a retired Pakistani four-star rank general who served as the third Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army from 1988 until his retirement in 1991. His appointment as chief of army staff came when his predecessor, President General Zia-ul-Haq, died in an air crash on 17 August 1988.
Beg's tenure witnessed Benazir Bhutto being elected Prime Minister in November 1988, and the restoration of democracy and the civilian control of the military in the country. Beg financed the Islamic Democracy Alliance (IDA), the conservative and right-wing opposition alliance against left-wing PPP, and rigged the general elections in 1990 in favor of Nawaz Sharif. As a result, Nawaz Sharif became Prime Minister in 1990, but fell out with Beg when the latter recommended support for Iraq during the Gulf War. Beg was denied an extension from President Ghulam Ishaq Khan soon after in 1991, and replaced by General Asif Nawaz as chief of army staff.Ahmad Faruqui. "The army today" Dawn, 12 October 2009 Apart from his military career, Beg briefly tenured as professor of security studies at the National Defence University (NDU) and regularly writes columns in The Nation.
Post-retirement, Beg has been mired in controversies. In 2012, Ijaz-ul-Haq, the son of General Zia-ul-Haq accused Beg of being responsible for the airplane crash that killed President Zia.
In 1996, Asghar Khan filed a human rights petition alleging that former Pakistan Army Chief General Beg and Pakistani ISI Chief Asad Durrani, under President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, established an election cell to manipulate the 1990 Pakistani general election in favor of Nawaz Sharif by purchasing politicians' loyalties. Nearly 16 years later, Durrani finally admitted his role in a 2012 affidavit to the Supreme Court of Pakistan and stated that he had been ordered by Beg to disburse money to rivals of Benazir Bhutto's party. The ISI disbursed Rs140 million for this purpose using funds from the foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan, through Mehranbank CEO Younus Habib. In 2012, Habib stated that the money had been arranged at the behest of Ghulam Ishaq Khan and General Beg, in his affidavit to the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Despite these revelations, no significant legal consequences have followed and Beg had continued to defy court orders.
Early life in India and education
Mirza Aslam Beg was born in the small village, Muslimpatti, in Azamgarh district, Uttar Pradesh in British India, to the Urdu speaking Muhajir family of eleven children (eight sons, three daughters) that was well known for its Mughal nobility, on 15 February 1928.
His father, Mirza Murtaza Beg, was an advocate and practicing lawyer who had held a well known prestige and respected name in the law circles of the Allahabad High Court. The Baig's family had traced a long ancestral roots of the Mughal royal family who once were emperors of India from the early 15th century to the early 18th century.
He was educated at the Azamgarh where he graduated from a local high school and enrolled at the Shibli National College, Azamgarh for his undergraduate studies, in 1945. Subsequently, he earned Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Liberal Arts from Shibli National College in 1949.
During his college years, Mirza played collegiate field hockey and was vital member of his hockey team which consisted mainly Muslims. According to his memories, Beg sought revenge on a Hindu politician belonging to Congress Party after the politician had beaten up a member of his hockey team. Egged on by a mob of students, Beg used his hockey stick to beat up the politician at a public meeting. This incident came after his graduation from college in 1949, and Beg's family decided to move to Pakistan in 1949 after the Indian partition in 1947.
Military career
The Beg family set sailed for Karachi from Bombay via Royal Pakistan Navy ship in 1949. His elder brother was already a commissioned officer in the Pakistan Army and encouraged young Beg to follow his path to seek a career in the army. Beg recalled his memoirs to his Indian interviewer and called Pakistan as "my dream country". In 1950, Beg was accepted at the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) in Kakul, graduating from a class of 6th PMA Long Course in 1952.
In 1952, he gained a commission as 2Lt. in the 6 Baloch Regiment of the Pakistan Army and initially assisted the command of an infantry platoon. From 1952 to 1958, he progressed well toward the military ranks, having been promoted to army lieutenant in 1956; and army captain in 1958. He received recommendations from his field commanding officer for the selection by the special branch to join the special forces, and departed to the United States in 1958 to complete the special forces training with the U.S. Army Special Forces in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
In 1960, Major Beg returned to Pakistan and joined the elite Army Special Service Group (SSG), initially commanding a company that specialized in military infiltration. Major Beg was deployed in Western Pakistan, in areas adjacent to Afghanistan, where his first combat experience took place when he led his company in removing the Nawab of Dir in Chitral in North-West Frontier Province. In 1965, Major Beg served well in the second war with India and led the Special Forces team against the Indian Army.
Academia and professorship
In 1967, Major Beg was promoted as Lieutenant-Colonel, eventually sent to attend the National Defence University (NDU) to continue his higher education, alongside then-Lieutenant-Colonel Zahid Ali Akbar, an engineering officer from the Corps of Engineers.
After attending the Armed Forces War College and graduated with MSc in Strategic studies in 1971, Lt.Col. Beg was stationed in East-Pakistan to serve as a military adviser to the Eastern Command led by its GOC-in-C, Lieutenant-General A.A.K. Niazi. Upon arriving and observing the military deployments and actions, Lt.Col. Beg became very critical of Gen. Niazi's strategy and eventually became involved in acrimonious argument with his Gen. Niazi's staff in Dacca, having been very critical of armed forces interference in the political events in East. His open mindedness and arguments with his senior officer eventually led his transfer back to Pakistan and was threatened with facing the court martial.
In 1971, he commanded an infantry regiment in third war with India but was sent back to attend the National Defence University where he became even more involved with his studies. In 1971–72, he earned his MSc in War Studies, defending and publishing his thesis, entitled: "A journey of pain and fear" which provide critical analysis of state sponsored terrorism and its effects on geo-military positions of the countries. Lt. Col. Beg left the special forces, and accepted the professorship on war studies at the NDU in 1975. Brig. Beg tenured as the professor on the war studies and remained Chief Instructor of Armed Forces War College at the then National Defence University until January 1978."Chief Instructor's Gallery" National Defence University, Islamabad accessed 6 October 2009
About the 1971 war, Beg maintained that the Pakistan Armed Forces "learned a valuable strategic lesson", and that quoted that the government also learned that "there is no point in going to war unless you are absolutely certain you have the capability to win".
From 1994 to 1999, Beg continued his teaching at NDU and published his two books on national security, nuclear weapons development, defence diplomacy and international relations.
War and Command appointments
In 1978, Brig. Beg left the professorship at the university and was promoted into the two-star command appointment in the army. Major-General Beg was appointed as the GOC of the 14th Army Division, stationed at the Okara Military District of Punjab Province in Pakistan.
In March 1979, chief of army staff, General Zia-ul-Haq, directed the II Strike Corps' "to ascertain the likely reaction of the Pakistan Armed Forces officers if Bhutto was hanged", in accordance to the Supreme Court's verdict. During this meeting, Major-General Beg objected to the hanging of Bhutto and maintained to his senior commanders that: "The hanging of Bhutto would be an unwise act, as it could cause very serious "political aberrations" that will be difficult to correct. In 1979, Major-General Beg was moved at Army GHQ, taking over the staff appointment as an Adjutant-General, which he served until 1980. He was later elevated as the Chief of General Staff (CGS), remained in charge of operational planning of the counter-offensive to the Indian invasion of Siachen marking the beginnings of the ongoing Siachen conflict in 1984.Maj Gen (r) Shafiq Ahmed. "Army's inquiry commissions" The Nation, 5 August 2004
In 1985, Major-General Beg was elevated to three-star promotion and was appointed as Corp's Commander of the XI Corps, that stationed in Peshawar, which had role in the indirect war with the Soviet Army in Afghanistan, since 1980.Rahimullah Yusufzai. "Change of Guard at Peshawar's 11th Corps" The News, 10 May 2001
According to the military authors and Pakistani historians' accounts, Lieutenant-General Beg was extremely distrusted by President Zia-ul-Haq, mainly due to his open-mindedness and his pro-democracy views, at one point, advising President Zia to "rendezvous with the nation's history and democratize the country."
In 1987, Lieutenant-General Beg was in the race for the promotion of four-star appointment, along with Lieutenant-General Zahid Ali Akbar, but was overlooked by President Zia who wanted to Lt.Gen. Akbar for the four-star appointment as chief of army staff. Prime Minister M.K. Junejo eventually used his prerogative to appoint Lieutenant-General Mirza Aslam Beg as vice-army chief on merit, despite President Zia wanting Lieutenant-General Zahid Ali Akbar who was sent to DESTO.
Chief of Army Staff
In March 1987, Prime Minister Mohammad Junejo announced in the news media of appointing Lieutenant-General Beg as a Vice Chief of Army Staff, promoting him as the four-star rank general in the army.
Though, General Beg did not supersede anyone and was the most senior, the promotion was notable due to the opposition shown by President Zia-ul-Haq who wanted Lieutenant-General Zahid Ali Akbar, an engineer, as vice army chief.
Despite his four-star command assignment, General Beg had to report his duties and decisions to President Zia who had been army chief since 1976. Eventually, General Beg succeeded President Zia as the new army chief and the command of the army when the latter died in an accidental plane crash on 17 August 1988. American military authors regarded Beg as "mild but bookish general" keen to drive the country towards the tracks of democracy.
The United States military regarded Beg as an "Unpredictable General" could not be counted on to continue close military cooperation with the United States as Zia did in the 1980s. The Pentagon had commented on Beg as "a professional soldier" with no political ambitions, but independent-minded and unpredictable. In 1988, one Pentagon military official added that "Beg is hard to figure out and difficult to read his mindset unlike other Pakistan army generals, he hasn't been particularly friendly with the US."