Syed Mohammad Ahsan - East Pakistan Crisis - Eastern Military High Command

Eastern Military High Command

After he was relieved as Chief of Naval Staff at the end of August 1969, Chief Martial Law Administrator and Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army General Yahya Khan appointed him to become the Governor and Martial Law Administrator of East-Pakistan on 1 September 1969, as Ayub Khan had asked his brother to make this appointment. The assignment was considered very difficult by the Pakistan High Military Command, and many senior officers from the Pakistan Armed Forces were reluctant to accept appointments in East Pakistan. The crises in East Pakistan was at its peak and situation was deteriorated under the Military administration of Major-General Muzaffaruddin. By tradition, the Chiefs of the respective Armed services were expected to retired from their services once they had complete their tenure, but in this case Syed Mohammad Ahsan was appointed to the province as a serving uniformed admiral. However, the situation in East Pakistan was at critical point, and Military Government wanted an administrator with a good reputation in the province. Therefore, Vice-Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan's service was extended and he was given a command assignment that was considered very difficult. On 1 September 1969, Admiral Ahsan arrived, in his uniform, in East Pakistan and assumed the control of the East. He was also unified commander of the Pakistan Combatant Forces with both political and military powers. As military administrator of East Pakistan, Admiral S.M. Ahsan tried to solve the East Pakistan crisis politically, often meeting General Yahya Khan, and the political leadership of both East and West Pakistan. While he was military administrator, the country had been in turmoil with riots and disturbances in East and West Pakistan against the rule of former President Field Marshal Ayub Khan.