The recent passing of Major General (Retd) Mahmud Ali Durrani at the age of 84 marks the departure of one of Pakistan’s most unconventional and courageous military figures. A decorated cavalry man from the 25th Cavalry of the Pakistan Army, Durrani’s later career was defined not by war, but by a tenacious commitment to peace, a stance that earned him the derisive but eventually proud epithet, “General Shanti” (General Peace), from the often India-hating Urdu press.
From Warrior to Peacemaker
Durrani’s shift from the path of a rising military star to a prominent advocate for rapprochement with India was partly circumstantial. A heart condition detected while he was still a Major General likely prevented him from attaining higher ranks, but he used this setback to transform himself. He transitioned from a man focused on combat to one passionately seeking peace, a commitment he carried as a badge of honor, laughing away the ridicule associated with his nickname.
For two decades, Durrani became a key figure in high-powered India-Pakistan “track two” diplomacy, a process generally encouraged by both governments during the 1995-2005 decade. He participated in groups like the ‘Baloosa group,’ where former combatants—including India’s former Air Chief Marshall S.K. Kaul and former RAW chief G.C. Saxena, and Pakistan’s former Army Chief General Jahangir Karamat—met to discuss and pursue reconciliation. His personal conviction was simple: he was a Pakistani patriot who believed his country’s interests were best served by avoiding war, ideally permanently.
The Truth of 26/11
Durrani’s moment of historic courage came in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Appointed National Security Advisor (NSA) by the new post-Musharraf Pakistan People’s Party government led by President Asif Ali Zardari, Durrani was left furious by the attacks. He saw 26/11 as a deliberate army/ISI betrayal and sabotage of the prospects for peace with India.
Under immense global pressure, President Zardari offered to send his NSA to India to coordinate investigations and rebuild confidence. However, the powerful forces within Pakistan overruled this move. Durrani, refusing to be silenced, dropped a bombshell just five weeks after the attack. In the first week of January 2009, he emphatically told the media: “Muhammad Ajmal Kasab is a Pakistani… There is no point denying that fact or hiding that fact.”
The fallout was immediate: he was made to resign instantly.
Yet, Durrani stood by his truth. In subsequent visits to India to deliver memorial lectures—in 2009 and again in 2017—he not only repeated his statement but elaborated on it. He stated unequivocally that he had “no doubt whatsoever that the ISI had staged 26/11.” This willingness to speak such a deeply uncomfortable truth, while remaining a respected veteran, a decorated combatant of the 1965 War, and a former NSA, required a special brand of courage.
Historical Glimpses: Zia and the 1965 War
Durrani’s unique vantage point allowed him to offer candid insights into Pakistan’s history. Recalling his time with General Zia-ul-Haq, Durrani dismissed the notion that Zia started out as a hardline Islamist. He described him as a “normal devout Muslim” whose transformation into a messianic figure was fueled by success and sycophants. After his audacious moves—the coup, the jailing and hanging of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto—the people around him began to tell him that he was “divinely chosen” to restore the glory of Islam in Pakistan. This was greatly compounded after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which positioned Pakistan center stage for a global jihad, with hangers-on constantly reinforcing the idea that Allah had positioned him for this role.
Perhaps his most revealing anecdote, however, comes from his combat days in the 1965 War. Fighting as a cavalry major in the Sialkot sector, Durrani confessed that most of the tactical maneuvers on both sides were “incipid, routine, completely devoid of ideas.” He singled out only one truly brilliant move in the entire war: the attack by Lt. Colonel A.B. Tarapore’s Poona Horse regiment of the Indian Army.
“He said this was the Poona Horse regiment led by Lieutenant Colonel A.B. Tarapore that came in from the rear at Phillora, from where they were not expected,” the video recounts. That attack, coming from a “completely unexpected and really clever direction,” had thrown the Pakistani forces back. It was only the “vagaries of the battlefield” that a random artillery shell hit Tarapore’s tank, leading to his demise. Tarapore was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest military decoration.
In a poignant detail of the aftermath, Durrani confessed that while rummaging through the tank wreckage as was routine after the exchange of bodies, he had picked up and kept Tarapore’s cap and swagger stick.
This final confession offers a powerful symbolic summation of his legacy. It is suggested that if Durrani’s family still holds these items, returning them now would be an excellent gesture of peace, the best possible tribute to a life dedicated to honesty, courage, and the pursuit of General Shanti.
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