Kamal Matinuddin

Kamal Matinuddin
Native name	کمال متین الدین
Born	1926 (1926)[1] British India
Died	5 February 2017(2017-02-05) (aged 90–91)[2] Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan
Allegiance	Pakistan
Service / branch	Pakistan Army
Years of service	1947–1981
Rank	Lieutenant general
Battles / wars	Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Alma mater	Indian Military Academy Canadian Army Command and Staff College
Other work	Defence analyst military historian

Kamal Matinuddin (Urdu: کمال متین الدین;‎ 1926–2017) was a Pakistani general, diplomat, and military historian. He authored works primarily on Pakistan's foreign policy, nuclear policy, and military history.

Early life

Kamal Matinuddin was born in 1926 to an Urdu speaking family of Hyderabad Deccan. He obtained his higher education from the University of Lucknow, before enrolling into the Indian Military Academy in 1946.[3]

Military career

Following Pakistan's independence in 1947, Matinuddin was commissioned as a gunner in the 7th Field Regiment of the Royal Pakistan Artillery. He participated in the First Kashmir War, shelling enemy positions in the Bhimber sector.[4][5] He studied at the Canadian Army Command and Staff College in Kingston, graduating in 1957.[6][7] During his 34-year long service in the military,[4] Matinuddin held various staff, instruction and command-related appointments, including heading an infantry division and assuming responsibility for operational planning as the Director General Joint Staff.[7][8][9] He witnessed action in the Second Kashmir War and the 1971 War.[7][8][10] In 1981, Matinuddin retired as a lieutenant-general from the Pakistan Army.[3][4]

Diplomatic career

After retiring from the army, Matinuddin joined the Foreign Service and was appointed as Pakistan's ambassador to Thailand.[4][11] He also served as Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok.[3]

Defence analysis

Upon returning to Pakistan, Matinuddin became the director-general of the Islamabad-based think tank Institute of Strategic Studies.[4][12][13] In his book Tragedy of Errors (1994), Matinuddin addressed, studied and wrote an eyewitness account of the political differences and causes which underpinned the secession of East Pakistan.[10][14][15][16] The book was translated by Muhammad Sheraz Dasti into Urdu and republished in 2018 as Naslon Ne Sazaa Payi.[17] As a defence analyst,[18] he wrote extensively on the conflict in Afghanistan[13][19][20] and on Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme.[21]

Works

• Leo E. Rose; Kamal Matinuddin (1989). Beyond Afghanistan: The Emerging U.S.–Pakistan Relations. Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California. ISBN 978-1-55729-017-5.
• Kamal Matinuddin (1991). Power Struggle in the Hindu Kush: Afghanistan 1978–1991. Wajidalis.
• Kamal Matinuddin (1994). Tragedy of Errors: East Pakistan Crisis, 1968–1971. Wajidalis. ISBN 978-969-8031-19-0.
• Kamal Matinuddin (1999). The Taliban Phenomenon: Afghanistan 1994–1997. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-579274-4.
• Kamal Matinuddin (2002). The Nuclearization of South Asia. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-579416-8.

Death

Matinuddin died on 5 February 2017 at the Combined Military Hospital in Rawalpindi, aged 90 or 91.[1] His funeral was held at the city's Race Course Ground.[2]

References

1. "دفاعی تجزیہ نگار اکرام سہگل کبھی بھی بنگلہ دیش میں جنگی قیدی نہیں رہے". G News Network (in Urdu). 21 October 2018. Archived from the original on 23 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020. واضح رہے کہ جنرل (ر) کمال متین الدین 1926 میں بھارت میں پیدا ہوئے اور پانچ فروری2017 کو راولپنڈی میں خالق حقیقی سے جا ملے.
2. "معروف ادیب لیفٹیننٹ جنرل (ر ) کمال متین الدین گزشتہ روز سی ایم ایچ راولپنڈی میں انتقال کر گئے ،". Dunya News (in Urdu). 6 February 2017. Archived from the original on 23 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
3. Ewan W. Anderson; Nancy Hatch Dupree (January 1990). The Cultural Basis of Afghan Nationalism. Pinter Publishers. ISBN 978-0-86187-869-7. KAMAL MATINUDDIN, a retired Lieutenant-General in the Pakistan Army, was educated at the University of Lucknow and later trained at a number of staff and defence colleges. He was Pakistan's ambassador to Thailand and its Permanent Representative to the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Immediately before his retirement, he was Director-General of the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad...
4. United Service Institution of India (2002). Journal of the United Service Institution of India. United Service Institution of India. Kamal Matinuddin, considered a specialist on the Taliban movement, is a retired Pakistani Army Lieutenant General. Commissioned as a gunner in 1947 into the 7 Field Regiment of the Royal Pakistan Artillery, he participated in the 1948 operations in the Bhimber sector, shelling Indian positions early in his career. After a 34-year long military career, he retired in 1981, when he joined the diplomatic corps as Pakistan's Ambassador to Thailand. On his return, he was appointed as the Director General of the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad.
5. Khan, Sher (November 2000). "The Gola of Babot". Defence Journal. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
6. Kamal Matinuddin (1991). Power Struggle in the Hindu Kush: Afghanistan, 1978-1991. Wajidalis.
7. National Development and Security. Foundation for Research on National Development and Security. 1995.
8. Pakistan Army Journal. Inspector General Training and Evaluation Branch, General Headquarters. December 1992. p. 113.
9. Strategic Studies, Volumes 16-17. Institute of Strategic Studies. 1994. p. 255.
10. Mirza, Iftikhar (29 December 2018). "Disintegration of Pakistan". The Nation. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
11. "Fatal clashes in northwest Pakistan". Al Jazeera. 27 October 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
12. "الجيش الباكستاني أولوية إستراتيجية لواشنطن". Al Jazeera (in Arabic). 4 November 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
13. Shaun Gregory (23 October 2015). Democratic Transition and Security in Pakistan. Taylor & Francis. pp. 158–. ISBN 978-1-317-55010-5.
14. Aqil, Aamir (13 December 2019). "Amar Shonar Bangla". Daily Times. Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
15. Mahfooz, Shabana (24 March 2018). "Two nations and a theory". Pakistan Today. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
16. Ali, Yasmeen Aftab (19 December 2016). "The fall of Dacca". Pakistan Today. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
17. Habib, Tahir (4 November 2018). "نئی کتاب: نسلوں نے سزا پائی". Daily Jang (in Urdu). Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
18. Malik, Shahzad (21 April 2010). "پاکستانی فوج کی جنگی مشقیں". BBC Urdu (in Urdu). Retrieved 23 June 2020.
19. Rafiq, Arif (15 May 2015). "The Unknown American Al-Qaeda Operative". National Interest. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
20. Impact International. News & Media. 2001. p. 43. As a retired lieutenant general of Pakistan army Kamal Matinuddin has considerable staff experience and in diplomatic sendee as an ambassador of Pakistan. Well known as an expert on Afghanistan, he writes [frequently] on the Afghan...
21. "Zardari's 'no first use of nukes' remark takes Pak by surprise". Indian Express. 23 November 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2020.