When I bought Brigadier Mian Mahmood’s autobiography My Reflections in Passion, my eyes got a little wet. When I took the book in my hands, I felt a strange thrill.
At one point, years passed when Dr. Zafar Altaf had daily meetings with Brigadier Mahmood. The last time I met him was at the doctor’s office six years ago. After the death of Dr. Sahib in December 2015, I never met Brigadier Sahib and now it is known that his book has been published.
For a long time after Dr. Sahib’s death, I stopped going out of the house in the afternoon. Shortly before that, another friend, Dr. Sher Afghan, died. The grief of his death was so fresh that Dr. Zafar Altaf passed away. Seeing me in sadness and depression, one day my wife said: What to do now? Your friends are older than us. Then these sorrows will be shocks.
Brigadier Mian Muhammad Mahmood had said years ago while sitting at Dr. Zafar Altaf’s lunch table that he was writing a book in which he would write the whole story of the 1965 war and would not hide anything. He fought the battle of Run of Kachh where his commander was Major General Tika Khan. When they were shocked, General Akhtar Ali Khan was the commander. In September, their commander was General Yahya Khan.
I was a little surprised to see the age of the brigadier that he would really do it. He often talked to generals and told stories. He was very close to Dr. Zafar Altaf. They would be there almost every day like me and then they would have a wonderful party.
Learn a lot from Brigadier Mahmood. The most positive thing about his personality was that he listened to his views with great patience and consolation. I am the age of their children but they would laugh at my many things that could make anyone angry. His precious watch was often a joke on Pathek Philips which he enjoyed. Then I teased him that he left the army before the 1971 war so that the war would not have to be fought. They would laugh out loud at my words.
Another great thing about them was that they were willing to change their point of view if they were told something new. He also often used the media to tease me. Dr. Zafar Marie and Brigadier Sahib would have enjoyed this trip. If the former PPP minister and MNA Nawab Yousuf Talpur had also participated, the fun of the party would have been different.
Then the discussion would be between Dr. Zafar Altaf, Brigadier Mahmood, and Nawab Yusuf Talpur and I would listen quietly like a student. If the horns of Dr. Sahib and Brigadier Sahib had flown, Nawab Yusuf and I would have won. In any case, there would be very serious discussions, laughter, jokes, and jokes. His greatest quality was that he did not take advantage of his age, considered everyone a friend, and treated them equally.
Brigadier Mahmood was very close to General Naseerullah Babar. I would jokingly say: Where will you be friends with General Babar? You leave like that. Seriously, one day he took me and Dr. Zafar Altaf to Peshawar. General Naseerullah Babar extended great hospitality to him. I said to the brigadier, “Sir, I agree. I thought you were terrifying me and the doctor like that.” Everyone laughed. General Babar’s wife had prepared a simple but excellent meal for us.
A beautifully simple house but lots of antiques. General Babar was found open and simple. I asked him about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto: You did not go to offer condolences, so he said angrily: I went to offer condolences to those who killed her?
He said: Alone Garhi was forgiven by God and returned after reciting Fatiha on Bibi’s grave. An important PPP minister, who was very close to Benazir Bhutto, said that he had reprimanded her for bringing her to Pakistan to kill him. He said: When the threat came, I had sent a message to Baitullah Mehsud that nothing should happen to Bibi.
According to General Babar, he had sworn that Mehsud did not make any threat, but even when Bibi was killed, according to General Babar, Baitullah Mehsud had sent the same message that he had no role in it. Although Baitullah Mehsud was said to have hatched the whole plan, General Babar believed that the killers were inside the party.
I remember when I published General Babar’s interview the next day, I cried. Well, Brigadier Mahmood’s book has now illuminated my fourteen layers. The hard work and detail with which he wrote the book at that age make me want to give him immense credit.
He first wrote the whole book, then gathered all his military comrades in the 1965 war at home and showed the draft. He also sent a draft to Sahibzada Yaqub Ali Khan that there was no mistake. He also praised.
Brigadier Mahmoud writes: He used to play golf after retiring from the Army. While playing golf in 1976, he met Col. Donald, the Defense Attache of the US Embassy, which soon turned into a good relationship. Colonel Donald was retired from the US Army, but he disappeared for a few days.
When he returned to the golf course, Brigadier Mahmoud would ask him where the colonel was. He would tell them that he had gone to Multan for a few days. While describing the situation in Multan, he did not forget to mention that he had meetings with General Zia-ul-Haq, the Corps Commander of Multan, but also to explain the deep nature of his relationship with General Zia.
He also plays tennis. Brigadier Mahmood did not hear or know the name of General Zia in his army service.
In those days, the retirement of Army Chief General Tika Khan was imminent. One day Brigadier Mahmood went to meet General Saeed Qadir who was the Quarter Master General. There he saw a lieutenant general in uniform.
Brigadier Mahmood did not know the lieutenant general, so he did not speak to him. General Saeed Qadir noticed and said: It seems that you do not know each other. Brigadier Mahmood nodded while the lieutenant-general heard the name of Brigadier Mahmood and said: I have heard his name. When Brigadier Mahmood was surprised at this, General Saeed Qadir said: This is Lieutenant General Zia-ul-Haq. Hearing General Zia’s name, Brigadier Mahmood wondered for a moment where he had heard the name before. Suddenly the name of American Colonel Donald came to his mind.