Abrar Hussain (general)
| Abrar Hussain | |
|---|---|
| Born |
2 September 1918 Lucknow, British India |
| Died | 15 March 1992 (aged 73) Rawalpindi, Pakistan |
| Allegiance |
 British Raj Pakistan
|
| Service/branch |
 British Indian Army (1940-45) Pakistan Army (1947-68) |
| Years of service | 1940–1968 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Unit | 2/10th Baluch (now 7 Baloch) |
| Commands held |
17 Baluch (now 19 Baloch) 6 Armoured Division Command and Staff College |
| Battles/wars |
World War II (Malaya) Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 |
| Awards |
Hilal-e-Jurat Member of the Order of the British Empire |
Major General Abrar Hussain, HJ MBE (1918–1992) was a Pakistani military officer who served in World War II and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
Major General Abrar Hussain was born on 2 September 1918 in a Taluqdar family of Oudh. He was educated at La Martinere School and Colvin Taluqdars' College, Lucknow, where he excelled in both academics and sports. His excellent personal conduct and exemplary character led the College Principal to declare him as "the best boy who has passed through my hands in 10 years." These qualities would continue to be the hallmark of Abrar Hussain for the rest of his eventful life. In 1939, he graduated in History, Political Science and English Literature from Allahbad University. On the outbreak of World War II, he joined the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun and was commissioned into the British Indian Army on 31 July 1940 and posted to 2nd Battalion of 10th Baluch Regiment (now 7 Baloch). His brother (later Brigadier) Noor Ahmad Hussain, served as an aide-de-camp (ADC) to Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
In October 1940, 2/10th Baluch was dispatched to Malaya in anticipation of the impending war with Japan. On 8 December 1941, Japan invaded Malaya and rapidly overran the British forces, who surrendered on Singapore Island on 15 February 1942. Among the Allied Prisoners of War was 2/10th Baluch, who had given an excellent account of themselves despite the Allied defeat. The Japanese separated Indian officers and men from the British and subjected them to intense propaganda and pressure to join the Japanese-sponsored 'Indian National Army' (INA). The Baluchis mostly stood firm. Prominent among them was Lieutenant Abrar Hussain, who refused to betray his Honour. The Japanese sent him along with 150 recalcitrant Gurkhas for use as coastal mine-breaching suicide troops on successive island landings. After three such landings, the group arrived on the island of New Britain in the South Pacific, where they were used for building airstrips. Led by their gallant commander, the group remained defiant despite severe privations and cruelty of their Japanese captors. By 1945, the Allies had severely disrupted Japanese communications in the South Pacific resulting in starvation among the Japanese, who reportedly had turned to cannibalism. Lieutenant Abrar not only managed to survive, but also demanded and received the surrender of the thousand-strong Japanese garrison.
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