Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan (October 1, 1895 – October 16, 1951), often simply referred as Liaquat, was one of the leading Founding Fathers[1] of modern Pakistan, statesman, lawyer, and political theorist who became and served as thefirst Prime Minister of Pakistan, in addition, was also the first Defence minister and minister of Commonwealth and Kashmir Affairs, from 1947 until his assassination in 1951.[1]
Born and hail from Karnal,East Punjab, Ali Khan was educated at the Aligarh Muslim University in India, and theOxford University in the United Kingdom.[2] Prior to his return to India, Ali Khan rose to prominence and was also the influential member of the Muslim League led under Mohammad Ali Jinnah, advocating and determining to eradicate the injustices and ill treatment meted out to the Indian Muslims by the British government, and rose as the influential and later was one of the principle Founding Fathers of Pakistan.[2][3] Ali Khan was invited first to join the Congress Party, but allied himself with the Muslim League, playing a vital role in the independence of India and Pakistan, while served as the Finance minister in the interim government of British Indian Empire, prior to partition.[3] Significantly, Ali Khan and his wife are credited with persuading Jinnah to return to India— an event which marked the beginning of the Muslim League's ascendancy and paved the way for the Pakistan movement— following the passage of thePakistan Resolution in 1940, Ali Khan assisted Jinnah in campaigning for the creation of a separate state for Indian Muslims.[4] His influential role led the British Indian Empire to disintegrate into modern-day state of India and Pakistan.[3]
Considered the confident of Jinnah, Ali Khan was appointed first Prime minister, but his government faced eminent challenges and endless regional conflict with India, forcing Ali Khan to approach to his counterpart Jawaharlal Nehruto reach a settlement to end the religious violence, but Nehru pushed for the referral of the problem to the United Nations.[5] Generally an anti-communist, Ali Khan's foreign policy sided with the United States and the West, although Ali Khan was determined to be a part of the Non-Aligned Movement.[5] Envisaged to established theparliamentary democracy in the country, Ali Khan faced with internal political unrest and also survived coup led by the Leftists and Communists. His influence further grew after the death of Jinnah, responsible to promulgate theObjectives Resolution, and was assassinated in 1951 by a hired assassin Sa'ad Babrak.[2][5] After his death, Ali Khan is popularly given the titles of Quaid-e-Millat (Leader of the Nation), and posthumously Shaheed-e-Millat(Martyr of the Nation).[1]
Early life
Liaqat Ali Khan was born on October 1 of 1895 into the provisional gentry of wealthy,[6] well-connected and an educated aristocrat[6] Muslim, Punjabi family who owned large lands, farms, plantation sites, in the Karnal in present-day Haryana, East Punjab, British India (now Republic of India), on October 1 of 1895.[6] His ancestors were traced to Nosherwani-Sassanid Dynasty[6] settled in Eastern Punjab.[6] His father, Nawab Rustam Ali Khan, possessed the titles of Rukun-al-Daulah, Shamsher Jang and Nawab Bahadur, by the local population and the British Government who had wide respect for his family. The Ali Khan family was one of the few landlords whose property (300 Villages in total including the jagir of 60 villages in karnal) expanded across both eastern Punjab and the United Provinces.[7] The family owned pre-eminence to timely support given by Liaqat's grandfather Nawab Ahmed Ali Khan of Karnal to British army during 1857 rebellion.(source-Lepel Griffin's Punjab Chiefs Volume One).Liaquat Ali Khan's mother, Mahmoodah Begum, arranged for his lessons in the Qur'an and Ahadithat home before his formal schooling started.[6] His family had strong ties with the British Government, and the senior British government officers were usually visited at his big and wide mansion at their time of visit.[6]
His family had deep respect for the Syed Ahmad Khan, and his father had strong views and desires for young Liaqat Ali Khan to educated in the British educational system; therefore, his family admitted Ali Khan to famous Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) to study law and political science. Ali Khan was sent toAligarh to attend the AMU where he would obtained degrees in law and political science.
In 1913, Ali Khan attended the MOA College (now Aligarh Muslim University), graduating with a B.Sc. in Political science and LLB in 1918, and married his cousin, Jehangira Begum, also in 1918.[8] After the death of his father in 1919, Ali Khan, with British Government awarding the grants and scholarship, went to England, attending the Oxford University's Exeter College to pursue his higher education.[6] In 1921, Ali Khan was awarded the LLM in Law and Justice, by the college faculty who also conferred him with a Bronze Medallion.[6] While a graduate student at Oxford, Ali Khan took active participation in student unions and was an elected Honorary Treasurer of the Majlis Society— a student union founded by Indian Muslim students to promote the Indian students rights at the university.[6]Thereafter, Ali Khan was called to joined the Inner Temple, one of the Inns of Court in London.[6] He was called to the Bar in 1922 by one of his English law professor, and starting his practices in law as an advocate.
Prime Minister
After independence, the Ali Khan was appointed country's first Prime Minister of Pakistan by the founding fathers of Pakistan. Khan was made the prime minister during the penultimate times, the country was born at the time of starting of the extensive competition between two world superpowers, the United States and then Soviet Union.[22] Ali Khan faced with mounted challenges and difficulties while trying to administer the country. Ali Khan and the Muslim League faced with dual competitions with socialists in West-Pakistan and, the communists East Pakistan.[22] The Muslim League founded difficult to face competition with socialists in West Pakistan, and lost considerable support in favor of socialists led its Marxist leader Faiz Ahmad Faiz. In East Pakistan, the Muslim League's political base was vanished byPakistan Communist Party after staging a mass protest.[22]
At an internal front, Ali Khan faced with socialist's nationalists challenges and different religious ideologies further pushed the country into more unrest.[22] Problems with Soviet Union and Soviet bloc further escalated after Ali Khan failed to make a visit to Soviet Union, despite his intention.[22] Although, Ali Khan envision the foreign policy more independent, despite his initiatives, the country had became dependent to United States which influenced on Ali Khan's decision to visit the communist bloc.[22]
Ali Khan send the recommendation to Jinnah to appointed Abdul Rashid as country's first Chief Justice, and Justice Abdur Rahim as President of Constitutional Assembly, both of them were also the Founding fathers of Pakistan.[22] Earliest reforms Ali Khan took was to centralize the Muslim League, and planned and prepared the Muslim League to become the successor authority of Pakistan.
Assassination and Death
On 16 October 1951, Khan was shot twice in the chest during a public meeting of the Muslim City League at Company Bagh (Company Gardens), Rawalpindi. The police immediately shot the assassin who was later identified as Saad Akbar Babrak. Khan was rushed to a hospital and given a blood transfusion, but he succumbed to his injuries. The exact motive behind the assassination has never been fully revealed.[40] Saad Akbar Babrak was an Afghan national and a professional assassin from Hazara.[41][self-published source][42] He was known to the police prior to the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan. The assassination is still a very big question mark because it was never investigated properly.
Upon his death, Khan was given the honorific title of "Shaheed-e-Millat", or "Martyr of the Nation". He is buried at Mazar-e-Quaid, the mausoleum built for Jinnah in Karachi.[43] The Municipal Park, where he was assassinated, was renamed Liaquat Bagh (Bagh means park) in his honor.
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