1.
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
2.
Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk
3.
Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk
4.
Aga Khan
5.
Ali Brothers
6.
Liaquat Ali Khan
7.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
8.
Allama Iqbal
9.
Fatima Jinnah
10.
Begum Shah Nawaz
11.
Begum Viqar-un-Nisa
12.
Choudhary Rahmat Ali
13.
H. S. Suhrawardy
14.
Chaud Muhammad Ali
15.
Khawaja Nazimuddin
16.
Ghulam Muhammad
17.
I. I. Chundrigar
18.
Muhammad Ali Bogra
19.
Feroz Khan Noon
20.
Iskander Mirza
21.
Yahya Khan
22.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
23.
Muhammad Ayub Khan
24.
Gen. M. Zia-ul-Haq
25.
Muhammad Khan Junejo
26.
Ghulam Ishaq Khan
27.
Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi
28.
Benazir Bhutto
29.
Farooq Ahmad Leghari
30.
Malik Meraj Khalid
31.
Mian M. Nawaz Sharif
32.
Muhammad Rafiq Tarar
33.
Gen. Pervez Musharraf
1. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan [1817-1898]
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, an educational, political and religious reformer
was the major formulator of the concept of the "Two-Nation Theory" among Muslims
of India in the latter half of the 19th century. As founder of the Muhammadan
Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh and leader of the Aligarh movement, he
attempted to acquaint the British with the Indian mind, his next anxiety was to
open the minds of his countrymen to European literature, science and technology.
Born in a leading family of Syeds in Delhi in 1817, Syed Ahmad was raised in the
religious and cultural style of the Mughal literati and scholastic tradition
associated with Shah Wali-Ullah. In defiance of the wishes of his elders, he
took service as a subordinate official of the British regime in 1836 and spent
the next forty years of his life posted in a series of small North Indian towns.
At the same time, he took seriously to writing books and pamphlets which
established his reputation as a writer and thinker.
During the 1857 Revolt, he remained a staunch supporter of British rule, but
afterwards published a sharp critique of British policies and attitudes. The
most significant of his literary works of this period were his pamphlets "Loyal
Mohammadans of India" and "Cause of Indian Revolt." [Top]
2. Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk [1841-1917]
Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk, born on March 24, 1841, was named Mushtaq Hussain. He
started his education at a Maktab and later on became a pupil of Maulvi Rahat
Ali Amrohi, under whom he learned advanced Arabic, Hadith and Fiqh. He later
joined the government service and therefore came in contact with Sir Syed Ahmed
Khan in 1861 in "United Provinces."
In 1866, he started his career as a humble worker of the Aligarh movement and
also became a member of the scientific society. In 1870, he was awarded second
prize in a essay competition arranged by the Society for the Promotion of
Education among Muslims on bringing about an educational renaissance among the
Muslims.
In 1875, he was invited to serve in Hyderabad state under the British. He
continued to serve for 17 years and as a result for his meritorious services was
elevated to the rank of a Nawab, and his full title was Nawab Mushtaq Hussain
Viqar-ul-Mulk.
Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk was a member of the Simla Deputation in 1906. He wanted the
Muslims to organize themselves politically and to safeguard their political
rights. He also played an active role in the establishment of the Muslim League.
Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk, starting his political career with the Aligarh movement,
also represented and guarded the Indian Muslim cause at two significant events -
the Simla Deputation and the other being the establishment of the Muslim League.
By 1915, he had a stroke of paralysis and passed away on January 27, 1917, and
was buried in his family graveyard at Amroha. [Top]
3. Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk [1837-1907]
Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk (1837-1907), fondly known as Sayed Mehdi Ali, was born to a
family of Barah Syeds on December 9, 1837 at Etawah. Mehdi Ali received the best
of early education in and around Etawah. He was given a thorough grounding both
in Persian and Arabic.
In 1867, he sat for Provincial Civil Service examination and topped the list of
successful candidates and was appointed deputy collector in U.P. Here he came to
know Sir Syed. In 1874, Mehdi Ali proceeded to Hyderabad and was conferred the
titles of Munir Nawaz Jang and Nawab Mohsin-ud-Daula by the Nizam of Hyderabad,
for his meritorious services.
In 1893, Mehdi Ali came to Aligarh and offered his services to Sir Syed Ahmed
Khan to assist him in spreading the message of Aligarh. Mohsin-ul-Mulk assumed
the secretaryship of the Muslim Educational Conference upon the death of Sir
Syed. Towards the beginning of the twentieth century, the Hindi-Urdu controversy
arose in the "United Provinces." Mohsin-ul-Mulk took up the pen in defense of
Urdu in collaboration with the Urdu Defense Association.
Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk, being a far-sighted and politically conscious leader,
carried on correspondence with the private secretary of the viceroy to give his
point of view on the necessity of separate representation to the Muslims in all
the legislatures and in all local bodies. In 1906, he, along with Nawab
Viqar-ul-Mulk, was asked to draft the constitution of the Muslim League.
Being a chronic victim of diabetes he died on October 16, 1907.
[Top]
4. Aga Khan [1877-1957]
His Highness the Aga Khan, (1877-1957) came from a very illustrious family,
which has left its mark in the pages of history. The history of the Aga Khan
family in India begins from the year 1842, when his grandfather, Aga Khan, Aga
Hassan Alyshah reached with his band of followers from Kandhar, as a political
refugee, and later settled in Bombay. He was succeeded by his eldest son,
Alyshah Aga Khan II, who met an untimely death in 1895.
Aly Shah was succeeded by his son, Sultan Mohammed Shah, as Agha Khan III, at
the age of seven. Educated in both traditions, the Aga Khan showed special
aptitude for philosophy, theology and Persian poetry.
In his presidential address to the Mohammadan Educational Conference, held in
Dehli in 1902, he promoted the idea of establishing a great central Muslim
University at Aligarh.
In 1906, Sir Aga Khan led the Simla deputation and very adequately represented
the Muslim demands for separate electorates, later reflected in the Morley-Minto
Reforms of 1909. When All-India Muslim League was established in 1906, Aga Khan
was elected its first President and continued to hold this post until 1912, when
he submitted his resignation.
On January 1929, All-Parties Muslim conference, which met in Dehli with Aga Khan
in the chair, made efforts to forge unity amongst the two warring parties of the
Muslim league (the Shafi Group and Jinnah Group.) In his presidential address
the Aga Khan advised Muslim leaders to sink their differences and to join hands.
In the Round Table conferences held in London 1930-1932, His Highness the Aga
Khan played his cards remarkably as a skillful negotiator and a far-sighted
statesman. In 1932, Aga Khan was nominated to represent India at the League of
Nations and was unanimously elected President of the League of Nations in July
1937.
At the age of eighty, he died on July 11, 1957 in Geneva.
[Top]
5. Ali Brothers:
Maulana Mohammad Ali [1878-1931]
Maulana ShaukatAli [1873-1938]
The Ali Brothers: Maulana Shaukat Ali and Maulana
Mohammad Ali, were among the leading Indian Muslim political activists of their
generation. They both attended Aligarh College and gained renown in the union
debating society. Mohammad Ali studied at Oxford but failed to be selected for
the Indian Civil Service. Both brothers entered government service.
Mohammad Ali frequently wrote articles for the cause of Aligarh University and
Muslim involvement in national politics. In 1911, he started his famous English
weekly , Comrade, and a year later an Urdu journal, Hamdard.
The Ali brothers became firm opponents of British rule under the combined shock
of the Balkan wars, and British refusal of university status to Aligarh College
in 1913. They were interned for four years during World War I for their
pro-Turkish activities. Released in 1919, they led the Khilafat Movement but
were again imprisoned in 1921.
In 1923, Mohammad Ali served as president of the Indian National Congress. After
giving a soul-stirring speech at the First Roundtable Conference in 1930, he
died in London, and as he said "Give me freedom or give me my grave" he did not
wish to return to India which was unfree and was buried in Jerusalem.
[Top]
6. Liaquat Ali Khan [1896-1951]
Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan was born on October 1, 1896 in a zamindari family of
East Punjab. He was the second son of Nawab Rustam Khan. The Nawabzada graduated
in 1918 from Mohammadan Anglo Oriental College of Aligarh. In the same year he
married his cousin Jehangira Begum. In 1921, he obtained degree in Law and was
called to Bar at Inner Temple in 1922.
Liaquat Ali Khan returned to India in 1922 and in 1923 joined the All India
Muslim League. In 1925, he was elected to the U.P. Legislative Council, where he
sat for fourteen years. He was a member of the Muslim League delegation which
attended the National Convention held at Calcutta to discuss the Nehru Report,
in December 1928.
In 1933, he married Begum Ra'ana, who was a distinguished economist and an
educationalist.
On April 26, 1936, he was elected Honorary Secretary of the All India Muslim
League and held this office till the establishment of Pakistan. In 1940, Liaquat
Ali Khan was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly, where he became the
deputy leader of the Muslim League. On December 6, 1943, Quaid-i-Azam appointed
him General Secretary of the Muslim League. In 1945, he was elected Chairman of
League's Central Parliamentary Board.
In 1946, he was appointed as Finance Minister in the interim government where he
presented the famous "poor man's budget'.After independence, the Nawabzada was
appointed as Prime Minister. His major achievements as first Prime Minister were
passing of Objectives Resolution in 1949, an anti-corruption act, and Liaquat-Nehru
pact on minorities which was signed in 1950.
In May 1951, he visited USA and set the course of
Pakistan's foreign policy towards closer ties with the west.On the fateful day
of October 16, 1951, Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated in Rawalpindi. His
assassination left a wide gab in the Pakistani politics.
[Top]
7. Muhammad Ali Jinnah [1876-1948]
Pakistan, one of the biggest Muslim states, is a living monument of Quaid-i-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He, with his untiring efforts, indomitable will and
dauntless courage united the Indian Muslims under the Muslim League banner and
carved out a homeland for them despite stiff opposition from the Hindu Congress
and the British government.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was born at Karachi on December 25, 1876. His father, Jinnah
Poonja, belonged to a prosperous business community, Isma'ili Khojas of
Kathiawar. Muhammad Ali received his early education at the Sind Madrassa and
later at the Mission School, Karachi. He went to England for further studies in
1892 at the age of 16. In 1896, Jinnah qualified for the Bar and in 1897 was
called to the Bar. Muhammad Ali Jinnah started his political career in 1906,
when he attended the Calcutta session of the All-India National Congress as the
private secretary of the president of the Congress. Later in 1910, when he was
elected to the Imperial Legislative Council, he sponsored the Waqf Validating
Bill, which brought him in closer touch with the Muslim leaders. In March 1913,
Jinnah joined the All-India Muslim League.
Once a member of the Muslim League, Jinnah began to work for Hindu-Muslim unity.
In 1917, the annual sessions of both the Congress and the League were held at
Lucknow. The League session, presided over by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, marked the
culmination of his efforts towards Hindu-Muslim unity. A joint scheme of reforms
was adopted both by the Muslim League and the Congress, known as the Lucknow
Pact. On April 19, 1918, Jinnah married Ruttenbai. Their only daughter Dina was
born a year later. In 1919, Jinnah resigned his membership of the Imperial
Legislative Council as a protest against the "Rowlatt Act".
Till the publication of Nehru Report, Jinnah continued his efforts for
Hindu-Muslim unity. The Nehru Report, published in 1928, was severely criticized
by all sections of Muslim opinion. In December 1928, when the National
Convention, called to consider the Report, turned down the amendment moved by
Jinnah, he finally parted ways with the Congress. In 1929, Jinnah gave his
famous Fourteen Points. In 1934, he was elected as the permanent president of
the Muslim League, which he reorganized on his return from England.
The 1937 provincial assemblies elections brought Congress to power in eight
provinces. After almost two years of oppressive rule, Muslims under the
leadership of Jinnah celebrated the Day of Deliverance at the end of Congress
rule.
Muslim League held its annual session at Lahore in March 1940, which was
presided over by Quaid-i-Azam. Here the demand for Pakistan was formally put
forward, which was realized on August 14, 1947, with Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali
Jinnah as its first Governor General.
The establishment of Pakistan brought great responsibilities for Jinnah. The
refugee problem, the withholding of Pakistani assets by India, and the Kashmir
problem were a real test for the Quaid. However, his indomitable will prevailed.
He also worked out a sound economic policy, established an independent currency
and a state bank for Pakistan. He selected Karachi as the federal capital.
However, he did not live long to witness the progress of the state which he had
founded. On September 11, 1948, he died after a protracted illness at Karachi.
He was buried in Karachi amidst the entire nation mourning over an unpayable
loss. [Top]
8. Allama Iqbal [1873-1938]
Allama Iqbal, a great poet-philosopher and an active political leader was born
in 1873, in Sialkot in the Punjab. He descended from a family of Kashmiri
Brahmins, who had embraced Islam about three hundred years earlier.
Iqbal''s first education was in the traditional Mukatab. Later he joined the
Sialkot Mission School, from where he passed his matriculation examination. In
1897, he obtained Bachelor of Arts Degree from the Government College, Lahore.
Two years later, he secured his Master''s Degree and was appointed in the
Oriental College, Lahore, as a lecturer in History, Philosophy and English.
Later he proceeded to Europe for higher studies. Having obtained a degree at
Cambridge, he later secured his doctorate at Munich and finally he was able to
qualify as a barrister.
In 1908, on returning to India, besides teaching and practicing Law, Iqbal
continued to write poetry. He resigned from the Government service in 1911 and
took to the propagation of his individual thinking to the Muslims through his
poetry.
By 1928, his reputation as a great Muslim philosopher was solidly established
and he was invited to deliver lectures at Hyderabad, Aligarh and Madras. These
series of lectures were later on published as a book - The Reconstruction of
Religious Thought in Islam. In 1930, Iqbal was invited to preside over the open
session of the Muslim League at Allahabad. In his historic Allahabad Address
Iqbal visualized an independent and sovereign state for the Muslims of
North-Western India. In 1932, Iqbal came to England as a Muslim delegate to the
Third Roundtable Conference.
n latter years, when the Quaid had left India and was residing in England,
Allama Iqbal wrote to him informing his personal views on political problems and
state of affairs of the Indian Muslims and also persuading him to come back.
These letters are dated from June 1936 to November 1937 and they now form
important historic documents concerning our struggle for freedom.
It was on April 21, 1938, that this great Muslim poet-philosopher and champion
of the Muslim cause passed away and lies buried next to the Badshahi Mosque in
Lahore. [Top]
9. Fatima Jinnah [1893-1967]
Miss Fatima Jinnah, younger sister of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was born
in 1893. Of his seven brothers and sisters, she was the closest to the Quaid.
Jinnah became her guardian upon the death of their father in 1901. Due to her
brothers’ keen interest, and despite strident family opposition, Miss Fatima
received excellent early education. She joined the Bandra Convent in 1902. In
1919 she got admitted to the highly competitive University of Calcutta where she
attended the Dr. Ahmed Dental College. After she qualified, Jinnah went along
with her idea of opening a dental clinic in Bombay and helped set it up in 1923.
Miss Fatima Jinnah had first lived with her brother for about eight years until
1918, when he got married to Ruttenbai. Upon Ruttenbai's death in February 1929,
Miss Jinnah wound up her clinic, moved into Jinnah's bungalow and took charge of
his house. Thus began the life-long companionship that lasted till Jinnah's
death on 11 September 1948.
In all, Miss Jinnah lived with her brother for about 28 years - including the
last nineteen trying years of his life. Quaid discussed various problems with
her, mostly at the breakfast and dinner table. Paying tribute to her sister, the
Quaid once said, "My sister was like a bright ray of light and hope whenever I
came back home and met her. Anxieties would have been much greater and my health
much worse, but for the restraint imposed by her."
Miss Jinnah not only lived with her brother but also accompanied him on his
numerous tours. In 1932, she joined him in London when he remained there after
the second Round Table Conference.
When the All-India Muslim League was being organized, Miss Fatima Jinnah was
taken as a member of the Working Committee of Bombay Provincial Muslim League,
and worked in that capacity until 1947.
In March 1940, she attended the Lahore session of the Muslim League. Fatima was
convinced that the Hindus intended to subjugate and dominate the Muslims
completely. It was primarily due to her initiative that All-India Muslim Women
Students Federation was organized in February 1941 at Dehli.
During the transfer of power phase in 1947, she was an inspiration to Muslim
women and formed the Women's Relief Committee, which later formed the nucleus
for the All Pakistan Women's Association. She also played a significant role in
the settlement of refugees in the new state of Pakistan.
Despite her old age, she continued to help social and educational associations.
During the Quaid’s illness, she remained passionately attached to him. After his
death, she often issued important statements on important occasions, as a
reminder to the nation of the ideals on which Pakistan had been established.
In 1964, Miss Fatima Jinnah ran for President as a candidate of the Combined
Opposition Party (COP). Even a conservative party like the Jammat-i-Islami
accepted her, a women, as a presidential candidate. Miss Jinnah's great
advantage was that she was the sister of the founder of Pakistan and had been
detached from the political conflicts that had plagued Pakistan after the
founder’s death. The sight of this dynamic lady moving in the streets of big
cities, and even in the rural areas of a Muslim country, was both moving and
unique. She proclaimed her opponent Presidential candidate, Ayub Khan, to be a
dictator. Miss Jinnah's line of attack was that by coming to terms with India on
the Indus Water dispute, Ayub had surrendered control of the rivers over to
India. Her campaign generated such tremendous public enthusiasm that most of the
press agreed that if the contest were by direct election, she would won against
Ayub.
It seems that the thought of doing a biography of her illustrious brother came
to Miss Jinnah about the time when Hector Bolihtos' "Jinnah" was first published
in 1954. It was felt that Bolihto had failed to bring out the political aspects
of Jinnah’s life in his book. Miss Jinnah started looking for a Pakistani author
to do a biography of the Quaid. G. Allana was her choice. G. Allana assisted
Miss Jinnah on the assignment but they parted company due to reasons
undisclosed. Later both carried on their independent works on Jinnah. Her book
“My Brother” was published by the Quaid-i-Azam Academy in 1987.
The people of Pakistan hold Miss Fatima in high esteem. Due to her selfless work
for Pakistan, the nation conferred upon her the title of Madar-i-Millat (Mother
of the Nation). She died on July 8, 1967 at Karachi. (In some books the date of
demise of Miss Fatima Jinnah is indicated as July 2, 1967.)
Madar-i-Millat’s Message to the Nation on Eid-ul Azha, 1967:
“The immediate task before you is to face the problem and bring the country back
on the right path with the bugles of Quaid-i-Azam’s message. March forward under
the banner of star and the crescent with unity in your ranks, faith in you
mission and discipline. Fulfill your mission and a great sublime future awaits
your enthusiasm and action. Remember: ‘cowards die many times before death, the
valiant never tastes death but once.’ This is the only course of action which
suits any self-respecting people and certainly the Muslim Nation.”
Madar-i-Millat’s Message to the Nation on Eid-ul Azha, 1965:
“Let us sink all our differences and stand united together under the same banner
under which we truly achieved Pakistan and let us demonstrate once again that we
can – united - face all dangers in the cause of glory of Pakistan - the glory
that the Quaid-i-Azam envisaged for Pakistan.”
Madar-i-Millat’s Message to the Nation on Quaid-i-Azam’s Birthday, 25 December,
1963:
“The movement of Pakistan which the Quaid-i-Azam launched was ethical in
inspiration and ideological in content. The story of this movement is a story of
the ideals of equality, fraternity and social and economic justice struggling
against the forces of domination, exploitation, intolerance and tyranny”.
References:
Salahuddin Khan, "Speeches, Messages and Statements of Madar-i-Milllat Mohtarma
Fatima Jinnah (1948-1967)", Research Society of Pakistan, University of the
Punjab, Lahore: 1976. Fatima Jinnah, "My Brother", Quaid-i-Azam Academy,
Karachi: 1987. Khalib-Bin-Sayeed, "The Political System of Pakistan" Houghton
Miflin Company, Boston, U.S.A.: 1967. Sarfaraz Hussain Mirza, "Muslim Women's
Role in the Pakistan Movement", Research Society of Pakistan, University of the
Punjab, Lahore: 1981.Khawar Mumtaz and Fariha Shaheed, "Women of Pakistan: Two
Steps Forward, One Step Back", Vanguard, Lahore: 1987. Extracts of Miss Fatima
Jinnah’s Speeches from Salahuddin Khan’s collection of “Speeches, Messages and
Statements of Madar-i-Millat Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah (1948-1967)”, Research
Society of Pakistan: University of Punjab: 1976. [Top]
10. Begum Shah Nawaz [1896-1979]
Jehan Ara (Begum Shah Nawaz) was the daughter of the famous Muslim League
leader, Sir Muhammad Shafi. Born in April, 1896, she was educated at the Queen
Mary College, Lahore. Jehan Ara was married to Mian Shah Nawaz.
With the emergence of the All-India Muslim Women''s Conference, Begum Shah Nawaz
devoted all her efforts towards its cause. She was successful in moving the
organization to pass a resolution against polygamy in its session held at Lahore
in 1918. She was also associated with the educational and orphanage committees
of the Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam, Lahore. She was an active member of All-India
Muslim Women’s Conference and remained President of its provincial branch for
seven years. She was Vice-President of the Central Committee of the All-India
Muslim Women’s Conference.
Besides being a member of Lahore Municipal Committee, she was also associated
with several hospitals and maternity and child welfare committees. She was the
first woman to be elected as Vice-President of the Provincial Executive and was
a member of the All-Indian General Committee of Red Cross Society. She was a
women delegate to the Round Table Conference. In 1935, she founded the Punjab
Provincial Women''s Muslim League. In 1937, she was elected as a member of the
Punjab Legislative Assembly and was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for
Education, Medical Relief and Public Health. In 1938, she was taken on by the
Women''s Central Sub-Committee of the All-India Muslim League. In 1942, the
Government of India appointed her as a member of the National Defense Council.
Meanwhile, the Muslim League called upon the league members to resign from the
Defense Council. Upon refusing to abide by the its decision, she was dismissed
from the League.
In 1946, she re-joined the League and was elected as a member of the Punjab
Assembly. The same year, she was sent along with M. A. H. Isphahani on a
goodwill mission to the United States of America. Their mission was to explain
the Muslim League's point of view. She played an important role during the civil
disobedience movement in Punjab in 1947, and was arrested along with other
Muslim League leaders.
She passed away on November 27, 1979 at the age of 82.
[Top]
11. Begum Viqar-un-Nisa
Begum Viqar-un-Nisa, an Austrian by birth, was married to Sir Feroz Khan Noon in
1945. They left Dehli for Lahore the same year, after Sir Noon resigned from the
Viceroy''s Cabinet. Because of her husband''s leading role in Indian politics,
Begum Noon had the opportunity of studying the political situation and public
opinion very closely. She organized election campaigns and became a member of
the Punjab Provincial Women’s Sub-Committee. In pursuance of the League''s
cause, she organized a band of the girl students and other women volunteers and
made tours of other districts of the province for promotion of the cause of the
Muslim League.
During the Civil disobedience movement in Punjab, Begum Noon was one of the
leading women leaders responsible for successfully organizing the processions
and demonstrations against the British backed Khizar Ministry and courted arrest
on three occasions.
During the period of mass transfer of population after the partition, she
rendered invaluable assistance to various refugees committees and camps. She has
been closely associated with Red Cross and represented Pakistan on various
occasions.
After a protracted illness, she passed away on January 16 2000, in Islamabad.
[Top]
12. Choudhary Rahmat Ali [1895-1951]
Choudhary Rahmat Ali , founder of the Pakistan National Movement, was
born in 1895. From his early childhood, Rahmat Ali showed signs of great promise
as a student. After completing his schooling, he joined the Islamia College of
Lahore in order to get his Bachelor of Arts degree. Rahmat Ali finished
education in England, obtaining M. A. and L.L.B. with honors from the
universities of Cambridge and Dublin.
It was during the years 1930 and 1933 that he seemed to have established "The
Pakistan National Movement" with its headquarters in Cambridge. On January 28,
1933, he issued his first memorable pamphlet "Now or never; Are we to live or
perish for ever?" He was the first to coin the word "Pakistan" for 30 million
Muslims who live in the five Northern units of India - Punjab, North-West
Frontier (Afghan) Province, Kashmir, Sind and Baluchistan. The pamphlet also
gave reasons for the establishment of Pakistan as a separate nation. He spoke of
independent homeland for the Muslims, "Pakistan", in the Northern units of
India, "Bang-i-Islam" for Muslims in Bengal and "Usmanistan" for the Muslims in
Hyderabad (Deccan).
Choudhary Rahmat Ali propagated the Scheme of Pakistan with a missionary zeal
after it was started in 1933. In August, 1947, Pakistan came to be established
and in 1948 Choudhary Rahmat Ali visited Pakistan. Later he proceeded to England
to champion the cause of Kashmir through the United Nations.
Sick and weak, he died on February 12, 1951. [Top]
13. Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy [1892-1963]
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was born on September 8, 1892 into an
illustrious Muslim family from Midnapore in West Bengal, India. Suhrawardy's
mother was the first Muslim woman to pass the senior Cambridge examination. He
graduated with honors in Science from St. Caviares College. In 1913, he obtained
masters degree in Arabic from Calcutta University. Suhrawardy received BCL
degree from Oxford University and was called to the Bar from Grey's Inn in 1918.
In 1920, Suhrawardy married Begum Niaz Fatima.
In 1921, he was elected to the Bengal Legislative assembly. For a brief period,
he served as secretary, Calcutta Khilafat Committee. In 1923 he was appointed
deputy leader of Swaraj party. Next year he was elected deputy mayor of
Calcutta. In 1936 he became the General Secretary of the Bengal provincial
Muslim League. After the 1937 elections, Suhrawardy was appointed Minister for
Labor and Commerce. After serving briefly in the Fazlul Haq's ministry, he
joined Khawaja Nazimuddin's ministry in 1943 as Civil Supplies Minister.
After the 1946 elections, Suhrawardy formed government in Bengal, the only
Muslim League government in the Sub-continent. In 1949, he formed East Pakistan
Awami Muslim League, and in 1953 he renamed it as 'Awami League'.
Suhrawardy along with A. K. Fazlul Haq and Maulana Bhashani established United
Front in 1953 in Dhaka, which won the 1954 general elections. The same year he
joined Muhammad Ali Bogra's ministry as Law Minister. However, with the change
of government in 1955, Suhrawardy took charge of the leadership of opposition.
H. S. Suhrawardy became the fifth Prime Minister of Pakistan on September 12,
1956. During his tenure, he tried to remove economic disparity between the two
wings. Suhrawardy resigned from premiership in October 1957, due to president's
refusal to convene a meeting of parliament to seek a vote of confidence.
Ailing from heart disease for a long time, Suhrawardy succumbed to death on
December 5, 1963. [Top]
14. Chaudhary Muhammad Ali
Chaudhary Muhammad Ali was born on July 15, 1905 at Jullundur. He took
his M.Sc. degree in 1927 from the university of Punjab. Ch. Muhammad Ali joined
Indian Audit and Accounts Service in 1928 and was deputed as Accountant General
to Bahawalpur state in 1932. In 1936, he joined government of India as private
secretary to Finance Minister, Sir Grigg. In 1945 he was appointed financial
advisor for war and supply, a post never before held by an Indian.
During the drafting of the partition plan, Ch. Muhammad Ali was one of the two
secretaries to the partition council, presided over by Lord Mountbatten.
On the establishment of Pakistan he become secretary general of the new
government and played a key role in it's organization. In 1951, he became
Finance Minister and in 1955 Prime Minister of the country. Under his leadership
the Constituent Assembly adopted the constitution of the Islamic Republic of
Pakistan. [Top]
15. Khawaja Nazimuddin [1894-1964]
Khawaja Nazimuddin was born in July 1894. He was educated at Muhammadan
Anglo Oriental College, Aligarh and Cambridge University. He was elected
Chairman Dacca Municipality 1922-29 and in 1937 he was appointed as Home
Minister. He remained the leader of Muslim League parliamentary party in Bengal
legislative assembly from 1942 to 1943. He headed Muslim League Ministry from
1943 to 1945. He also remained member of All India Muslim League working
committee from 1937-1947.
Khawaja Nazimuddin was Chief Minister of Bengal in 1947. He then succeeded
Jinnah as Governor General in September 1948. After Liaquat Ali Khan's
assassination, he was appointed Prime Minister of Pakistan - a post he held from
1951 to 1953.
Khawaja Nazimuddin died in 1964. [Top]
16. Ghulam Muhammad
The third Governor General of Pakistan, Ghulam Muhammad was born at
Lahore in 1887. He graduated from Aligarh University and joined the Imperial
Service. Initially he served in the railway board, during the war he served in
the capacity of controller of general supplies and purchase.
During the First Round Table Conference, Ghulam Muhammad represented the Nawab
of Bhopal. He also served as advisor finance in the state of Hyderabad Deccan.
After independence he joined Central Cabinet as Finance Minister.
After the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, Ghulam Muhammad became
Governor-General by replacing Khawaja Nazimuddin.
In April 1953, he dismissed Khawaja Nazimuddin's cabinet and latter dismissed
the constituent Assembly in October 1954 by declaring emergency.
[Top]
17. Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar
Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar was born in 1897 at Ahmadabad. He passed his
B.A and L.L.B examinations from Bombay University and then started practicing
law in 1920. In 1937 elections, he was elected as a member of the Bombay
Legislative Council on All India Muslim League's ticket. A year later, he was
elected as the deputy leader of the party in the legislative assembly. He
remained the president of Bombay Muslim League from 1940 to 1945. When
Quaid-i-Azam was asked to nominate the members of Muslim League for the interim
government in 1946, the Quaid selected I.I Chudrigar as one of his nominees.
After the independence of Pakistan, Chundrigar was appointed as the Minister for
Trade and Commerce in the first cabinet of the newly established county. Next he
served as the Ambassador of Pakistan at Kabul. After that, he was appointed as
the governor of North-West Frontier Province and also served as governor of the
Punjab from November 1951 to May 1953. In August 1955 he assumed the charge as
the Law Minister in the Federal Cabinet and served in the same capacity till
August 1957. After the resignation of Suhrawardy, Iskader Mizra asked I.I.
Chundrigar to establish his ministry in the center. Himself, a leader of Muslim
League, Chundrigar formed his government on October 18, 1957 with the help of
the Republican Party, Krishak Sramik Party and Nizam-i-Islam Party. His tenure
as Prime Minister of Pakistan proved to be the shortest one, as he failed to
maintain the support of his coalition partners at a time when the president of
the country was involved in palace intrigues. He was forced to resign on
December 11, 1957 and thus could only remained Prime Minister of Pakistan for
less than two months. During his short tenure, he raised his voice in favor of
Separate Electorates.
I.I. Chundrigar was more of a lawyer than a politician. He gained a lot of
popularity as a constitutional lawyer, when he pleaded the case of Maulvi
Tameezuddin for the restoration of the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.
He died on September 26, 1960. [Top]
18. Muhammad Ali Bogra
Muhammad Ali Bogra was born in East Bengal. He studied at the Calcutta
University and in 1937 he was elected to the Bengal legislative assembly. In
1943, Bogra became parliamentary secretary to Khawaja Nazimuddin, the then Chief
Minister of Bengal. Later in 1946, he became Finance and Health Minister of the
province.
After the establishment of Pakistan, he was appointed Ambassador to Burma in
1948, High Commissioner to Canada in 1949 and Ambassador to USA in 1952.
Muhammad Ali Bogra was appointed Prime Minister in April 1953 by Ghulam
Muhammad. After the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly in 1954 by the
governor-general, Bogra was again invited to form a new cabinet call "ministry
of all talents."
Muhammad Ali Bogra was replaced by Chaudhary Muhammad Ali in August 1955 after
the second constituent Assembly was elected. Muhammad Ali again resumed his
assignment as ambassador in the USA. [Top]
19. Feroz Khan Noon
Malik Feroz Khan Noon belonged to one of the most influential landlord
families of the Punjab. He was born in 1893. After receiving his early education
from Athison College, Lahore he went to London from where he did his Masters in
1916. During his stay at London he also passed the exam of Bar at Law. On his
return, Noon practiced law at Lahore High Court from 1917-1926. Then he joined
politics and was appointed as Minister of Health and Education in the Punjab
cabinet. He served as High Commissioner for India in London from 1936-1941. He
was appointed as the member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council in 1941 and
retained the position till 1945. Simultaneously, he held the position of the
Defence Minister of India from 1942-1945. He was the first Indian to be raised
to that prestigious position during the British rule.
In October 1947, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, with the desire to bring
unity among the Muslim Ummah, sent Feroz Khan Noon as his special envoy to some
countries of the Muslim World. This one-man delegation was the first official
mission sent abroad by the Government of Pakistan. The aim of the mission was to
introduce Pakistan, to explain the reasons of its creation, to familiarize the
Muslim countries with its internal problems and to get the moral and material
support from the brethren countries. Noon performed the role assigned to him in
a successful manner. Keeping his political and administrative experience in
consideration, Feroz Khan Noon was appointed as the Governor of East Pakistan.
However, he himself was more interested in the politics of the Punjab. Along
with Nawab of Mamdot and Mumtaz Daultana, he remained one of the main contenders
for the Chief Ministership of the Punjab during late 40’s and early 50’s. He
finally succeeded in achieving his aim in 1953 and remained Chief Minister of
the province till 1955. In 1956, he assumed charge as Foreign Minister of
Pakistan in Suhrawardy’s Cabinet.
Being a close friend of Iskander Mirza, Feroz
Khan Noon was the key pin in organizing the Republican Party in Punjab. He
remained the President of the party and it was also on the platform of this
party that Noon was elected as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, on December 16,
1957. Though President Iskander Mirza’s support played an important role in the
establishment of Noon’s Ministry, but later on Mirza considered Noon as an
obstacle in his way of obtaining absolute power. When Martial Law was enforced
in the country on October 7, 1958, Noon’s tenure as Prime Minister automatically
came to an end.
Apart from politics, Feroz Khan Noon also proved his capabilities in the field
of academics. He wrote a total of five books, including his autobiography, ‘From
Memory’. His wife,
Viqar-un-Nisa Noon, though not
originally from Pakistan, spent her entire life working for the betterment of
people of Pakistan, proving herself to be a great social worker.
[Top]
20. Iskander Mirza
Iskander Mirza was born in 1899, in a feudal family of Bengal. Educated
at Elphinstone College, he was sent by the British to Sandhurst Academy in
England for army training in 1918. On his return he was inducted in the British
Indian Army in 1919. In 1926 he left the army, joined the Indian political
Service and was posted as Assistant Commissioner in North-West Frontier
Province. He was promoted to District Officer in 1931. Much of his career as a
District Officer was spent in the Tribal Areas. Before the creation of Pakistan,
he served the Ministry of Defense, Government of India as a joint secretary. At
the time of partition, he was appointed as a member of the team which was to
divide the personnel and assets between the Indian and Pakistan Army.
Being the senior most Muslim Civil Servant in the Indian Ministry of Defence,
Iskander Mirza was appointed as the first defense secretary of Pakistan at the
time of Independence. He served in the same position for about seven years. With
the dismissal of the United Front’s ministry in East Pakistan, Governor General
Ghulam Muhammad decided to enforce Governor’s rule in the province and appointed
Iskander Mirza as Governor in May 1954. Assuming charge of the province, he
openly declared that he would not hesitate to use force in order to establish
peace in the province. The first step he took as Governor was to order the
arrest of 319 persons, including the two most outspoken leaders, Mujib al Rahman
and Yusuf Ali Choudhury. By mid June, the number of persons arrested had reached
1051, including 33 assembly members and two Dhaka University Professors. By
doing so he might have been able to bring immediate peace but had sown a
permanent seed of hatred for the Central government in the hearts of people of
East Pakistan.
From October 1954 to August 1955, Iskander Mirza served as the Interior
Minister, and then as the Minister of States and Frontier Regions in the cabinet
of Prime Minister, Muhammad Ali Bogra. Ghulam Muhammad, due to his illness, went
on two months leave and thus Iskander Mirza assumed the duties of acting
Governor General on August 7, 1955. However, this acting charge was made
permanent in the times to come. He appointed Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, another
bureaucrat, as the Prime Minister of the country. When the Constitution of 1956
was adopted, the title of the head of the state of Pakistan was changed from
Governor General to President but the duties and powers of the office did not
change to a great extent. The Constituent assembly unanimously elected Iskander
Mirza as the first President of Pakistan.
Primarily, Iskander Mirza was a Civil Servant and it is widely believed that he
lacked parliamentary spirit. He was of the view that because of the lack of
training in the field of democracy and low literacy rate among the masses,
democratic institutions can not flourish in Pakistan. He never had a very high
opinion about Pakistani politicians and once referred to them as ‘mostly crooks
and scalawags’. He wanted controlled democracy for Pakistan with more powers for
the civil bureaucracy. He believed that the Magistrate should be given the same
powers, which he used to enjoy during the British Raj. He thought that
politicians should be given the power to make policy but they should not
interfere in administration. Iskander Mirza was also a great advocate of the One
Unit scheme. In his opinion religion was to be be kept at a distance from
politics.
History documents that like his predecessor, Ghulam Muhammad, Iskander Mirza was
also a power hungry person and wanted to dominate the political scene of the
country by hook or by crook. Being the head of the state, he always remained
active in power politics and played the role of a king-maker. He proved to be an
expert in palace intrigues. He took full advantage of the weakness of the
politicians and played them against each other. To offset the influence of the
Muslim League, he played an active role in the creation of Republican Party.
During his short span of four years as the head of the state, four Prime
Ministers were changed. Most historians believe that Iskander Minza was the one
mainly responsible for this political un-stability.
Iskander Mirza felt threatened from the reorganization of Muslim League and the
alliance of Awami League with the Punjabi groups in mid 1958. On October 7, he
issued a proclamation abrogating the 1956 constitution. According to the
proclamation, the central and the provincial assemblies were dissolved and the
first Marshal law was enforced in the country. Iskander Mirza himself remained
President and appointed Ayub Khan as the Martial Law Administrator and supreme
commander of the armed forces. Ayub Khan proved to be smarter than the
politicians and refused to act as puppet in the hands of the President. On
October 27, Ayub Khan compelled Iskander Mirza to leave the country, assumed the
title of President himself and announced that martial law would continue in
order to give legal cover to certain reforms he wanted to put through.
Iskander Mirza spent rest of his life in a hotel room in London.
[Top]
21. Yahya Khan
General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan was born at Chakwal in February 1917.
His father, Saadat Ali Khan, was actually from Peshawar. After finishing his
studies at the Punjab University, Yahya Khan joined the Indian Military Academy
at Dehra Dun. He was commissioned in the Indian Army in 1938. His early postings
were in the North-West Frontier Province. During World War II, he performed his
duties in North Africa, Iraq and Italy. After independence, Yahya Khan played a
major role in setting up Pakistan Staff College at Quetta. During the war of
1965, he commanded an infantry division. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief of
Pakistan Army in 1966 with the rank of General.
In 1969, when the situation went out of Ayub Khan’s control due countrywide
agitation, the president decided to hand over power to the Army Chief, General
Yahya Khan. Yahya Khan immediately after getting powers declared Martial Law in
the country on March 25 1969 and assumed the title of Chief Martial Law
Administrator. He terminated the constitution and dissolved National and
Provincial Assemblies and Governments. On March 31, he also became president of
the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Unlike other military rulers who ruled Pakistan, Yahya Khan was not interested
in prolonging his rule. Immediately after taking the charge of the country,
Yahya Khan started looking for the options through which he could hand over
power to the elected representatives. On March 29 1970, through an Ordinance, he
presented an interim constitution: The Legal Framework Order. The Legal
Framework Order was actually a formula according to which the forth-coming
elections were to be organized. It goes to the credit of Yahya Khan that the
first general elections in the history of Pakistan were held during his regime
during December 1970.
The trouble started when the results of the elections were announced. Awami
League under the leadership of Sheikh Mujeeb-ur-Rahman swept 160 out 165 seats
allocated to East Pakistan. However the party failed to get even a single seat
from any province of the Western Wing. On the other hand Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s
Pakistan Peoples Party emerged as the single largest party from Punjab and Sind
and managed to win 81 National Assembly seats, all from the Western Wing. This
split mandate resulted in political chaos where neither Bhutto nor Mujeeb was
ready to accept his opponent as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. When Bhutto and
Mujeeb failed to reach an understanding about convening a session of the newly
elected National Assembly, the ball fell in Yahya Khan’s court. He handled the
situation in a wrong way. He used army and paramilitary forces in East Pakistan
to crush the political agitation. This resulted in the beginning of the War
between Pakistan and India in the winter of 1971.
Yahya Khan, as president as well as the commander in chief of Pakistan Army,
failed to plan the war. This ultimately resulted in the defeat of Pakistan,
dismemberment of the country and imprisonment of more than 90,000 Pakistanis.
Surrender of Pakistani forces without giving any resistance and the fall of
Dacca made Yahya Khan the greatest villain in the country. People from all walks
of life started criticizing him and thus he was left with no other option but to
hand over the power to the leader of the most popular party of the remaining
part of Pakistan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, on December 20 1971. Later Bhutto placed
Yahya Khan under house arrest in 1972. [Top]
22. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto [1928-1979]
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was born on January 5, 1928. He was the only son of
Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto completed his early education from Bombay's Cathedral High
School. In 1947, he joined University of Southern California (USC), and later
joined University of California at Berkeley in June 1949. After completing his
degree with honors in political science at Berkeley in June 1950, he was
admitted to Oxford.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto married Nusrat Isphahani on September 8, 1951. He was called
to bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1953 and in the same year his first child, Benazir
Bhutto was born on June 21. On his return to Pakistan, Bhutto started practicing
law at Dingomal's.
In 1954, when one unit scheme envisaging combining of the four provinces of
Punjab, Sind, NWFP and Baluchistan into one unit to be called 'West Pakistan'
was enforced, Bhutto opposed the scheme vehemently. In 1958, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
joined President Mirza's cabinet as Commerce minister. After Ayub Khan took
over, Bhutto joined the cabinet as the youngest member. In 1963, he took over as
Foreign Minister from Muhammad Ali Bogra.
His first major achievement was to conclude Sino-Pakistan boundary agreement on
March 2, 1963. In mid 1964, Bhutto helped convince Ayub of the wisdom of
establishing closer economic and diplomatic links with Turkey and Iran. The trio
formed RCD later on. In June 1966, Bhutto left Ayub's cabinet over differences
concerning Tashkent agreement.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto launched Pakistan People's Party (PPP) after leaving the
cabinet of Ayub Khan. In the general elections held in December 1970, PPP won a
large majority in West Pakistan but, failed to reach an agreement with Sheikh
Mujib-ur-Rehman, the majority winner from East Pakistan. Following the 1971 war
and the separation of East Pakistan, Yahya Khan resigned and Bhutto took over as
President and Chief Martial Law Administrator on December 20, 1971.
In early 1972, Bhutto nationalized ten categories of major industries, and
withdrew Pakistan from Commonwealth of nations and SEATO when Britain and other
western countries recognized the new state of Bangladesh. On March 1, he
introduced land reforms, and on July 2, 1972, signed Simla Agreement with India
which paved way for the return of occupied lands and Pakistani POWs captured in
East Pakistan in the 1971 war.
After the National Assembly passed the 1973 constitution, Bhutto was sworn-in as
the Prime Minister of the country.
On December 30, 1973, Bhutto laid the foundation of Pakistan's first steel mill
at Pipri, near Karachi. On January 1, 1974, Bhutto nationalized all banks. On
February 22, 1974, the Second Islamic Summit was inaugurated in Lahore. Heads of
States of most of the thirty eight Islamic countries attended.
Following a political crisis in the country, Bhutto was imprisoned by General
Zia-ul-Haq who imposed Martial Law on July 5, 1977.
On April 4, 1979, the former Prime Minister was hanged, after the Supreme Court
upheld the death sentence passed by the Lahore High Court. The High Court had
given him death sentence in the case of murder of the father of a dissident PPP
politician.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was buried in his ancestral village, at Garhi Khuda Baksh
next to his father's grave. [Top]
23. Muhammad Ayub Khan
General Ayub Khan was born on May 14, 1907 in the village of Rehana in
Hazara division in NWFP. After his early education in a local school, he
completed matriculation in 1922. In 1926, Ayub Khan joined Royal Military
College in Sandhurst and got commissioned in the Indian army in 1928.
After independence, he joined the Pakistan Army. In 1951 Ayub Khan was promoted
to a full General and Commander-in-Chief of the army. As Commander-in-Chief he
played a key role in negotiations concerning Pakistan''s entry into US sponsored
military alliances. He also served as the Defense Minister in Muhammad Ali
Bogra''s "ministry of all talents" in 1954-55.
General Ayub Khan took over the power when he removed President Iskander Mirza
in October 1958. He had earlier imposed martial-law and had abrogated the
constitution. Later on he gave himself the rank of Field Marshall.
During his rule, Basic Democracy was introduced along with indirect elections.
The 1962 constitution also gave extraordinary powers to the President. After the
imposition of the 1962 constitution, Field Marshall Ayub became the second
President of the country. He won the 1965 elections, however, he could not
complete his term.
During his term, the "Great Decade" was celebrated in 1968, which highlighted
the development work executed during ten years of Ayub''s rule. The 1965 war was
fought during Ayub''s term and Ayub Khan represented Pakistan in the subsequent
Tashkent talks.
In November 1968, widespread protests broke out against Ayub''s rule, who had to
hand over power to General Yahya Khan. Ayub Khan resigned in March 1969.
Gohar Ayub Khan, a son of Ayub Khan, has held office of the Foreign Minister of
Pakistan. Currently he is active as a politician. [Top]
24. General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq [1924-88]
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq was the General who enforced Marshal Law for the
third time in the brief history of Pakistan. Second child and the eldest son of
Muhammad Akram, a teacher in the Army, Zia-ul-Haq was born on August 12 1924 at
Jalundhar. After receiving his early education from Government High School Simla,
he did his B.A Honors from St. Stephen College, Delhi. He was commissioned in
the British Army in 1943 and served in Burma, Malaya and Indonesia during the
Second World War. When the war was over, he decided to join armored core. At the
time of Independence, like most of the Muslims officers in the British Army,
Zia-ul-Haq opted to join Pakistan Army. As a Major he got an opportunity to do a
training course in the Commander and Staff College of United States of America
in 1963-64. During the war of 1965, he acted as the Assistant Quarter Master of
101 Infantry Division, which was posted at Kiran sector. He remained posted at
Jordon from 1967-70, where he trained military men of the country. He was
appointed as Core Commander of Multan in 1975.
On April 1 1976, in a surprise move, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan,
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, appointed Zia-ul-Haq as the Chief of the Army Staff. It is
interesting to note that five senior Generals were superseded. Bhutto probably
wanted somebody as the head of the armed forces, who would not prove to be a
threat for him and the best available option was the simple General, who
apparently was interested only in offering prayers and playing golf. However,
history proved Bhutto wrong, and Zia-ul-Haq proved to be much smarter than he
looked. When the political unsuitability reached its climax due to the deadlock
between Bhutto and the leadership of Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) on the
issue of general elections, Zia-ul-Haq took advantage of the situation. On July
5, 1977, he carried out a bloodless coup overthrowing Bhutto’s government and
enforced Marshal Law in the country.
After assuming power as Chief Martial Law Administrator, Zia-ul-Haq promised to
hold National and Provincial Assembly elections in the next 90 days and to hand
over power to the representatives of the nation. However, in October 1977 he
announced the postponement of the electoral plan and decided to start an
accountability process of the politicians. In a statement he said that he
changed his decision due to the strong public demand for the scrutiny of
political leaders who had indulged in malpractice in the past. The
Disqualification Tribunal was formulated and many former Members of Parliament
were disqualified from participating in politics at any level for the next seven
years. A white paper was also issued which criticized the activities of PPP’s
government under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
With the retirement of Fazl Ellahi, Zia-ul-Haq also assumed the office of
President of Pakistan on September 16 1978. In the absence of a parliament,
Zia-ul-Haq decided to set up an alternative system. He introduced Majlis-i-Shura
in 1980. Most of the members of the Shura were intellectuals; scholars, ulema,
journalists, economists and professionals belonging to different fields of life.
The Shura was to act as a board of advisors for the President. The idea of
establishing this institution was not bad but the main problem was that all 284
members of the Shura were to be nominated by the President and thus there was no
room available for the difference of opinion.
In the mid 1980s, Zia-ul-Haq decided to fulfill his promise of holding elections
in the country. But before handing over the power to the public representatives,
he decided to secure his position. Referendum was held in the county in December
1985 and the masses were given the option to elect or reject the General as the
future president of Pakistan. According to the official result, more than 95% of
the vote cast, were in favor of Zia-ul-Haq and he was elected as president for
the next five years. Here one should not ignore the fact that the question asked
in the referendum was phrased in a way that Zia-ul-Haq’s win was related to the
process of Islamization in the country.
After being elected as President, Zia-ul-Haq decided to hold elections in the
country in March 1985 on non-party basis. Most of the political parties decided
to boycott the elections but election results showed that many victors belonged
to one party or the other. To make things easier for him, the General nominated
the Prime Minister from amongst the members of the Assembly. To many, his
nomination of Muhammad Khan Junejo as the Prime Minister was because he wanted a
simple person at the post, who could act as a puppet in his hands. Before
handing over the power to the new government he made certain amendments in the
constitution and got them endorsed from the parliament before lifting the sate
of emergency in the county. Due to this eighth amendment in the constitution,
the powers of president were increased and the president possessed complete
power to take any step, which he deems fit, on the plea of safeguarding national
integrity.
As the time passed, the parliamentarians wanted to have more freedom and power.
By the beginning of 1988, rumors about the differences between the Prime
Minister and Zia-ul-Haq were in the air. The general feeling was that the
President, who had enjoyed absolute power for eight long years, was not ready to
share it with anybody else. On May 29, 1988, Zia-ul-Haq finally dissolved the
National Assembly and removed the Prime Minister under article 58 (2) B of the
amended constitution. Apart from many other reasons, Junejo’s decision to sign
the Geneva Accord against the wishes of Zia-ul-Haq proved to be one of the major
factors responsible for him going back home. After 11 years, Zia-u-Haq once
again made the same promise with the nation to hold fresh elections within next
90 days. With Benazir Bhutto back in the country and Muslim League leadership
annoyed with the President over the decision of May 29, Zia-ul-Haq was trapped
in the most difficult situation of his political life. The only option left for
him was to repeat history and to postpone the elections once again.
However, before taking any decision, Zia-ul-Haq died in an air crash near
Bahawalpur on August 17, 1988. The accident proved to be very costly for the
country as almost the entire military elite of Pakistan was on the board. Though
United States’ Ambassador to Pakistan was also killed in the misfortune, yet
many do not rule-out US involvement in the sabotage. They believe that United
States could not afford Pakistan to oppose Geneva Accord and thus they removed
the biggest hurdle in their way. The remains of Zia-ul-Haq were buried in the
premises of Faisal Mosque, Islamabad. The tragic death brought a large number of
mourners to attend his funeral, which proved to be one of the biggest in the
history of the country.
During his rule, Zia-ul-Haq tried his utmost to maintain close ties with the
Muslim World. He made vigorous efforts along with other Muslim States to bring
an end to the war between Iran and Iraq. Pakistan joined the Non-Aligned
Movement in 1979 during Zia-ul-Haq´s term. It was also he who fought a war by
proxy in Afghanistan and saved Pakistan from a direct war with Soviet Union.
[Top]
25. Muhammad Khan Junejo [1932-92]
Muhammad Khan Junejo was born on August 18, 1932 at Sindhri, Sind. After
completing his senior Cambridge, he went to U.K. for a diploma in Agriculture.
Junejo started his political career at the age of twenty one. In 1962, he was
elected Member Provincial Assembly, West Pakistan from Sanghar. He was appointed
Minister in the West Pakistan cabinet in July 1963 and held the portfolios of
Health, Basic Democracies and Local Government, Works, Communications and
Railways.
After partyless polls were held for the national and provincial assembles in
1985, Muhammad Khan Junejo was appointed Prime Minister by General Zia. He was
however, dismissed on May 29, 1988 by the President using discretionary power
given under the eighth amendment.
Muhammad Khan Junejo was elected member of the National Assembly in 1990, and
died of illness in 1992. [Top]
26. Ghulam Ishaq Khan [1915]
Ghulam Ishaq Khan was born on January 20, 1915 in Ismail Khel, Bannu
district of NWFP. He did his graduation in Chemistry and Botany and joined NWFP
Civil Service in 1940.
After the unification of West Pakistan into one unit in 1955, Ishaq Khan was
appointed Provincial Secretary of West Pakistan for Irrigation Development. In
this capacity he represented the provincial government in federal planning
commission.
In 1958, he became Member WAPDA. In 1966, he was appointed Federal Finance
Secretary and promoted to Secretary General Defense during Bhutto's term.
General Zia appointed him Advisor on Finance and later on as Federal Finance
Minister. Ishaq Khan represented his country in various international
conferences, which included UN conferences on finance, IMF, OIC and Asian
Development Bank.
In February 1985, Ishaq Khan was elected Chairman Senate. After the death of
General Zia, Ishaq Khan took over as President of the country on August 17,
1988. He was elected President on December 13, 1988 as he was the consensus
candidate of PPP and IJI.
In 1993, Ghulam Ishaq Khan was forced to resign from his office due to
differences with the Prime Minister.
During his tenure, Ishaq Khan dismissed the governments of Benazir Bhutto and
Nawaz Sharif, using discretionary powers given to the President of the state
under eighth constitutional amendment. [Top]
27. Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi [1931]
Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi was born on August 14, 1931, at New Jatoi, Sind.
Eldest of the four brothers, Ghulam Mustafa's father, Khan Bahadur Ghulam Rasul
Khan Jatoi was member of the Sind legislative assembly.
Ghulam Mustafa was educated at Karachi Grammar School and passed his senior
Cambridge. In 1952, he went to England for his bar at law, but had to return
home within one year due to his father's serious illness.
He was elected to the first Provincial Assembly of West Pakistan in 1958, and
was re-elected in 1965.
Jatoi joined Pakistan People's Party in March 1969. In 1970, he was elected to
the National Assembly on PPP ticket. In 1973, he was elected Chief Minister of
the Sind, and held this office till 1977. He was re-elected in March 1977. After
the imposition of Martial Law, Jatoi remained associated with the Movement for
Restoration of Democracy (MRD). Twice he was arrested in 1983 and 1985. Later,
he founded the National People's Party.
In 1989, he was elected to the National Assembly in the by-elections from Kot
Addu. After joining Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI), Jatoi was elected leader of
the combined opposition parties in the National Assembly in 1989.
Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi was appointed care-taker Prime Minister in 1990, by
President Ghulam Ishaq Khan. He relinquished his office after Nawaz Shareef was
elected as Prime Minister in the October 1990 elections.
He was again elected a Member of the National Assembly as a result of October
1993 elections, but lost his seat in the elections held in February 1997.
His two sons, Tariq Jatoi and Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi are also in politics.
[Top]
28. Benazir Bhutto [Born 1953]
Benazir Bhutto, the eldest child of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was born on June
21, 1953 in Karachi. She attended Lady Jennings Nursery School and then Convent
of Jesus and Mary in Karachi. At age ten, she was sent to the Convent of Jesus
and Mary at Murree. Four years later, she was sent to Harvard, USA.
After graduating from Harvard in 1973, Benazir joined Oxford University in the
fall of 1973. Just before graduation, Benazir won presidentship of Oxford Union.
After completing her postgraduate studies, she returned home in June 1977.
In July 1977, Martial Law was imposed by General Zia-ul-Haq. During the Martial
Law, Benazir spent almost five years in detention at various jails and ten
months in solitary confinement. After her release in 1984, she went into exile
in England for two years.
In August 1985, she came back to bury her youngest brother, Shah Nawaz, who had
died under mysterious circumstances in Paris. A year later, she came back to
fight general Zia in elections. Her return on April 10, 1986, was welcomed by
one million people at Lahore airport. After her return, she attended rallies all
over Pakistan and kept a close touch with the Movement for Restoration of
Democracy (MRD).
On December 18, 1987, Benazir married Asif Ali Zardari. She become the youngest
Prime Minister at age thirty five and the first Muslim woman to lead a Muslim
nation in modern times, after winning 1988 general election.
Her government was dismissed by President Ishaq Khan in August 1990. During her
first term, she started People's Programme for economic uplift of the masses.
SAARC Summit was also held in Islamabad in 1989.
Benazir returned to power again, by winning the October 1993 elections, but her
government was dismissed by President Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari on corruption
charges in November 1996.
Her publications include "Daughter of the East" and "Pakistan: The Gathering
Storm". [Top]
29. Sardar Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari [Born 1940]
Sardar Farooq was born at D.G. Khan on May 29, 1940. He did his
graduation from Aitchison College, Lahore and earned M.A. P.P.E. from Oxford
University in 1963. In the same year, he joined the Civil Service of Pakistan,
which he left ten years later in 1973, on invitation of Prime Minister Zulfikar
Ali Bhutto to join the PPP.
In 1975, Farooq Leghari was elected Senator. In the 1977 election, he won the
National Assembly seat and was appointed Federal Minister for Production. In
1978, he was appointed Secretary General of the PPP and participated in the
struggle for the restoration of democracy. He remained Secretary General till
1983 and underwent four years of imprisonment during the Martial Law.
Farooq Leghari was elected member of both National and Punjab Assembly in the
1988 elections, and was appointed Federal Minister for Water and Power from
December 1989 upto August 1990. In October 1990 elections, he was re-elected
member of the National Assembly and became Deputy Leader of the Opposition in
the Assembly.
In the caretaker cabinet in 1993, Farooq Leghari held the portfolio of the
Federal Minister for Finance. During this period he presided over the Twenty
First Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers held in Karachi from 25-29 April,
1993. In the October 1993 general elections, he won the National Assembly seat
and was appointed Federal Foreign Minister.
Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari was elected President of Pakistan on November 13, 1993
and took oath the same day for a term of five years.
In February 1997, Mian Nawaz Sharif, a major political opponent of Mr. Leghari
was elected as the Prime Minister. With the passing of the 13th Amendment, a
direct collision course with the Prime Minster was set. With the dilution of
PPP’s role in the assemblies, chances of Mr. Leghari’s re-election as President
in 1998 had also become bleak. On December 2, 1997, Mr. Farooq Leghari resigned
as the President of Pakistan.
In August 1998, Mr. Leghari formed his own political party called the ‘Millat
Party’, and heads it to-date. [Top]
30. Malik Meraj Khalid [Born 1916]
Malik Meraj Khalid was born in 1916, in a small village near Lahore. He
studied law and began practice in 1948. He was elected to the Provincial
Assembly in 1965. He joined the Pakistan Peoples Party soon after its inception
in 1968 and was appointed President of Lahore PPP. He was re-elected to the
National Assembly in 1970.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto included Meraj Khalid in his cabinet as Minister for Food
and Agriculture and Under Developed Areas in December 1971. In November 1972 he
was appointed Chief of the Party's Parliamentary Affairs and in 1975 he was
given the portfolios of Social Welfare, Local Government and Rural Development.
Later he was elected speaker of the National Assembly.
After the execution of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in April 1979, he was nominated
member of the PPP central committee. But he resigned from the party's central
committee in January 1988. He was again appointed the Speaker of National
Assembly in 1988. He lost elections in 1993 and remained aloof from politics for
sometime and served as the rector of International Islamic University.
He was nominated as head of the interim government in November 1996 and remained
in power till February 1997. [Top]
31. Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif [Born 1949]
Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was born in Lahore, on December 25, 1949. He is the eldest
son of Muhammad Sharif, a joint owner of Ittefaq Group of Industries.
Nawaz Sharif did his schooling from St. Anthony''s High School. After graduating
from Government College Lahore, he obtained his law degree from the Punjab
University.
Nawaz Sharif remained member of the Punjab Provincial Council for some time. He
joined the Punjab cabinet as Finance Minister in 1981. He was able to raise the
allocation of funds in the development of rural areas to seventy percent, out of
the annual development program in the province. He also held the portfolio of
Sports and was able to reorganize the sports activities in the province.
In the general elections of 1985, Nawaz Sharif won with over-whelming
majorities, both in the National, and Provincial Assemblies. On April 9, 1985,
he was sworn in as Chief Minister of Punjab. On May 31, 1988, he was appointed
caretaker Chief Minister, after the dismissal of assemblies by General Zia.
Nawaz Sharif was again elected as Chief Minister after the 1988 general
elections. A massive uplift of Murree and Kahuta was done during his term as
Chief Minister Punjab.
On November 6, 1990, Nawaz Sharif was sworn in as the Prime Minister of the
country, after his alliance, IJI won the October 24, 1990 elections. However,
Nawaz Sharif could not complete his term of five years, and was dismissed by the
President in April 1993. He was reinstated by the superior judiciary, but had to
resign along with the President in July 1993.
During his tenure as the Prime Minister, efforts were made to strengthen the
industrial sector with the help of private sector. Projects like Ghazi Brodha,
Gawadar Mini port, were initiated. Land was distributed among landless peasants
in Sindh. Relations with the Central Asian Muslim republics were strengthened
and ECO was given a boast. To end the Afghan crisis, "Islamabad Accord" was
reached between various Afghan factions. His most important contribution was
economic progress despite American sanctions on Pakistan through Pressler
Amendment.
Pakistan Muslim League again won the elections held in February 1997, and Mian
Nawaz Sharif was re-elected as Prime Minister with an overwhelming majority.
Taking advantage of his absolute majority in the National Assembly, he added a
landmark in the constitutional history of Pakistan by repealing the
controversial 8th Amendment. This 13th Constitutional Amendment stripped the
President of his powers, under Article 52(b) of the 8th Amendment, to dismiss
the Prime Minister and dissolve the National Assembly. He added another
milestone to the constitution when his Parliament adopted the anti-defection
14th Amendment Bill. His development venture of the Lahore-Islamabad motorway
has also been appreciated by a segment of society.
During his tenure his working relationship with the apex court severed, and his
differences with the Chief Justice came out in public. He also developed an
uneasy relationship with the President, Farooq Leghari, who had earlier been his
major political opponent. With the passing of the 13th Amendment, the President
was put on a direct collision course with the Prime Minster. A few months later,
this and the dramatic confrontation with the Judiciary, culminated in the
removal of the Supreme Court Chief Justice, Sajjad Ali Shah, and on December 2,
1997, the resignation of the President, Mr. Farooq Leghari.
On October 12, 1999, the civilian government headed by Mr. Sharif was overthrown
by a military coup. The Kargil controversy, corruption charges, and the ‘Plane
Conspiracy’ case are considered to be the main reasons for his ouster.
After an extensive trial, Mr. Nawaz Sharif was charged and found guilty in the
‘Plane Conspiracy’ case. On request of the Saudi Royal Family, the government of
Pakistan exiled him to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he now lives with his
close family.
Several cases of corruption against him are still pending decision in local
courts. [Top]
32. Muhammad Rafiq Tarar [Born 1929]
On January 1,1998, Mr. Muhammad Rafiq Tarar, took the oath of office as
the ninth President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. He secured an all time high
number of votes from an electoral college consisting of total membership of the
two houses of the Parliament and the four provincial legislatures. No one before
him received such overwhelming support from the elected representatives of the
people of Pakistan.
Muhammad Rafiq Tarar was born on November 2, 1929, in a middle-class family of
village Pirkot in District Gujranwala near Lahore. After graduating from Islamia
College, Gujranwala in 1949, Mr. Tarar secured his Law Degree (L.L.B.) from Law
College, Lahore, in the year 1951. The same year he was enrolled as a pleader.
In October 1955, he was enrolled as an advocate in the Lahore High Court. He
established a practice in Gujranwala before rising to the position of Chairman,
Punjab Labour Court in 1970. Four years later he entered the High Court and was
appointed as Chief Justice of Lahore High Court. Earlier, during his days as
Judge of the LHC, he also served as member Pakistan Election Commission. Mr.
Justice Muhammad Rafiq Tarar was elevated as the Judge of the Supreme Court of
Pakistan in 1991 from which he retired in November 1994 on attaining the age of
65 years.
Following his retirement from Judiciary in March 1997, Mr. Tarar moved from a
legal to a political career. He was elected as Member, Senate on PML (N) ticket.
On December 31,1997, he was elected as the President of Pakistan. His
appointment as the President is widely attributed to his close ties with the
family of the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mian M. Nawaz Sharif.
On June 20, 2001, by virtue of a Provisional Constitutional Order, he was
replaced by Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who himself became the President.
Mr. Tarar fondly recounts his light moments, mostly relating to his role as a
volunteer in relief camps set up by Muslim Students Federation for refugees from
the riot-torn India to Pakistan in 1947. Mr. Tarar has a passion for poetry and
literature. He has a deep insight into classic Persian Literature. He is married
and has four children, three sons and one daughter. [Top]
33. General Pervez Musharraf [Born 1943]
General Pervez Musharraf, the second of three brothers was born in Dehli
on August 11,1943. He spent his early childhood in Turkey (1949-1956) owing to
his father’s deputation in Ankara.
On return to Pakistan, he received his education from Saint Patrick’s High
School, Karachi and Forman Christian College, Lahore. Later in 1961, he joined
the Pakistan Military Academy and was commissioned in Artillery Regiment in
1964. He fought in the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965 as a young officer, and was
awarded Imtiazi Sanad for gallantry. He volunteered to be a “Commando”, and
remained in the Special Services Group for seven years. He also participated in
the Indo-Pak War of 1971 as a Company Commander in the Commando Battalion.
A graduate of Command & Staff College, and National Defense College, General
Musharraf also distinguished himself at the Royal College of Defense Studies,
United Kingdom. During his military career, General Musharraf has accumulated
varied experience in different command and instructional appointments. He also
served as Director General Military Operations at the General Headquarters from
1993 to 1995.
General Musharraf rose to the rank of General on October 7, 1998 and was
appointed Chief of the Army Staff. He was given additional charge of Chairman
Joint Chiefs Staff Committee on April 9, 1999. Since October 12, 1999, when the
military took over the government in Pakistan, he has been performing duties as
the Chief Executive of the country. He continues to hold the office of Chief of
Army Staff and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. General Pervez
Musharraf, assumed the office of President of Pakistan for an indefinite period
on June 20, 2001.
General Musharraf got married in 1968 and has two children, a son and a
daughter. [Top]
Data
Collected By
Muhammad
Jahangir |