People's Party. Within hours of Yahya stepping down, President Bhutto reversed Judge Advocate General Branch (Pakistan)'s verdict against Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and instead released him to see him off to London. President Bhutto also signed orders for Yahya's house confinement, the man who imprisoned Mujib in the first place. Both actions produced headlines around the world. Personal life Yahya is said to have had a relationship with Akleem Akhtar but he was never married. He was born into a Shia Muslim family, but was non-practising and was known to have indulged in activities prohibited in Islam such as fornication with prostitutes and the consumption of alcohol. He also had a brief relationship with Bengali woman called Mrs Shamim, also known as Black Pearl. Yahya had a son, named Ali Yahya Khan. Death Yahya remained under house arrest until 1979, when he was released from custody by martial law administrator General Fazle Haq. He stayed out from public events and died on 10 August 1980 in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan. Legacy After being released from these restrictions in 1977, he died in Rawalpindi in 1980. He is viewed largely negatively by Pakistani historians and is considered among the least successful of the country's leaders. Yahya Khan was awarded , but then stripped of his service honours by Pakistan. Yahya Khan's rule is widely regarded as the leading cause of the breakup of Pakistan. Notes References External links Official profile at Pakistan Army website YAHYA KHAN AND BANGLADESH Chronicles Of Pakistan Henry Kissinger and PM China discussed Yahya Khan and 1971 loss |- |- |- |- |- 1917 births 1980 deaths Pashtun people People from Peshawar People from Chakwal District University of the Punjab alumni Indian Military Academy alumni British Indian Army officers Baloch Regiment officers Indian Army personnel of World War II Indian military personnel of World War II Non-U.S. alumni of the Command and General Staff College Pakistani generals 20th-century Pakistani people Pakistani military leaders Military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Presidents of Pakistan Commanders-in-Chief, Pakistan Army Foreign Ministers of Pakistan Defence Ministers of Pakistan Generals of the Bangladesh Liberation War Generals of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Causes and prelude of the Bangladesh Liberation War 1971 controversies Controversies in Pakistan Pakistani anti-communists Generals of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 1971 Bangladesh genocide perpetrators People of the Cold War Indian prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war