Biography:Javed Nasir

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Javed Nasir
Birth nameJaved Nasir
Nickname(s)Whitebeard[1]:148
Bearded General[1]:148
Tablighi Beard[2]:169
White Beard[1]:148
Born1936 (age 87–88)[3]:112
Lahore, Punjab, British India[4]:834
(Present day in Pakistan )
Allegiance Pakistan
Service/branch Pakistan Army
Years of service1953–1993
RankOF-8 PakistanArmy.svg US-O9 insignia.svg Lieutenant-General
Service numberPA – 5646
UnitPakistan Army Corps of Engineers
Battles/warsIndo-Pakistani War of 1965
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Kashmiri insurgency
Afghan civil war
Bosnian War
AwardsCrescent of Excellence Hilal-e-Imtiaz.png Hilal-i-Imtiaz (military)
Star of Good Conduct Sitara-e-Basalat.png Sitara-e-Basalat
Other workMissionary for Tablighi Jamaat
Later, a hedge fund manager, and private security contractor

An educator and engineer by profession, Nasir gained national prominence as his role of bringing the unscattered mass of Afghan Mujahideen to agree to the power-sharing formula to form Afghan administration under President Mojaddedi in Afghanistan in 1992–93.[5] Later, he played an influential and decisive role in the Bosnian war when he oversaw the covert military intelligence program to support the Bosnian Army against the Serbs, while airlifting the thousands of Bosnian refugees in Pakistan.[5]

Biography

Javed Nasir was born in Lahore, Punjab in India in 1936,[3]:112[4]:834 and is of the Kashmiri descent.[1]:148[2]:169 After his matriculation from local school in Lahore, Nasir joined the Pakistan Army and entered in the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul in 1953.[6] He decided to attend the Military College of Engineering at Risalpur in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and graduated with B.S. with Honors in civil engineering in 1958.[7] He gained commissioned as 2nd-Lt. in the Corps of Engineers of the Pakistan Army where his career is mostly spent.[7]

In 1967, Nasir qualified as a licensed professional engineer (PE) by the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC).[4]:834

He was known to have served in the combat engineering formations during the second war with India in 1965 as army captain, and later served in the western front of the third war with India in 1971 as major.[8][4]:834

After the third war with India in 1971, Maj. Nasir went to Australia where he attended and graduated in staff course from the Australian Army Staff College.[9] In 1980s, he was sent to attend the National Defence University (NDU) in Islamabad, and graduated with MSc in Strategic studies.[7] In 1983–90, Major-General Nasir joined the faculty of the Armed Forces War College of the National Defense University (NDU), which he instructed courses on war studies for seven years, eventually promoted as chief instructor.[7][10][11]

In the military circles, Maj-Gen. Nasir was described as a "moderate person" who rediscovered the Islam in 1986 during the midst of the Russian war in the neighboring Afghanistan.[1]:148–149 In 1988, Maj-Gen. Nasir gained public fame when he was appointed as inspector-general of engineering formation that investigated the environmental disaster befall at the military storage located in the Rawalpindi Cantonment.[12] Against the United States, German and French military estimation, Maj-Gen. Nasir personally led his formation at the ground to clear out the entire storage containing the chemical and explosive materials, as well as the missile ordnance in mere two weeks.[3][12]:112–113

In 1989, he was appointed as director-general of Frontier Works Organization (FWO) and supervised the civil construction of the Skardu International Airport that is 11,944 feet (3,641 m) above sea level.[3]:112

Director of ISI (1992–93)

In the military, he was of the view of anti-American sentiments, accusing the United States of using the Islam for political reasons and against Russians in Europe, which further complicated the foreign relations between two nations.[13]:14 He also limited the cooperation between the ISI and CIA to fight against the global terrorism, thwarting any joint efforts to fight against extremism.[13][14] Though, he did help the US to relocate and retrieve the missing guided missiles from Afghanistan based on a mutual understanding of such weapons may have fall in wrong hands.[15]

It was during this time when ISI had been running an intensified support for insurgency in Indian Kashmir.[16] In spite of his seniority in the military, Nasir was overlooked, and was never considered for the promotion of the four-star rank and appointment by the government during the appointmentment process for the command of the Army, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS).[15] Lt-Gen Nasir was among the five senior and superseding army generals when the junior-most Lt-Gen Abdul Waheed Kakar was elevated to the four-star rank and promotion to command the army.[15]

Peshawar Accord and Mojaddedi administration

On April 1992, Lt-Gen. Nasir became an international figure when he played major role in amalgamating the unscattered Afghan mujahideen groups when the power-sharing formula was drafted.[5] Due to his religiosity, Nasir used his persuasive power and motivational talks to agree to power-sharing formula and, witnessed to have successfully establishing an Afghan administration under cleric President Sibghatullah Mojaddedi in Kabul.[5]

Bosnian war

In the military and political circles, Nasir was had reputation to be a practising Muslim who would not compromise on the interests of Islam and Pakistan. In 1992–93, Nasir defied the UN arms embargo placed on Bosnia and Herzegovina when he successfully airlifted the POF's sophisticated anti-tank guided missiles, which ultimately turned the tide in favour of Bosnian Muslims and forced the Serbs to life the siege much to the annoyance of the U.S. government.[5][17] While airlifting sophisticated anti-tank guided missiles to Bosnian Muslims, he pushed the Government of Pakistan to allow the Bosnian immigrationto Pakistan.[18]

In 2011, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia demanded the custody of the former ISI director for his alleged support of the Inter-Services Intelligence activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to Muslim fighters of Bosnia against the Serbian army in the 1990s, the Government of Pakistan has refused to hand Nasir to the UN tribunal, citing poor health.

Removal from the ISI

In 1993, Lt-Gen. Nasir's zealous religiosity and maverick actions became embarrassing for the Pakistani military, in which, the Chairman joint chiefs General Shamim Allam had completely lost the control of the ISI when the agency was running under Nasir's command.[19]:26 General Abdul Waheed Kakar, the army chief at that time, had been at odds with Lt-Gen. Nasir due to his preaching of Islamic tradition in the military.[15] In the views of senior military officers in the Pakistani military and the civilian officials of the Ministry of Defence, Lt-Gen. Nasir was often a figure of fun whose intellect was far from being as outstanding as his white beard.[20]

During this time, the Indian government led by Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao leveled several accusations on him of supporting the Khalistan movement, the Indian Mafia and Dawood Ibrahim– the accusations he swiftly denied in 2008.[19]:26–27 At home, Nasir begin facing accusation from Pakistan Peoples Party politicians of supporting the conservative Islamic agenda in the country.[5]

In 1993, the United States formally registered their complaints to Pakistan when U.S. secretary of State James Baker written a memo to Prime Minister Sharif of putting his country on a terror watch list and was in danger of being listed as terror-supporting nation.[19]:27–28 Responding to the complain, Prime Minister Sharif used diplomacy when he sent his Foreign Secretary Shahryar Khan and Pakistan Senator Akram Zaki to United States of assuring Pakistan's policy of not supporting the militancy in the region.[19]:27–28

During this time, several Arab countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and the Philippines , lodged a strong protest against Nasir of supporting the radical movements in their respected countries.[21]:152[22]

Following the resignations of Prime Minister Sharif and President G.I. Khan on 18 July 1993, the caretaker Prime Minister M.A. Qureshi fired and sacked Nasir from the directorship of the ISI, and Acting President Wasim Sajjad approved his premature retirement from his military commission effective from on 13 May 1993[23]:170— he only led the ISI for 13 months.[24]

Upon his firing, the new DG ISI, J.A. Qazi eventually led the massive arrests of thousands of Arab Afghans and forced the al-Qaeda to relocate itself in Afghanistan permanently.[25]:147–149 Expulsion from Pakistan, many escaped to Bosnia to participate in the war.[25]:149 According to many political commentators and journalists, Nasir's firing from ISI was not at the behest of the United States but, it was the friendly Arab countries' protests and pressure at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that resulted in his departure from ISI and the retirement from his 40-year long service with the military.[23]:170

Later life

After his premature retirement, Nasir became a missionary for a Tablighi Jamaat, and went to the private sector when he managed and chaired the private equity firm and hedge fund, the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), when he was appointed on 14 July 1997 for a two-year contract.[23]:171[26]

In 1998, he was appointed as chairman of Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, a pro-Sikhism organization in Pakistan promoting the religious activities of Sikhism.[27]:408 On October 1998, Prime Minister Sharif appointed him as his intelligence adviser but this appointment remained for short period of time.[27]:408 For sometimes, he served on the security details as head of security for the Sharif family, but the PML(N)'s lawmakers and Sharif family cut off their links and distance themselves from Nasir after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001.[28]

In 2002–03, Nasir filed a lawsuit at the Anti Terrorism Court against the media corporations: the Daily Jang, and the News International, for character defamation when investigatives articles published on him on the monetary embezzlement when he managed the private hedge fund in Lahore.[29]

In 2008, he appeared on the Geo News and denied any allegations of terror supporting that was leveled on him during his time as Director ISI, when interviewed by Iftikhar Ahmad.[15] At this detailed and hour-long interview, he was of the view of 9/11 was an inside job, and maintained on his stance on the suppressing of the free-energy by the U.S. and Pakistan Government.[15]

In 2011, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia demanded the custody of the Nasir for his alleged authorization of the covert program to support to the Bosnian Army against the Serbian army in the 1990s, the Government of Pakistan refused to hand Nasir to the UN tribunal, citing poor health and memory loss due to a road accident.[30]

In 2013, Nasir reportedly spoke against Afghan Taliban and the terrorism at the Supreme Court convention, and criticised the Taliban as an armed violent group and criticised them of supporting the violent terrorism for their cause, in a response to the church bombing.[28]

See also

  • Bosnian war
  • History of the United States (1991–2008)
  • Conservatism in Pakistan
  • Blowback (intelligence)
  • Flip-flop
  • History of Afghanistan (1992–present)
  • India and state-sponsored terrorism
  • Foreign policy of Pakistan
    • Islamic conservatism
    • Sikhism in Pakistan
    • Muslim Ummah
    • Pakistan and state-sponsored terrorism
    • Pakistan military presence in other countries

References

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  2. 2.0 2.1 Joshi, P. C. (2008) (in en). Main Intelligence Outfits Of Pakistan. New Delhi, India: Anmol Publications Pvt. Limited. pp. 435. ISBN 9788126135509. https://books.google.com/?id=B3zfAAAAMAAJ&dq=javed+nasir+nawaz+mna&q=MNA. Retrieved 14 November 2017. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Kiessling, Hein (2016). "A Dialogue with Javed Nasir" (in en-us) (google books). Faith, Unity, Discipline: The Inter-Service-Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan (1 ed.). London, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 310. ISBN 9781849048620. https://books.google.com/?id=DWojDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA112&dq=javed+nasir+then-69+years+old#v=onepage&q=javed%20nasir%20then-69%20years%20old&f=false. Retrieved 13 November 2017. 
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  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Dawn Newspapers, Cowasjee (2003)
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  9. Sehgal, Ikram ul-Majeed (2000) (in en). Defence Journal. Ikram ul-Majeed Sehgal. p. 19. https://books.google.com/?id=mZHfAAAAMAAJ&dq=JAVED+NASIR+australia&q=+australia. Retrieved 13 November 2017. 
  10. Scherer, John L. (1985) (in en). China Facts & Figures Annual. Academic International Press. p. 62. https://books.google.com/?id=5keFAAAAIAAJ&q=major+general+Javed+Nasir&dq=major+general+Javed+Nasir. Retrieved 13 November 2017. 
  11. (in en) Daily Report: Asia & Pacific. The Service. 1986. p. 59. https://books.google.com/?id=nBP6JoY1eoUC&dq=major+general+Javed+Nasir&q=Javed+Nasir. 
  12. 12.0 12.1 Nasir, Javed (2 July 2017). "Gen Javed Nasir Karguzari of Ojhri Camp Incident جنرل جاوید ناصر کی اوجڑی کیمپ کارگزاری". Message TV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQH2GgWqc2I. Retrieved 13 November 2017. 
  13. 13.0 13.1 Sehgal, Ikram ul-Majeed (2003) (in en). Defence Journal. Ikram ul-Majeed Sehgal. p. 14. https://books.google.com/?id=uqbfAAAAMAAJ&q=javed+nasir+USA&dq=javed+nasir+USA. Retrieved 13 November 2017. 
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  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 Ahmad, Iftikhar (25 November 2008). "DG ISI Nasir in Jawab Deh" (in ur). Islamabad, Pakistan: Geo News Jawab Deh. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE-GGoF7A1Q. Retrieved 15 November 2017. 
  16. Datta, S. K. (2014) (in en). Inside ISI: The Story and Involvement of the ISI, Afghan Jihad, Taliban, Al-Qaeda, 9/11, Osama Bin Laden, 26/11 and the Future of Al-Qaeda~. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd.. p. 6. ISBN 9789382652595. https://books.google.com/?id=bgmqCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA6&dq=javed+nasir+isi#v=onepage&q=javed%20nasir%20isi&f=false. Retrieved 13 November 2017. 
  17. "Ex-ISI Chief Reveals Secret Missile Shipments to Bosnia defying UN Embargo". 23 December 2002. Archived from the original on 8 January 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100108074722/http://www.satribune.com/archives/dec23_29_02/P1_bosniastory.htm. Retrieved 1 August 2009. 
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  26. Sehri, Inam (2012) (in en) (google books). Judges and Generals of Pakistan Volume - I (1 ed.). Lahore, Pakistan: Grosvenor House Publishing. p. contents. ISBN 9781781480434. https://books.google.com/?id=gzllAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT326&dq=javed+nasir+Evacuee+Property#v=onepage&q=javed%20nasir%20Evacuee%20Property&f=false. Retrieved 15 November 2017. 
  27. 27.0 27.1 Sharma, D. P. (2005) (in en). The New Terrorism: Islamist International. APH Publishing. ISBN 9788176487993. https://books.google.com/?id=9rBpDinDjI8C&pg=PA408&dq=Javed+Nasir+shahbaz+sharif#v=onepage&q=Javed%20Nasir%20shahbaz%20sharif&f=false. Retrieved 15 November 2017. 
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  29. "Petition filed by Lt Gen (Retd) Javed Nasir, Former Director General, Inter Services Intelligence, Pakistan, before the Anti Terrorism Court, Lahore". http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/document/papers/petition.htm. Retrieved 15 November 2017. 
  30. Butt, Qaiser (20 September 2011). "Islamabad refuses to hand over ex-ISI chief to Bosnia tribunal - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. The Express Tribune (The Express Tribune, 2011). https://tribune.com.pk/story/256199/islamabad-refuses-to-hand-over-ex-isi-chief-to-bosnia-tribunal/. Retrieved 15 November 2017. 

External links

Military offices
Preceded by
Asad Durrani
Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence
1992–1993
Succeeded by
Javed Ashraf Qazi