Early life, military education and honours Aftab Ahmad Khan was born in
Batala,
Gurdaspur District,
British India to the family of
Khan Bahadur Mian Altaf Hussain Khan (1874–1946) and Mehndi Begum. After his early education, at the Municipal Board (MB) High School Batala, he graduated from the
Government College, Lahore, and joined the
Indian Military Academy,
Dehradun. During his tenure in the Army, he graduated from
Staff College, Quetta – 1952; the United States Army Command and Staff College, at
Fort Leavenworth, USA, 1961–62; the Army War Course,
Command and Staff College Quetta – 1967; and
Royal College of Defence Studies (formerly known the Imperial Defence College), London – 1971. He was
Mentioned in Despatches during the 1965 India-Pakistan War, where he commanded a brigade defending the city of
Lahore, Pakistan. He was a recipient of the two gallantry awards for his work as Pakistan's Ambassador in Philippines in 1984–86: Rank of Datu in the
Order of Sikatuna, Government of Philippines, 8 April 1986, awarded by
Corazon Aquino, President of the Republic of Philippines; and Das Großes Verdienstkreuz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Commander's Cross of the
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany) in recognition of his exceptional services to the State and People of Germany, 9 May 1986. Both awards were awarded in recognition of the two respective governments to have facilitated the rescue of two hostages held by the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Photographs of both Citations have been included for historical reference.
Military career He was commissioned in the Indian Army as a 2nd Lieutenant on 21 June 1942 and soon, thereafter, joined the 1st Battalion, 2nd Punjab Regiment in the British Middle East Command. As a young officer, he served in various regimental appointments for the following two years in
Egypt,
Palestine,
Syria and
Lebanon. In March 1944, his Battalion the 1st Battalion of 2nd Punjab, as part of the 10th Indian Division sailed for Italy and fought against the Germans in
World War II as part of the British 8th Army. Major Aftab Ahmad Khan, then a company commander, returned home in December 1945. His Battalion joined the 1st Indian Parachute Division where he trained as a paratrooper and became Company Commander. In 1947, when the Government of India created the
Punjab Boundary Force during
independence, in the position of Major served in it till it was disbanded. Having overseen the safe evacuation of hundreds of thousands of
Hindus and
Sikhs from areas lying between the
Sutlej and
Ravi rivers to
India, and was responsible to safely escort back hundreds of thousands of
Muslims stranded in southern eastern
Punjab province of
India. In January 1948, he was seconded from the Pakistan Army as a Major to
Zhob Militia (formally known as Fort Sandeman),
Quetta,
Baluchistan part of the
Frontier Corps for 3 ½ years and also commanded Pishin Scouts. During this time, he saw action in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. In 1951, on posting back to the Army, he was posted first as a company commander and then a Brigade Major of an Infantry Brigade in
Peshawar. After attending the
Command and Staff College, Quetta in 1952, he took command of the 14th Battalion, 1st
Punjab Regiment (
Pakistan) for the next 3 years. From 1956 to 1959, he was posted as General Staff Officer-1 (GSO-I) in Murree serving there for 3 ½ years. He received command of the 1st Battalion, 1st Punjab Regiment in Lahore and paraded the Regiment on its 200th raising day. The parade was commanded by Lt. Col. Aftab Ahmad Khan and led by
Field Marshal Sir
Claude Auchinleck former Commander-in-Chief. The 1/1 (or commonly known as the first/first) is the senior most Battalion of the
Pakistan Army.
Field Marshal M.
Ayub Khan at that time the (
President of Pakistan) and Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army took the salute at the march past. After having been posted as Colonel Staff of a Division,
Colonel Aftab Ahmad Khan was promoted to command a Brigade and fought in defence of Lahore on the
Wagah border, extremely successfully in the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. After various staff appointments in General Headquarters, Rawalpindi, including as Vice Chief of General Staff, Director General Military Training, Research and Development, he commanded a division in
Chamb Sector in 1972 followed by taking command of a newly raised X Corps with the rank of Lieutenant General from where he retired after 34 years of service. ==Post-military career==