Pursuit of Court-Martial
The Commission led by Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman of the Supreme Court accused Niazi of several kinds of misconduct during his tenure as Martial Law Administrator in East Pakistan. It said that Niazi was indulging in paan (chewing tobacco), smuggling from East to West Pakistan and sexual excesses, possibly including rape, according to witnesses. To clear his name, Niazi sought a court martial from the Judge Advocate General Branch, but it was never granted by Bhutto and Tikka Khan, who was then Chief of Army Staff. Niazi tried to take up politics to clear himself, but was jailed by General Zia-ul-Haq, the Chief Martial Law Administrator of Pakistan, to quell such actions. In 1998, Niazi released The Betrayal of East Pakistan, in which he blamed Yahya Khan, Rao Farman Ali, Tikka Khan and Bhutto for the separation of East Pakistan. Niazi did not accept the Hamoodur Rahman Commission, as he believed that it was prepared by one of the guilty parties (Bhutto) and that it was no alternative to a court-martial, where accused persons can defend themselves, bring in witnesses and cross-examine. Niazi claimed that a court-martial would have besmeared the names of those who later rose to great heights, and that he was being used as a scapegoat.
Read more about this topic: Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi
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