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| First Pakistani Prime Minister Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan |
Mr. Saadat Hasan Manto had called the conspiracy a bloody drama. Rawalpindi conspiracy and the assassination of Prime Minister Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan is a three-act tragic drama with a bloody drop scene as staged on 16th October 1951.
65 years of research fully endorses Dr. Ayesha Jalal’s belief that the conspiracy was a false case engineered by the British and American Agencies in collaboration with their sympathizers in Pakistan’s Government and Armed Forces to deprive the country of outstanding patriotic officers.
The First Act consists of a false story about the conspiracy. While the PM is working day and night for the prosperity and glory of The Nation. According to the political scientists, the story was fabricated to bring the PM to a great shock, despair and a political hangover. It intended to blindfold the PM by showing false loyalty by planning to unduly prolong the trial, create hatred against the PM and the alleged officers by the print media and facilitate the assassination of the PM by neglecting or withdrawing the State Security by the Civil and Military Intelligence agencies during his visit to Rawalpindi on that fateful day of 16th October 1951.
The Second Act ends the Drama by assassination of the PM.
The Third Act comprises of seizing powers by the Troika of Ghulam Muhammad, Iskander Mirza and Ayub Khan as the main beneficiaries of the assassination of the PM.
A poet has lamented
“Rawalpindi Conspiracy ka vavaila ker kay,
jin logon ne PM per goli chalwai, 17 October 1951 ki shaam ko
inhi ke haathon main phir hakoomat aai”
Saadat Hasan Manto ne kya khoob kaha
“Uss din do bey gunaahon ka khoon hua”.
Country’s civil and military intelligence agencies are totally ignorant but The Hero of the false story a Police Inspector Askar Ali Shah unveils the alleged conspiracy to the Governor KPK Mr. I.I Chundrigar. The PM calls the Defense Secretary Iskander Mirza and newly appointed Commander-in-chief Ayub Khan at Sargodha after learning from Mr. I. I. Chundrigar. Both of them expressed their complete ignorance about such conspiracy. Both lied to the PM. On the other hand Ayub Khan writes in his memoires that General Douglas David Gracey had told Ayub that there were young Turks in the Army. Neither General Gracey as commander-in-chief of Pakistan Army nor Ayub Khan ever informs the PM of this alleged conspiracy. Similarly, Iskander Mirza said on one occasion that he had sent Brigadier (later Major General) Akbar Khan DSO on a course to Imperial Defense College UK with the hope that he would be a changed man after attending the course. Again Iskander Mirza had lied. He wanted to defer his field posting and plan his posting as a staff officer in GHQ while Akbar Khan DSO was abroad. As obvious from the memoires of Major General Shahid Hamid, Isknader Mirza wanted to damage the careers of officers senior to Ayub Khan, particularly NAM Raza. Other seniors being M. Akbar Khan Rangroot and Ashfaq ul Majid both were Major General. As chief of intelligence Major General Shahid Hamid neglected the security of the PM on later’s visit on 16thOctober 1951.
Ayub Khan used Askar Ali Shah as a scapegoat through his brother Lt. Colonel Sultan Ali Shah. Isknader Mirza and Ayub Khan trusted more in Khan Qurban Ali Khan IG Punjab than IG KPK. Therefore, Askar Ali Shah was directed to record his false episode with Punjab Police instead of IG KPK. There he told that it was all non-sense. On mal-treatment by the Punjab Police he got very much annoyed and told them that he has realized that he had made a great mistake by lying to the Governor KPK about the country’s brave and patriotic army officers. He said Punjab Police is very rude and impolite to fellow officers from KPK. He refused to give any statement (like Commander Mr. Moazzam of Pakistan Navy in East Pakistan during trial of Agartala Conspiracy) and disappeared and never appeared before Hyderabad Tribunal. As his forced appearance could damage the cause of the Hyderabad Tribunal. So, no security or Intelligence agency was directed to produce him in the court. The KPK police department was directed secretly to receive and accept his resignation. His resignation or retirement was kept secret from the tribunal. As the court asked for his presence and statement, the IG KPK told the court that he has resigned and disappeared. He was not declared absconder by the court, the alleged army officers were not court martialed, and they were tried by the Tribunal with the civilians. The civilians were arrested to give a communist touch to the conspiracy. None of the Pakistani Army Officers was a communist. Those who revolted later in October 1958, March 1969, July 1977 and October 1999 were also not communist. Where are the statements of the most important characters like Mr. I. I. Chundrigar and Mr. Askar Ali Shah, Iskander Mirza, Ayub Khan, General Douglas David Gracey (retired commander-in-chief who preferred to stay for three months in Pakistan after his retirement) Brigadier Ingel Commandant PMA.
Which statement of Ayub Khan is correct??
a) General Gracey as commander-in-chief told him about young Turks
b) Ayub tells the PM at Sargodha that he knows nothing about the conspiracy. He will go to Peshawar with Isknader Mirza to find facts from Askar Ali Shah.
Why the officers were not arrested and court martialed when General Gracey was commander-in-chief. Leakage of conspiracy after Ayub became Commander-in-chief creates lots of doubts. It was dramatized. Was is a chemical reaction that the conspiracy will be precipitated (leaked out) soon after Ayub Khan becomes Commander-in-chief.
Lt. General Abdul Majid Malik has also illustrated in his memoires that both Isknader Mirza and Ayub Khan were not men of integrity and credibility. Iskander Mirza as Defense Secretary prepared a false file and recommended Ayub Khan as Commander-in-chief and thus cheated the PM and deprived the right of Major General Ashfaq ul Majid and Major General NAM Raza and another senior General Muhammad Akbar Khan Rangroot was not further promoted and retired as Major General in 1950. On the other hand General Gracey has been reported to have told Lt. General Wajahat Hussain in 1956 that the latter had some reservations against Ayub and had told the PM that Ayub was very ambitious and unsuitable for appointment as Commander-in-chief.
There was a false allegation against Major General Akbar Khan DSO that while abroad on a course in Imperial Defense College UK, he used to meet the communists. There is no report in evidence from the commandant of the Imperial Defense College. It seems that the secret service of UK were sleeping and allowing a free hand to the communists in UK to loiter about in Imperial Defense College, UK.
Brigadier Latif was alleged to have distributed communist literature to the officers in PMA as deputy commandant under Brigadier Ingal. Where are the statements of Brigadier Ingal and the officers who received the communist literature from Brigadier Latif? The statements of the approvers and the alleged officers were inconsistent.
The witnesses were mostly blue eyed officers of Ayub Khan. The officer were arrested on 9th March 1951 but the court assembled and started its job after three months on 15thJune 1951. The trial was unnecessarily prolonged to strengthen the position of the Troika of Ghulam Muhammad, Isknader Mirza and Ayub Khan and cheat the PM before he was assassinated. Objectives of the conspiracy were achieved by removing the PM from the scene by violence, then to gain more time and divert the attention of the nation , the trial was unnecessarily prolonged first from 15th June 1951 to 16th October 1951 and then after 16th October 1951 (assassination day) to 5th January 1953. The prolonged proceedings of the Hyderabad Tribunal and assigning inquiry to incompetent Punjab Police already guilty of negligence damaged the cause of exposing men behind the scene who were responsible for PMs Assassination. However, men behind the scene were already in power in the form of a Troika.
Such trials are concluded speedily without any wastage of time. It is an operational matter, were they waiting for the departure of General Gracey to UK who was staying in Pakistan after retirement or because Ayub Khan was going to USA to receive the Highest Award Legion of Merit or it took three months for the false witnesses to learn the dialogues by heart to ejaculate in the Hyderabad Tribunal. During these three months (9th March 1951 to 15th June 1951) Police Inspector Askar Ali Shah refused to take part in the bloody drama of the Rawalpindi Conspiracy and disappeared. If the conspiracy had been a reality, then life of the PM was certainly in danger and civil and military intelligence agencies were required to be very prompt, active and vigilant to ensure the security of the Prime Minister on 16th October 1951. The PM was assassinated exactly four months after start of inquiry by the tribunal on 15th June 1951. Since it was a false case and a part of intrigue, therefore, failure of intelligence occurred due to willful negligence and security was not provided to the PM intentionally. Therefore. Failure of civil and military Intelligence and security arrangement caused assassination of PM on 16th October 1951.
Saadat Hasan Manto wrote in Daily Afaq of 23rd October 1951 that ‘Two innocent people were killed on 16th October 1951’. Said Akbar was a scapegoat. The script writers of the conspiracy were the men behind the scene, who staged the assassination with two hired assassins. They simultaneously fired one bullet each into the heart of the Prime Minister and these simultaneous two bullets without shot gap or time lag killed the Prime Minister. The sound of two bullets simultaneously fired at the PM without shot gap is available on the internet from the recording of Radio Pakistan on 16th October 1951 at 3:45 PM (Tuesday). The third shot is fired after eight seconds by Najaf Khan to give a signal to the police and best known to him alone. It was followed by a volley of fire in air which caused stampede and great confusion at the site. This third fire was admitted by Najaf Khan before Munir Inquiry Commission.
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