Mian Ghulam Jilani | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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میاں غلام جیلانی | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() Jilani in 1962 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Member of Provincial Assembly of North West Frontier[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 7 December 1970 – 1977 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Constituency | PF-21 Mardan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
GOC 15th Infantry Division (Sialkot) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office ?–1962 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Force Commander Bajaur Campaign | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office October 1960 – September 1961 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | 1913 Sibi, British Balochistan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 1 March 2004 Fairfax, Virginia, USA | (aged 90–91)||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cause of death | Pneumonia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Political party | National Awami Party (Wali) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse |
Nancy Habiba Jilani (m. 1949) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Relations | Mian Hayaud Din (cousin) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Children | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Education | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname(s) | Kaka Speen Dada Jilly | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Military service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Allegiance | ![]() ![]() | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Branch/service | ![]() ![]() | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years of service | 1936–1962 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rank | ![]() ![]() | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unit | 4th Battalion 19th Hyderabad Regiment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Commands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Major General Mian Ghulam Jilani SQA, Imtiazi Sanad (Pashto, Urdu: میاں غلام جیلانی; 1913 — March 1 2004) also known as Kaka, Speen Dada, and Jilly, was a politician, businessman, and former two-star general in the Pakistan Army. As a British Indian Army officer during World War II, he survived a Japanese POW camp in Singapore.[3] He played a key role in establishing the ceasefire during the First Kashmir War. During his stint as the Military attaché of Pakistan to Washington (1952-1955), he helped negotiate Pakistan's membership in the Baghdad Pact and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization.
An ethnic Pashtun, he retired from the Pakistan Army in 1962 due to the autocratic rule of Ayub Khan. Afterwards, he was involved in business and joined politics.[4]
He was repeatedly arrested by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the 1970s for his political beliefs and was in jail for more than three years with Amnesty International declaring him a prisoner of conscience in 1974. During a medical checkup, he escaped from custody and took political asylum in the United States in 1975 becoming a citizen in 1981.[5]
Gen. Jilani was military attache at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington from 1952 to 1955 and helped to negotiate Pakistan's membership in the Baghdad Pact, a Western-sponsored military pact later called the Central Treaty Organization. He also helped to negotiate Pakistan's membership in the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, a defense alliance. He retired from the Army in 1962, citing the autocratic rule of Pakistani President Mohammad Ayub Khan. He later was involved in business ventures and ran successfully for membership in the provincial legislature of the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan
Gen. Jilani spoke against then-President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's repressive regime and was repeatedly arrested and jailed for more than three years.