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The Famous Statesmen of Pakistan
Compiled by: Syed Ali Shahbaz
Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the Founder of Pakistan
Leader of the All India Muslim League, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who is considered as the “Qa’ed-e Azam” (Great Leader) and Founder of Pakistan became the first Governor-General of the new country to be born Islamic nation of Pakistan on August 14, 1947 AD. He was a lawyer and a brilliant orator and led the struggle for a separate homeland for Muslims of the Subcontinent, after leaving the Indian National Congress on being disillusioned by the policies of M.K. Gandhi.
Born in Karachi into an Ismaili Khoja Shi’ite family of Gujarati origin on 25th December 1876, he later became an Asna Ash’ari or Twelver Shi’a, and died in Karachi on 11th September 1948 after serving as Governor-General of Pakistan for a year and almost a month. Revered as “Qa’ed-e Azam” (Great Leader) by the people of Pakistan, his portrait still adorns Pakistan’s currency notes, while in Iran and Turkey, highways are named in his honour.
On September 11, 1948, the Founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, passed away in his hometown Karachi. Born in an Ismaili Shi'ite Muslim family, later in life he became an Asna Ash'ari or Twelver Shi'ite. He was educated in London, and was a lawyer by profession.
A brilliant orator he was one of the founders of the Muslim League of India, and led the struggle against colonialism for a separate homeland for Muslims of the Subcontinent, after being dissatisfied with the Hindu-oriented policy of the Indian National Congress, of which he was initially a member.
For this reason, he was affectionately called all over India, and later after the birth of Pakistan, as Qa'ed-e Azam or the Great Leader. Following the birth of Pakistan on August 14, 1947, he became Governor-General.
Nawab Liaqat Ali Khan, Pakistan’s first prime, minister
On October 1, 1896 AD, Liaqat Ali Khan, the Indian Muslim statesman who became Pakistan’s first prime, minister, was born in an aristocratic family in Karnal, East Punjab. He was educated at the Aligarh Muslim University in India, and the Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
Trained as lawyer, on his return to India, he rose to prominence as an influential member of the Muslim League led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah. On 16 October 1951, he was shot twice in the chest during a public meeting at Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Sir Khwaja Nazimuddin, the Second Prime Minister of Pakistan
On July 19, 1894 AD, Sir Khwaja Nazimuddin, one of the notable Bengali Founding Fathers of Pakistan was born in Dhaka in what is now Bangladesh, into the family of the Nawabs of Dhaka, who were of Kashmiri origin. He was a product of the Aligarh Muslim University and the Cambridge University of Britain, and on his return to undivided India joined the Muslim League. On the birth of Pakistan, he became a career statesman from what was then East Pakistan.
Following the death of Governor-General Mohammad Ali Jinnah, he served as the second Governor-General of Pakistan from 1948 until the assassination of Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan in 1951. Nazimuddin now became the Second Prime Minister of Pakistan and the first Bengali premier of that still undivided country. His government lasted only two years. On April 17, 1953, he was dismissed and a year later conceded his defeat in the 1954 general elections to another Bengali statesman Mohammad Ali Bogra, who became the next Prime Minister of Pakistan. After a long illness, Nazimuddin died in 1964 at the age of 70; was given a state funeral, and buried in his hometown of Dhaka.
Fatima Jinnah, the Mother of Pakistan
On July 31, 1893 AD, Fatima Jinnah, famous as Mother of Pakistan was born in Karachi into a Ismaili Shi'ite family and later became Asna Ash'ari or Twelver Shi'ite. She was the younger sister of the Founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and was a dental surgeon by profession. She actively participated in politics, and was an influential political figure in the movement for independence from British colonial rule. After the independence, and following the death of her brother, she continued to work for the welfare of the Pakistan's people though charities and the institutions. In 1965, she ran for president and it is widely believed that elections were rigged by incumbent President Field Marshal Ayub Khan to deprive her of imminent victory. She died in Karachi in 1967 and is commonly known in Pakistan as Mader-e Millat or Mother of the Nation.
General Ayub Khan
On May 14, 1907 Ayub Khan, the second president of Pakistan was born in British India, in the village of Rehana in the Hazara region of the North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa). An ethnic Pashtun of the Tareen tribe, from 1958 to 1959, he was the first of a long line of military dictators of Pakistan. A graduate of Britain's Sandhurst military academy, he saw action during World War 2 and after independence became a general in the Pakistan army. After seizure of power he styled himself field marshal. He died in 1974.
General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan
On August 10, 1980 AD, Pakistan’s former president, General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan, died at the age of 63. In 1969, he was handed power by his predecessor President Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan and was the chief executive until the defeat in the war against India and separation of East Pakistan as Bangladesh on December 16, 1971. On December 20, he formally handed over power to the civilian politician Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan born in a family of Iranian origin, he had served with distinction in the North African, West Asian, and Mediterranean theatres of World War 2 as an officer of the British Indian army.
President Zia ur-Rahman of Bangladesh
On May 30 in 1981, President Zia ur-Rahman of Bangladesh was assassinated. A highly decorated officer of the united Pakistan army, he organized Bengali resistance against the crackdown on what was then East Pakistan by the army units of West Pakistan. Later he had the honour of announcing the Declaration of Independence of Bangladesh on 26 March 1971 at Kalurghat, Chittagong, and the next day repeated an edited version of the declaration on behalf of independence leader, Sheikh Mujib ur-Rahman – who was killed in a coup in 1975.
On 21 April 1977, Major-General Zia ur-Rahman as Chief of Staff of the armed forces, took charge of the government, following Justice Sayem's resignation, and later in 1977 became the seventh President of Bangladesh. He issued a proclamation order amending the secular constitution drafted by Mujib ur-Rahman, by increasing the direct influence and role of Islam in state affairs.
In the preamble, he inserted the salutation "Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim" (In the Name of Allah, the All-Beneficent, the All-Merciful). In Article 8(1) and 8(1A) the statement “absolute trust and faith in Almighty Allah” was added, replacing the commitment to secularism. He further introduced provisions to allow Muslims to practice the social and legal injunctions of the Shari’ah and Sunnah.
In Article 25(2), he introduced the principle that “the state shall endeavour to consolidate, preserve and strengthen fraternal relations among Muslim countries based on Islamic solidarity.” Islamic religious education was introduced as a compulsory subject in Bangladeshi schools, with provisions for non-Muslim students to learn of their own religions. He established a multiparty system, and also reached out to the hill tribes, the Hindu and Buddhist religious minorities, and the Urdu-speaking Bihari Muslim ethnic minority. His wife Begum Khaleda Zia is the opposition leader in Bangladesh after having served as the country’s president herself.
Islamabad, the federal capital of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
On August 1, 1960 AD, the newly built city of Islamabad was declared the federal capital of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, replacing nearby Rawalpindi. Following partition of the Subcontinent, the port city of Karachi had initially served as the capital.
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