Yahya Khan

Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan (February 4, 1917 - August 10, 1980) was the President of Pakistan from 1969-71, following the resignation of Ayub Khan.

Yahya Khan was born in Peshawar in 1917 to a family of soldiers. He attended Punjab University and finished first in his class. He then joined the British Army and served in World War II as an officer in the British Indian 4th Division. He served in Iraq, Italy and North Africa.

Upon the formation of Pakistan, Khan helped set up an officer's school in Quetta, and he would command an infantry division during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. He became the Commander in Chief in 1966.

Ayub Khan was President of Pakistan for most of the 1960s, but by the end of the decade, popular resentment had boiled over against him. Pakistan had fallen into a state of disarray, and he handed over power to Yahya Khan. Yahya Khan immediately instituted martial law. Within a year he setup a framework for elections that were held in December of 1970.

The results of the elections saw Pakistan split by it's Eastern and Western halves. In East Pakistan, the Awami League (led by Mujibur Rahman) held almost all of the seats, but none in West Pakistan. In West Pakistan, the Pakistan Peoples Party (led by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto) won the lionshare of seats, but none in East Pakistan. This led to a situation where one of the leaders of the two parties would have to give up power and allow the other to be Prime Minister of Pakistan. The situation also increased agitation, especially in East Pakistan.

Yahya Khan was unable to reach a compromise, and instead cracked down on the political agitation in East Pakistan. This led to a civil war within Pakistan, and eventually led India to get involved in what would become the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The end result saw East Pakistan declare independence as Bangladesh, and would lead Khan to step down.

Yahya Khan died on August 10, 1980 in Rawalpindi

Preceded by :
Ayub Khan

Presidents of Pakistan

Succeeded by:
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto