Liaquat Ali Khan
Shaheed-e-Millat Liaquat Ali Khan | |
---|---|
لیَاقَتْ عَلِیّ خَانْ | |
Mahmud Hussain | |
Minister of Finance of British India | |
In office 29 October 1946 – 14 August 1947 | |
Monarch | George VI |
Governors General | Archibald Wavell (1943–1947) Lord Mountbatten (1947) |
Vice President | Jawaharlal Nehru |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Office abolished |
President of the Pakistan Muslim League | |
In office 11 September 1948 – 17 October 1951 | |
Preceded by | Muhammad Ali Jinnah |
Succeeded by | Khawaja Nazimuddin |
Personal details | |
Born | Pakistani (1947–1951) | 1 October 1895
Political party | All-India Muslim League (1921–1947) Pakistan Muslim League (1947–1951) |
Spouse | |
Oxford University )(LL.B. in Jurisprudence | |
Liaquat Ali Khan
Khan was born in Karnal to an Urdu-speaking family. He was educated at the Aligarh Muslim University and University of Oxford. After first being invited to the Indian National Congress, he later opted to join the All-India Muslim League led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, an Indian independence activist who later advocated for a separate Muslim nation-state out of Hindu-majority India. Khan assisted Jinnah in the campaign for what would become known as the Pakistan Movement. He was a democratic political theorist who promoted parliamentarism in British India.
Khan's premiership oversaw the beginning of the
In March 1951, he survived an attempted coup by left-wing political opponents and segments of the Pakistani military. While delivering a speech in the Company Bagh of Rawalpindi, Khan was shot dead by an Afghan militant Said Akbar for unknown reasons. Khan was posthumously given the title Shaheed-e-Milat ('Martyr of the Nation') and is honored as one of Pakistan's greatest prime ministers.
Early life
Family background and education
Muhammad Liaquat Ali Khan was born on 1 October 1895 into a wealthy
Despite being "courteous, affable and socially popular" and coming from an aristocratic family known for its philanthropy, his biographer Muhammad Reza Kazimi notes that little is known of his early life and that which has to be pieced together from snippets of mostly hagiographic writings. The family claimed a Persian origin going back to Nausherwan the Just, the Saasanid king of Persia, although this may be no more than legend, and they were settled in Uttar Pradesh by the time of his grandfather, Nawab Ahmad Ali Khan.[9] They had adopted the Urdu language.[10]
According to his family, Nawab Ahmad Ali Khan gained sufficient prestige that the British East India Company recognised him with titles such as Rukun-al-Daulah, Shamsher Jang and Nawab Bahadur, which they say were later inherited by his sons. The validity of those titles has been questioned because the family estates in Uttar Pradesh were diminished as a result of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, after which Uttar Pradesh itself ceased to be an autonomous area.[11]
His family had deep respect for the Indian Muslim thinker and philosopher
In 1913, Ali Khan attended the
Political activism in British India
Ali Khan returned to his homeland India in 1923, entering in
United Province legislation
Ali Khan was elected to the provisional legislative council in the
During this time, Ali Khan intensified his support in Muslim dominated populations, often raising the problems and challenges faced by the Muslim communities in the United Province. Ali Khan joined hands with academician
In his parliamentary career, Ali Khan established his reputation as "eloquent and principled spokesman" who would never compromise on his principles even in the face of severe odds. Ali Khan, on several occasions, used his influence and good offices for the resolution of communal tension.[17]
Allying with Muslim League
Ali Khan rose to become one of the influential members of the Muslim League, and was one of the central figures in the Muslim League delegation that attended the National Convention held at
Ali Khan firmed believed against the unity of Hindu-Muslim community, and worked tirelessly for that cause. In his party presidential address delivered at the Provisional Muslim Education Conference at AMU in 1932, Ali Khan expressed the view that Muslims had "distinct [c]ulture of their own and had the (every) right to persevere it".[18] At this conference, Liaquat Ali Khan announced that:
But, days of rapid communalism, in this country (British India) are numbered.., and we shall ere witnessed long the united Hindu-Muslim India anxious to persevere and maintain all that rich and valuable heritage which the contact of two great cultures bequeathed us. We all believe in the great destiny of our common motherland to achieve which common assets are but invaluable[18]
Soon, he and his new wife departed to England, but did not terminate his connections with the Muslim League. With Ali Khan departing, the Muslim League's parliamentary wing disintegrated, with many Muslim members joining the either Democratic Party, originally organised by Ali Khan in 1930, and the Congress Party. At the deputation in England, Ali Khan made close study of organising the political parties, and would soon return to his country with Jinnah.[18]
In 1930, Jinnah urged Prime Minister
]During this time, Liaquat Ali Khan and his wife joined Jinnah, with Ali Khan practising economic law and his wife joining the faculty of economics at the local college. Ali Khan and his wife spent most of their time convincing Jinnah to return to British India to unite the scattered Muslim League mass into one full force. Meanwhile,
Pakistan movement
When Muhammad Ali Jinnah returned to India, he started to reorganise the Muslim League. In 1936, the annual session of the League met in Bombay (now Mumbai). In the open session on 12 April 1936, Jinnah moved a resolution proposing Khan as the Honorary General Secretary. The resolution was unanimously adopted and he held the office till the establishment of Pakistan in 1947. In 1940, Khan was made the deputy leader of the Muslim League Parliamentary party. Jinnah was not able to take active part in the proceedings of the Assembly on account of his heavy political work. It was Khan who stood in his place. During this period, Khan was also the Honorary General Secretary of the Muslim League, the deputy leader of their party, Convenor of the Action Committee of the Muslim League, Chairman of the Central Parliamentary Board and the managing director of the newspaper Dawn.[citation needed]
The
In 1945–46, mass elections were held in India and Khan won the Central Legislature election from the
Prime Minister of Pakistan (1947-51)
Ali Khan administration: Immigration and census
After independence, Khan was appointed as the first
On the internal front, Khan, faced with socialist nationalist challenges and different religious ideologies saw the country fall into more unrest. Problems with Soviet Union and Soviet bloc further escalated after Khan failed to make a visit to Soviet Union, due to his hidden intentions. Khan envisioned an un-aligned foreign policy, and the country became more inclined to the United States and this ultimately influenced Khan's policy towards the Western bloc.[26]
His government faced serious challenges including the dispute over
The
Economic and education policy
As Prime Minister Ali Khan took initiatives to develop educational infrastructure,
Khan's government authorised the establishment of the Sindh University. Under his government, science infrastructure was slowly built but he continued inviting Muslim scientists and engineers from India to Pakistan, believing it essential for Pakistan's future progress.[28]
In 1947, Khan and his Finance minister
Constitutional annex
During his early days in office, Khan first adopted the
War with India
At a meeting of the Partition Council, Liaquat Ali Khan had rejected an offer from Vallabhbhai Patel regarding Kashmir and Hyderabad State. Patel had offered Kashmir to Pakistan in exchange for Pakistan relinquishing its claim to Hyderabad. Ali rejected this offer, preferring to keep Hyderabad, ignoring that the distance between the two would prevent Hyderabad's accession to Pakistan in any case. Pakistani statesman Shaukat Hayat Khan resigned in protest of this folly; Hyderabad went to India anyway; and the two nations went to war over Kashmir.[34][35]
Soon after appointing a new government, Pakistan entered a war with India over Kashmir. The British commander of the Pakistan Army General Sir Frank Walter Messervy refused to attack the Indian army units. When General Douglas Gracey was appointed the commander in chief of the Pakistan Army, Liaquat Ali Khan ordered the independent units of the Pakistan Army to intervene in the conflict. On the Kashmir issue, Khan and Jinnah's policy reflected "Pakistan's alliance with U.S and United Kingdom" against "Indian imperialism" and "Soviet expansion". However, it is revealed by historians that differences and disagreement with Jinnah arose over the Kashmir issue. Jinnah's strategy to liberate Kashmir was to use military force. Thus, Jinnah's strategy was to "kill two birds with one stone", namely decapitate India by controlling Kashmir, and to find a domestic solution through foreign and military intervention.[36]
On Khan's personal accounts and views, the prime minister preferred a "harder diplomatic" and "less military stance".[36] The prime minister sought a dialogue with his counterpart, and agreed to resolve the dispute of Kashmir in a peaceful manner through the efforts of the United Nations. According to this agreement a ceasefire was effected in Kashmir on 1 January 1949. It was decided that a free and impartial plebiscite would be held under the supervision of the UN.[37] The prime minister's diplomatic stance was met with hostility by the Pakistan Armed Forces and the socialists and communists, notably the mid-higher level command who would later sponsor an alleged coup led by the communists and socialists against his government.[36]
Soviet Union and United States
This section may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards, as it is written in poor English and doesn't flow well. (April 2014) |
In 1949, the Soviet Union's leader, Joseph Stalin, sent an invitation to Ali Khan to visit the country, followed by a U.S. invitation after they learned of the Soviet move. In May 1950, Khan paid a state visit to the United States after being persuaded to snap ties with the Soviet Union, and set the course of Pakistan's foreign policy toward closer ties with the West, despite it being the Soviet Union who sent its invitation of Khan to visit the country first.
Pakistan cannot afford to wait. She must take her friends where she finds them...!
— Liaquat Ali Khan calling the Soviet Union and China., [40]
Khan began to develop tighter relations with the
Struggle for control
Ali Khan's ability to run the country was put in doubt and great questions were raised by the communists and socialists active in the country.[36] In 1947–48 period, Ali Khan-Jinnah relations was contentious, and the senior military leadership and Jinnah himself became critical of Khan's government.[41] In his last months, Jinnah came to believe that his Prime Minister Khan was a weak prime minister—highly ambitious—and not loyal to Jinnah and his vision in his dying days.[36]
The death of Jinnah was announced in 1948, as a new cabinet was also re-established. Ali Khan faced the problem of religious minorities during late 1949 and early 1950, and observers feared that India and Pakistan were about to fight their second war in the first three years of their independence. At this time, Ali Khan met Indian Prime Minister
Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan did not take over the office of Governor-General, instead appointing Khawaja Nazimuddin, a Bengali statesman from East-Pakistan. When Jinnah died, he had held three major positions: Governor-General; President of Muslim League; and the Constituent Assembly of which he served both its president and legal adviser. Although Ali Khan was a legislator and lawyer, he lacked Jinnah's political stature.[36]
Differences and problems also leveled up with the
The third major difference was itself in the Muslim League; the party had weak political structure with no public base ground or support. Its activities reveled in high factionalism, low commitment to resolve public problems, corruption and incompetency of planning social and economics programmes. In East Pakistan, Ali Khan's lack of attention for the development of the Bengali section of the state brought about a bad juncture for the prime minister and his party, where its ideology was vague. In terms of its political base, it was both weak and narrow, and could not compete in West-Pakistan as well as in East-Pakistan where traditional families were endowed with enormous political power. In West Pakistan, the Muslim League failed to compete against the socialists, and in East Pakistan the communists.[36]
1951 military scandal
Ali Khan's relation with
During this time the socialists gained a significant amount of support. Senior military leaders and prominent socialists plotted to overthrow the government of Ali Khan. Those involved reportedly included
Assassination
On 16 October 1951, Khan was shot twice in the chest while he was addressing a gathering of 100,000 at Company Bagh (Company Gardens), Rawalpindi.[43][44] The police immediately shot the presumed murderer who was later identified as professional assassin Said Akbar.[44] Khan was rushed to a hospital and given a blood transfusion, but he succumbed to his injuries. Said Akbar Babrak was an Afghan national from the Pashtun Zadran tribe.[45] He was known to Pakistani police prior to the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan. The exact motive behind the assassination has never been fully revealed and much speculation surrounds it.[46] An Urdu daily published in Bhopal, India, saw a US hand behind the assassination.[47]
Upon his death, Khan was given the honorific title of "Shaheed-e-Millat", or "Martyr of the Nation". He is buried at
First cabinet and appointments
The Ali Khan Cabinet | ||
---|---|---|
Ministerial office | Officer holder | Term |
Prime minister | Liaquat Ali Khan | 1947–1951 |
Foreign Affairs |
Sir Zafrullah Khan |
1947–1954 |
Economic |
Malik Ghulam | 1947–1954 |
Labor |
Jogendra Nath Mandal | 1947–1951 |
Interior | Khwaja Shahabuddin |
1948–1951 |
Defence |
Iskander Mirza |
1947–1954 |
Science advisor | Salimuzzaman Siddiqui | 1951–1959 |
Health |
Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry | 1947–1956 |
Statistics |
Sir Victor Turner | 1947–1951 |
Women |
Sheila Irene Pant |
1947–1951 |
Communications |
Abdur Rab Nishtar | 1947–1951 |
Legacy
He is Pakistan's longest serving Prime Minister spending 1,524 days in power.[50] His legacy was built up as a man who was the "martyr for democracy" in the newly-founded country. Many in Pakistan saw him as a man who sacrificed his life to preserve the parliamentary system of government. After his death, his wife remained an influential figure in the Pakistani foreign service, and was also the Governor of Sindh Province in the 1970s. Liaquat Ali Khan's assassination remains an unsolved mystery, and all traces leading to the conspirator were removed. Popularly, he is known as Quaid-i-Millat (Leader of the Nation) and Shaheed-i-Millat (Martyr of the Nation), by his supporters. His assassination was a first political murder of any civilian leader in Pakistan, and Liaqat Ali Khan is remembered fondly by most Pakistanis. In an editorial written by Daily Jang, the media summed up that "his name will remain shining forever on the horizon of Pakistan".[21]
In Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan is regarded as Jinnah's "right hand man" and heir apparent, as Jinnah once had said. His role in filling in the vacuum created by Jinnah's death is seen as decisive in tackling critical problems during Pakistan's fledgling years and in devising measures for the consolidation of Pakistan. After his death, the government of Pakistan released a commemorative stamp and his face is printed on postage stamps across the country.[21]
Liaquat Ali Khan's former personal residence is located at Jansath Tehsil of
Eponym
- Liaquat National Library, Pakistan's largest library and open-source library, named after him.
- Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, medical university established in the memory of Liaquat Ali Khan.
- Liaquat National Hospital, government hospital named after Liaquat Ali Khan.
- Liaquat National Garden, government-owned garden where Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated.
- Liaquat Pur, census-designated town-city named after Liaquat Ali Khan.
- Liaquat Pur Railway Station, a railway station in Liaquatpur also named after Liaquat Ali Khan.
- Liaquatabad Town, a populated town in Karachi named after Liaquat Ali Khan.
Assessment of foreign policy
Others argue that Khan had wanted Pakistan to remain neutral in the Cold War, as declared three days after Pakistan's independence when he declared that Pakistan would take no sides in the conflict of ideologies between the nations.[52] Former serviceman Shahid M. Amin has argued that the Soviets themselves could not settle convenient dates for a visit, and that, even during his visit to the United States, Liaquat had declared his intention to visit the Soviet Union. Amin also notes that "Failure to visit a country in response to its invitations has hardly ever become the cause of long-term estrangement".[53]
Popular culture
In Pakistan alone, many documentaries, stage and television dramas have been produced to enlighten Liaqat Ali Khan's struggle. Internationally, Liaquat Ali Khan's character was portrayed by Pakistan's stage actor Yousuf "Shakeel" Kamal in the 1998 film Jinnah.[54]
See also
- Conservatism in Pakistan
- Pakistan Muslim League
- History of Pakistan
- List of unsolved murders
- History of Cold War (1947–1953)
- State within a state
- Pakistani political families
- Sack of Pakistani consulates in Afghanistan 1955
Notes
- Urdu: لِیاقت علی خان
References
- ^ Gopal Misra (14 January 2020). "Pakistan judiciary and Imran Khan in tug of war". Tehelka.com website. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- ^ ISBN 1884964443.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-579788-6.
- ^ Long, Roger D. (1 October 1984). "The Early Life of the Quaid-i-Millat Liquat Ali Khan". Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society. 32 (4). Karachi: Pakistan Historical Society: 269.
- ^ a b Allana, G. (1969). Eminent Muslim freedom fighters 1562-1947: Twenty one great lives. Delhi: Neeraj Publishing House. pp. 281–294.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34527. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Naqvi, Jawed (13 October 2020). "Partition short-changed the poor". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
- ^ "Remembering Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
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- ^ OpenLibrary.org. "Liaquat Ali Khan and the freedom movement (1997 edition) | Open Library". Open Library. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Liaquat Ali Khan (Part II)". Story of Pakistan. Directorate-Press of the Story of Pakistan. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
- ^ ISBN 9788171563746.
- ^ a b "Liaquat Ali Khan [1895–1951]: Political career". Archived from the original on 18 November 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2006.
- ISBN 978-1-10813-172-8.
- ^ a b c Liaquat Ali Khan: A worthy successor to the Quaid, Prof Dr M Yakub Mughal Archived 31 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine, The News International Special Edition. Retrieved on 31 December 2006.
- ^ a b Ziauddin Ahmad (1970). Liaquat Ali Khan, leader and statesman. Islamabad, Pakistan: Oriental Academy, 1970.
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- ^ The Leader – Government of Pakistan Archived 26 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Who took Oath from Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan?". Only MCQs. 6 February 2019. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-579788-6.
- ^ Shahid, Riaz (15 February 2010). "Reassessing Liaquat Ali Khan's role". The Daily Times. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
- ^ a b Bhatnagar, Arun (20 November 2011). "A leaf from history: Pioneers in science". Dawn. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Pakistan: Problems at Independence". April 1994. United States Government. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
- ^ "Liaquat Ali Khan: The Prime minister 2, Story of Pakistan". Archived from the original on 11 May 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2006.
- ^ a b "Objectives Resolution is passed [1949]". Story of Pakistan Foundation. Press Directorate of the Story of Pakistan, Constitutional history. Archived from the original on 19 December 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
- ISBN 0-415-17297-7.
- ^ "Pakistan at fifty-five: From Jinnah to Musharraf" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2007. Retrieved 25 January 2007.
- ^ "When neither India nor Pakistan wanted Kashmir". The National Herald. July 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- ^ Gandhi, Rajmohan (27 June 2018). "Patel wanted Hyderabad for India, not Kashmir – but Junagadh was the wild card that changed the game". Scroll.in. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
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- ^ "RESOLUTION 47 (1948) ON THE INDIA-PAKISTAN QUESTION". Archived from the original on 18 February 2007. Retrieved 25 January 2007.
- ^ ISBN 0-521-40773-7.
- ^ a b Zaidi, Syed Mohammad Zulqarnain (2010). "The Assassination of Prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan: The Fateful Journey" (PDF). Pakistan Journal of History and Culture. XXXI (1).
- ^ a b Aminv, Shahid M. (17 October 2010). "The foreign policy of Liaquat Ali Khan". Dawn. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
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- ^ Khuhro, Zarrar (27 December 2010). "Unexplained assassinations, Benazir's assassination changed Pakistan's future, but there are others that have altered the course of history". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ^ a b "Liaquat Bagh adds to its gory history". Dawn. 28 December 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ^ Raza, Shahzad (28 September 2004). "Did govt pay for Liaqat Ali Khan's casket?". Daily Times (Pakistan). Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ Ahmed, Ashfaq (7 July 2009). "Key moment for Pakistan". Gulfnews. Archived from the original on 7 July 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
- ^ Husain, Syed (18 July 2006). "Declassified Papers Shed Light on US Role in Liaquat's Murder". Arab News.
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- ^ "Doctor relives father's fate after Bhutto attack". Reuters. 30 December 2007. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
- ^ Ghumman, Khawar (19 June 2012). "Gilani loses record of longest-serving Pakistan PM]". Dawn. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
- ^ "Former Pak PMs Liaquat Ali Khans bungalow discovered in Muzaffarnagar, UP govt wants it as tourist destination". India Today. 8 October 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
- ^ New York Times 18 August 1947, cited by S.M. Burke, pg. 147.
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- ^ "Jinnah (1998)". IMDb. Retrieved 25 January 2007.
Further reading
- Kazmi, Muhammad Raza (1997). Liaquat Ali Khan and the freedom movement. Lahore: Pakistan Study Centre. ASIN B0006FBFSA.
- ISBN 978-0-19-597709-7.
- Hay, Stephen (1988). Sources of Indian Tradition: Modern India and Pakistan. United States: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-06415-2.
- Jone, Owen Bennett (2002). Pakistan: An eye of storm. Yale University, U.S.: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-09760-3.
External links
- Pictures of Liaquat Ali Khan's Visit to the USA—type Pakistan in the search bar.