Khan Abdul Wali Khan ( ps, خان عبدالولي خان; 11 January 1917 – 26 January 2006) was a
Pakistani secular democratic socialist and
Pashtun
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
leader, and served as president of
Awami National Party. Son of the prominent Pashtun nationalist leader
Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Abdul Ghaffār Khān (; 6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988), also known as Bacha Khan () or Badshah Khan (), and honourably addressed as Fakhr-e-Afghan (), was a Pakistani Pashtun, independence activist, and founder of the Khudai Khidmatgar ...
, Wali Khan was an
activist and a writer against the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
like his father.
His early years were marked by his involvement in his father's non-violent resistance movement, the "red shirts" against the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
. He narrowly escaped an assassination in his early years and was later sent to school at
Colonel Brown Cambridge School
Colonel Brown Cambridge School is one of the oldest residential schools in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. It is an English medium school affiliated to the Indian Council of School Certificate Examination (CICSE) board of Education. The schoo ...
, Dehra Dun.
[Schofield, Victoria (22 August 2003), ''Afghan Frontier Feuding and Fighting in Central Asia''. Tauris Parke Paperbacks; General edition. ] In his late teens, he became active in the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
. After the formation of Pakistan in 1947, Wali Khan became a
controversial
Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...
figure in
Pakistani politics
The Politics of Pakistan () takes place within the framework established by the constitution. The country is a federal parliamentary republic in which provincial governments enjoy a high degree of autonomy and residuary powers. Executive ...
during his political career because of his association to the Congress which opposed the creation of Pakistan.
[Pirzada, Sayyid A. S. (2000). ''The Politics of the Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam Pakistan, 1971–1977''. Oxford University Press Inc, USA. ]
A respected politician in his later years, he contributed to Pakistan's third
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princ ...
and led protests for the restoration of democracy in the 1960s and 1980s.
[Chowk, ''Khan Abdul Wali Khan: His Father's Shadow?'' January 25, 2006](_blank)
. Last accessed 23 June 2006. In the 1970s, he also served as the parliamentary leader of opposition in Pakistan's first directly elected parliament.
Early life
Wali Khan was born on 11 January 1917, to a family of local
landlords
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, t ...
in the town of
Utmanzai in
Charsadda
Chārsadda ( ps, چارسده; ; ur, ; ) is a town and headquarters of Charsadda District, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. district of the
North-West Frontier province of the then British Raj. His father,
Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Abdul Ghaffār Khān (; 6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988), also known as Bacha Khan () or Badshah Khan (), and honourably addressed as Fakhr-e-Afghan (), was a Pakistani Pashtun, independence activist, and founder of the Khudai Khidmatgar ...
(Bacha Khan), was a prominent
Pashtun
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
Nationalist and founder of the pacifist
Khudai Khidmatgar
Khudai Khidmatgar ( ps, خداۍ خدمتګار; literally "servants of God") was a predominantly Pashtun nonviolent resistance movement known for its activism against the British Raj in colonial India; it was based in the country's North-West ...
(''"Volunteer"'' in Pashto) movement. His mother, ''Mehar Qanda Khan'', belonged to the nearby
Razar
Razzar is a tehsil located in Swabi District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Its administrative seat is located in Shewa Adda
Shewa Adda is the headquarter city of Razar Tehsil, Swabi District. This is also called Razzar City. The second largest ...
village, and married Bacha Khan in 1912; she died during the flu pandemic after
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Wali Khan, the second of three sons, received his early education from the ''Azad Islamia School'' in
Utmanzai. In 1922, this school became part of a chain of schools his father had formed during his social reform activities. It was from this network of schools that the Khudai Khidmatgar movement developed, eventually challenging British authority in the
North-West Frontier Province
The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followi ...
(now
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
) through non-violent protests and posing one of the most serious challenges to British rule in the region.
In May 1930, Wali Khan narrowly escaped being killed during a military operation by the
British Indian Army against his home village. In 1933, he attended the famous
Colonel Brown Cambridge School
Colonel Brown Cambridge School is one of the oldest residential schools in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. It is an English medium school affiliated to the Indian Council of School Certificate Examination (CICSE) board of Education. The schoo ...
in Dehra Dun. He did not pursue further education because of recurring problems with his eyesight, which led to him wearing glasses for the rest of his life.
Despite his
pacifist upbringing, as a young freedom fighter, Wali Khan seemed exasperated with the pacifism advocated by his father. He was to later explain his frustration to
Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
, in a story he told Muklaika Bannerjee, "If the cook comes to slaughter this chicken's baby, is non-violence on the part of the chicken likely to save the younger life?" The story ended with a twinkle in his eye when he remembered Gandhiji's reply, "Wali, you seem to have done more research on violence than I have on non-violence."
[Bannerjee, Muklaika (Saturday, 4 February 2006)]
"Wali Baba, my adoptive father".
''Indian express''. Retrieved 10 February 2006. His first wife died in 1949 while Wali Khan was in prison. In 1954, he married
Nasim Wali Khan
Nasim Wali Khan ( ur, نسيم ولی خان 1933 16 May 2021) was a female politician in Pakistan. Nasim Wali Khan was a
leader of Awami National Party–Wali. Nasim Wali Khan was the former provincial president and parliamentary leader of th ...
, the daughter of an old Khudai Khidmatgar activist.
Early politics
In 1942, Wali Khan while still in his teens, joined the Khudai Khidmatgar movement. Soon after, he formally stepped into politics by joining the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
where he eventually served as a provincial joint secretary of the party. He was arrested and charged under the
Frontier Crimes Regulations
The Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) were a special set of laws of British India, and which were applicable to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). They were enacted by in the nineteenth century and remained in effect in Pakistan un ...
, in 1943, at the height of the crackdown against the
Quit India Movement.
He opposed the 1947 division of the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and criticised the decision.
[Wali Khan later explained his position, "I was amazed that the British, who had given India one government from the Khyber to Cape Comorin should break it up so quickly. It reminded me of when we were children and we used to sit on the river bank and make castles in the sand; and then in one movement we'd kick it all down."]
His decision to serve in a more prominent political role was said to have been influenced by his elder brother,
Ghani Khan
, image = Khan Abdul Ghani Khan 1940s.jpg
, image_size = 250px
, caption = Khan in the 1940s
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Hashtnagar, North-West Frontier Province, British India, now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
, death_date =
, de ...
's, decision to withdraw from politics. With his father in jail, Khan took over leading his father's supporters.
Despite his father's efforts against division and a brief attempt to instead create a new nation called
Pakhtunistan
Pashtunistan ( ps, پښتونستان, lit=land of the Pashtuns) is a historical region in Central Asia and South Asia, inhabited by the indigenous Pashtun people of Afghanistan and western Pakistan. Wherein Pashtun culture, the Pashto, Pashto l ...
, on 14 August 1947, Pakistan came into being. The new nation was divided into two wings (West and East Pakistan), separated by a thousand miles (1500 km) of Indian territory.
Like his father after the creation of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
, Wali Khan agitated for Pashtun autonomy within a Pakistani
Federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
system, which placed him at odds with government authorities. Imprisoned without charge in 1948, he was freed in 1953; he immediately started negotiations with the central government to allay apprehensions about the
Khudai Khidmatgar
Khudai Khidmatgar ( ps, خداۍ خدمتګار; literally "servants of God") was a predominantly Pashtun nonviolent resistance movement known for its activism against the British Raj in colonial India; it was based in the country's North-West ...
.
[Amir, Intikhab (27 January 2006)]
"Wali Khan: A life of struggle"
''The Dawn''. DAWN group. Retrieved 10 November 2006. He held talks with then NWFP Chief Minister Sardar Abdul Rashid and Prime Minister
Muhammad Ali Bogra
Sahibzada Syed Mohammad Ali Chowdhury ( bn, সৈয়দ মোহাম্মদ আলী চৌধুরী; Urdu: سید محمد علی چوہدری), more commonly known as Mohammad Ali Bogra ( bn, মোহাম্মদ আলী ...
. He also held a series of meetings with then Governor General
Ghulam Mohammed. These negotiations proved successful and led to the release of hundreds of imprisoned activists belonging to the Khudai Khidmatgar movement. Wali Khan next joined the
National Awami Party
The National Awami Party (NAP), translated from Urdu to English as National People's Party, was the major left-wing political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), by A ...
(NAP) in 1956, a new political party formed by his father along with other progressive and leftist leaders from both wings of Pakistan.
The
National Awami Party
The National Awami Party (NAP), translated from Urdu to English as National People's Party, was the major left-wing political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), by A ...
seemed to be on its way to victory in the 1959 elections,
[Ziring, Lawrence (November 2004). ''Pakistan in the 20th Century. A Political History''. OUP Pakistan.] when the civilian President
Iskandar Mirza
Sahibzada Iskander Ali Mirza ( bn, ইস্কান্দার আলী মির্জা; ur, ; 13 November 1899 – 13 November 1969), , was a Pakistani Bengali general officer and civil servant who was the first President of Pakista ...
was ousted in a coup by the military, under Commander-in-Chief
Ayub Khan. One of Ayub Khan's first decisions after he came to power was to outlaw political activity and imprison politicians. Abdul Wali Khan, along with many other politicians at the time, was imprisoned and disqualified from contesting elections or participating in politics as part of this purge.
Politics: 1958–1972
By 1962, Ayub Khan introduced a new constitution and announced he would run in the next Presidential election. The opposition parties got united under the Combined Opposition Party alliance and fielded a joint candidate against Ayub Khan in the Presidential elections. As an opposition leader, Wali Khan supported the consensus candidate
Fatima Jinnah, sister of Pakistan's founder
Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Wali Khan assisted Fatima Jinnah in her election campaign and served as her election agent.
The opposition's election campaign however proved a failure and Ayub Khan was re-elected in 1964, in part due to alleged vote rigging by the central government, and also because of divisions within the opposition.
[Mazari, Sherbaz Khan (1999) ''A Journey into disillusionment''. Oxford University Press. ] These divisions were particularly sharp between Wali Khan and National Awami Party President
Maulana Bhashani
Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani (12 December 1880 – 17 November 1976), often shortened as Maulana Bhashani, was a Bengali politician. His political tenure spanned the British colonial India, Pakistan and Bangladesh periods.
Maulana Bhashani was pop ...
, as the Pro-
Mao Bhashani was alleged to have unofficially supported Ayub Khan because of the government's pro-China policy.
These divisions came to the surface in 1967, when the
National Awami Party
The National Awami Party (NAP), translated from Urdu to English as National People's Party, was the major left-wing political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), by A ...
formally split into Wali Khan and Bhashani factions. Wali Khan was elected President of his own faction of the National Awami Party in June 1968. In the same year, popular unrest broke out against
Ayub Khan's rule in Pakistan, due to increasing corruption and inflation. Wali Khan, along with most of the opposition parties, including future Bangladeshi President
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengali politi ...
and others, formed the Democratic Action Committee to negotiate with Ayub Khan for the restoration of democracy.
[Gauhar, Altaf (1996). ''Ayub Khan: Pakistan's First Military Ruler''. Oxford University Press, USA (28 September 1996). ]
Attempting to provide Ayub Khan with an honourable exit from power, negotiations between Ayub Khan and the opposition continued between 9 and 10 May 1969. However, despite a compromise agreement on some issues, it was alleged that the military leadership and its political allies did not want Ayub Khan to succeed.
Wali Khan held a separate meeting with Ayub Khan on 11 May to convince him to compromise. Ayub refused, and shortly afterwards Ayub resigned under pressure from the military.
The new military leader,
Yahya Khan
General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan , (Urdu: ; 4 February 1917 – 10 August 1980); commonly known as Yahya Khan, was a Pakistani military general who served as the third President of Pakistan and Chief Martial Law Administrator following his p ...
, called for general and provincial elections in 1970, promising to transfer power to the majority party. In the elections, Sheikh Mujeeb-ur Rehman, Bengali nationalist and leader of the
Awami League, won a majority of seats nationally and all the seats from the East wing of the country. (See
Elections in Pakistan
Since its establishment in 1947, Pakistan has had an asymmetric federal government and is a federal parliamentary democratic republic. At the national level, the people of Pakistan elect a bicameral legislature, the Parliament of Pakistan. Th ...
.) In West Pakistan, the charismatic populist
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth ...
won the second largest number of seats in the assembly, almost solely from the
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
and
Sindh provinces. Wali Khan was elected to both the provincial Assembly as a member of the Provincial Assembly and the National Assembly from his home constituency of Charsadda.
Despite the results, the military government rejected the Awami League's victory. Shocked on hearing the news that the military junta would not transfer power to the majority Bengalis, Khan was to later tell A.P. journalist Zeitlin, "I remember Bhutto said that it had been arranged with the 'powers that are' that in East Pakistan Sheikh Mujibur Rahman would rule, and in West Pakistan, Mr. Bhutto would be the Prime Minister."
[Badruddin, Umar. (2002) Last phase of the dialogues ''Weekly Holliday''. Last accessed on 19/07/07]
In 1971, in an attempt to avert a possible showdown between the Military and the people of East Pakistan, on 23 March 1971, Khan, along with other Pakistani politicians, jointly met Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. They offered support to Mujib in the formation of a government, but it was already too late to break the impasse as Yahya Khan had already decided on a full-scale military crackdown. Pakistan's increasing vulnerability and widespread international outrage against the military crackdown eventually created a situation that led to
war in East Pakistan. This war proved disastrous and culminated in Pakistan's armed forces being defeated in East Pakistan and the creation of the new state of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. Shocked by the defeat, Yahya Khan resigned from office and the military. Under General
Gul Hassan Khan
Gul Hassan Khan ( ur, گل حسن خان) (1921; b. 1921—10 October 1999), was a Pakistan Army senior general who served as the 6th and the last Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army, serving under President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from 20 Decembe ...
, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was brought back from America and appointed the Civilian Chief Marshal Law Administrator and President.
During the martial law crackdown against East Pakistan, the National Awami Party under Wali Khan was one of a handful of parties that protested the military operation. In one case, Khan helped a senior East Pakistani diplomat's son escape to Afghanistan from possible internment in West Pakistan.
[Zeitlin, Arnold e-mail exchange with the author (14 June 2006)] The military government, in retaliation against the protests, banned the party and launched mass arrests of party activists.
[HP (25 January 2006)]
"Khan Abdul Wali Khan: His Fathers Shadow?"
''Chowk.com''. Retrieved 10 March 2006.
Politics: 1972–1990
Tripartite agreement
In 1972, as the opposition leader, Wali Khan was contacted by
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourt ...
, who wanted to lift martial law and set up a new constitution. Wali Khan's negotiations with Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto led to the signing of an agreement with the government in 1972, called the Tripartite Agreement. The agreement led to the lifting of martial law and removal of the ban on the
National Awami Party
The National Awami Party (NAP), translated from Urdu to English as National People's Party, was the major left-wing political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), by A ...
. This led to the formation of
National Awami Party
The National Awami Party (NAP), translated from Urdu to English as National People's Party, was the major left-wing political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), by A ...
coalition provincial governments in the NWFP and
Baluchistan. Despite the initial positive start, the agreement rapidly began to unravel due to the growing animosity between Khan and Bhutto.
Liaquat Bagh massacre and framing the constitution
On 23 March 1973, the
Federal Security Force
The Federal Security Force (FSF) was a paramilitary/secret police force created by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, while he was the President of Pakistan. Established in 1972, created as a civil task force of the federal government, this was used as a subst ...
, a paramilitary force under the alleged orders of Bhutto,
[Khan, Hamid (4 March 2004) ''Constitutional and Political History of Pakistan''. Oxford University press] attacked a public opposition rally at the Liaquat Bagh in the town of
Rawalpindi and killed a dozen people; many more were wounded by their automatic gunfire. Wali Khan narrowly escaped a bullet during the attack. Public anger amongst ethnic
Pashtuns
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...
ran high, as almost all the dead and most of the wounded were from the NWFP and were mostly members of the National Awami Party. The enraged party workers and followers wanted to parade the dead bodies on the streets in
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
and other cities of the province, and provoke a full scale confrontation. Wali Khan rejected this notion and held back his infuriated party cadres, escorting the dead bodies to Peshawar; he had them buried quietly and solemnly with their bereaved families.
Despite the massacre, Wali Khan continued to support talks with Bhutto over a new constitution. Shortly afterwards, he was appointed the leader of the opposition by joint agreement of all the opposition parties. He then led negotiations with Bhutto for the passage, in August 1973, of Pakistan's only "unanimous" constitution.
Last minute disagreements over issues ranging from provincial rights to the renaming of NWFP, according to federal negotiator
Abdul Hafiz Pirzada
Abdul Hafeez Pirzada ( ur, ; 24 February 1935 – 1 September 2015) was a Pakistani lawyer, legal theorist, and politician, who served variously as minister for information, minister for law, minister for finance, and minister for education ...
,
["More autonomy for smaller provinces: Asfandyar Wali"](_blank)
(26 August 2003). ''DAWN'', Dawn group. Retrieved 1/08/07. despite reservations, Wali Khan agreed to a compromise with the precondition that issues of Judicial independence and provincial rights would be granted by the federal government after transition periods of five and ten years, respectively.
[Report on Shaukat's participation in election for UN secretary generalship all rubbish: Shujaat](_blank)
Friday 23 June 2006. ''Pak Tribune''. Retrieved 1 August 2007
However, he succeeded in incorporating Hydel and gas royalties for NWFP and Baluchistan as well as having obligated the Federal government to ensure equal improvements for all regions in Pakistan. Due to Bhutto's party's large majority in Parliament and opposition divisions, Khan was critically unable to stop Bhutto from concentrating greater power in his office.
''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
''. 5 March 1973.
It was during this period that Wali Khan supported Bhutto's move toward the release of
prisoners of war captured by India in the 1971 war and full normalisation of relations through the
Simla peace agreement.
[Akhund, Iqbal (31 Aug 2000). ''Trial and Error The Advent and Eclipse of Benazir Bhutto''. OUP Pakistan. ]
Arrest and Hyderabad tribunal
In 1974, after
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth ...
's close ally and governor of the
North-West Frontier Province
The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followi ...
Hayat Sherpao
Hayat Mohammad Khan Sherpao ( Urdu: حيات محمد خان شيرپاؤ; 1 February 1937 – February 8, 1975), simply known as Hayat Sherpao, was a left-wing intellectual and socialist, serving as the 15th Governor of North West Frontier P ...
was killed in a bomb blast, Bhutto was convinced that Abdul Wali Khan,
Khan Amirzadah Khan and the National Awami Party were responsible, and in retaliation the federal government banned the National Awami Party. It also ordered the arrest and imprisonment of most of its senior leadership, including Wali Khan. The widely discredited
Hyderabad tribunal
The Hyderabad tribunal (1975–1979), also known as Hyderabad conspiracy case, is the name of a former judicial tribunal used in Pakistan to prosecute opposition politicians of the National Awami Party on the charges of treason and acting against t ...
subsequently put Wali Khan and his colleagues on trial.
[Newburg, Paula (2002) ''Judging the State: Courts and Constitutional Politics in Pakistan'' (Cambridge South Asian Studies). Cambridge University Press. pp 146–150. ]
Refusing to participate in what he felt was a farcical trial, Wali Khan did not take part in his own legal defence.
In response to one of the charges before the Hyderabad Tribunal, that he had been sent Rs 20 million by Indian Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi through a certain emissary, Wali Khan sarcastically filed a civil suit against the emissary for the recovery of the Rs 20 million. He argued that, although he could not imagine why Indira Gandhi would send him such a large sum of money, he had never received the money, and obviously the emissary had embezzled the money.
[Niazi, M.A. (27 January 2006) Wasted asset. ''The Nation''. Nawa-e-Waqt Group. Available online a]
2006/27/columns1.php
As civil unrest was widely spread the country, the power struggle between PNA, Pakistan Armed Forces and Bhutto, including his colleagues, was triggered and, Wali Khan saw Bhutto's actions as his last stand.
[ q:Zulfikar Ali Bhutto] In an open public seminar, Wali Khan quoted that "There is one possible grave for two people ... let us see who gets in first".
Publication of books
Although not widely known, Wali Khan had previously written a book in
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official langua ...
on his father's non-violent movement, ''The Khudai Khidmatgar''. In 1986, he published another book called ''Facts Are Facts''.
[Ahmed, Sarfaraz (Monday, October 10, 2005). "Bugging Wali Bagh for history"](_blank)
'' Daily Times'', Pakistan. Retrieved 10 January 2007. This book was written gradually over many years and included critical and declassified British Imperial documents before the creation of Pakistan. Wali Khan, citing those documents, alleged that Pakistan's formation was done as part of a deliberate "
divide and rule
Divide and rule policy ( la, divide et impera), or divide and conquer, in politics and sociology is gaining and maintaining power divisively. Historically, this strategy was used in many different ways by empires seeking to expand their ter ...
" policy of the British and that
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Pakistan's founder), along with various religious leaders and feudal landlords, acted on their behalf.
Awami National Party
In July 1986, Wali Khan and other former National Awami Party members formed the
Awami National Party (ANP). Wali Khan was elected its first President and Sindhi Nationalist Rasool Baksh Palijo became the first Secretary General of the party.
The ANP, under Wali Khan's presidency, contested the 1988 national elections in alliance with former rivals the Pakistan Peoples' Party of
Benazir Bhutto (Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's daughter). The ANP's success in the elections was limited to the NWFP and even then only certain regions of that province. In addition, Wali Khan lost his provincial seat to a PPP candidate, a sign of the decline in the ANP's popularity. The ANP-PPP alliance collapsed in 1989 after a perceived snub by PPP Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and a dispute over ministerial posts and the governorship of NWFP. After joining the opposition, Wali Khan started talks with the Army backed IJI (Islamic Democratic Alliance) and joined the alliance before the 1990 general elections.
[Crossette, Barbara. "Bhutto Campaign Is Reeling Under Foes' Attacks in Court". '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''. 13 October 1990.
Post-retirement politics
After his defeat in the 1990 elections at the hands of opposition candidate
Maulana Hassan Jan
Maulana Hassan Jan Madani (Urdu:مولانا حسن جان مدنی ) was a Pakistani Islamic scholar and politician who was born on 6 January 1938 in Prang, Charsadda. He has served as a member of the 8th National Assembly of Pakistan from 3 ...
(a close confidante of the Afghan Pashtun leader
Gulbadin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ( ps, ګلب الدين حكمتيار; born 1 August 1949) is an Afghan politician, former mujahideen leader and drug trafficker. He is the founder and current leader of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin political party, so called ...
), Wali Khan opted to retire from electoral politics and turned down a senate ticket from his party and the offer from Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime minister of Pak ...
of contesting
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
. When asked his reason for retirement, he said that he had no place in politics "when the mullahs and ISI (
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...
) decide our destiny and politics".
[Zareef, Adil (26 January 2006)]
"Wali Khan — demise of a dream".
''The Daily Times''. Retrieved 1 February 2006.
As Wali Khan withdrew from politics, his contact with the press and public became limited. This period in the 1990s would be marked by his party's assumption of power in alliance with former army-backed opponents, a focus only on provincial politics, the increasing influence of his wife in party affairs, corruption scandals hitting the once clean image of his supporters and in particular the focus on renaming the NWFP ''Pakhtunkhwa'' ('The Pashtun side/ territory').
[Ghazali, Abdus Sattar. ''Islamic Illusions & reality. A comprehensive and detailed political history of Pakistan'']
Page 3. "Pakhtoonkhwa: Renaming of the NWFP".
The exception was in 1998, when in response to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's announcement of the construction of
Kalabagh Dam
The Kalabagh Dam ( ur, , ) is a proposed hydroelectric dam on the Indus River at Kalabagh in the Mianwali District, Punjab, Pakistan, which has been intensely debated along ethnic and regional lines for over 40 years.
If constructed, the dam ...
, Pashtun and Sindhi nationalists opposed construction of the dam because they believed it would give control of Pakistan's water resources to the majority
Punjabis. In response to the announcement, Wali Khan led a massive rally against the dam in the town of Nowshera.
[Ansar Naqvi & Wasim Shamsi (11 August 1998). . ''The NEWS''. Jang Group. Archived fro]
the original
on 4 February 2003.
The rally spurred other parties, in particular Benazir Bhutto's PPP, into leading a campaign against the construction of the dam. The campaign was successful and Sharif dropped the plan.
In another press conference in 2001, Wali Khan supported the US attack on the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
and said that had the US not attacked Afghanistan, the country would have turned into an Arab colony since
Osama Bin Laden had a well-equipped army of 16,000 people, which far outnumbered the trained soldiers in the Afghan army.
Wali Khan's final press conference was in 2003, when he announced his close friend and colleague
Ajmal Khattak's return to the ANP, along with many other colleagues, who had briefly led a splinter faction of the party between 2000 and 2002.
Relationships
His relationship with PPP leader and Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was characterised by a fierce rivalry and a powerful clash of egos. He used to criticise the Prime Minister for his "fascist tendencies" by calling him "''Adolph Bhutto''" and "''
Raja Dahir
Raja Dahiraud (; ''Raja Dahiraud ''; 663 – 712 CE) was the last Hindu ruler of Sindh in present-day Pakistan. In 711 CE his kingdom was invaded by the Umayyad Caliphate led by Muhammad bin Qasim where Dahiraud died while defending his ki ...
''".
In exchange Bhutto would accuse Khan of collusion with India and Afghanistan in an attempt to break up Pakistan.
[Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali. ''My Pakistan''. Biswin Sadi Publications Ltd. New Delhi, India, 1979.]
Wali Khan accused Zulfiqar Bhutto of attempting his assassination on the floor of Pakistan's parliament.
During Bhutto's time in office, Khan survived four assassination attempts. The attempts occurred in
Malakand,
Dir,
Rawalpindi and
Gujranwala. He survived the first attack when the vehicle he was travelling in, from Jandol to Timergara in Dir, came under fire. One of his bodyguards was killed in the attack. He survived a grenade attack at the Gujranwala railway station when he, along with
Pir Pagara
sd,
, image =
, caption =
, office = President of Pakistan Muslim League (F)
, term_start = 1985
, term_end = 10 January 2012
, predecessor = ''Position established''
, successor ...
and
Chaudhry Zahur Elahi, was on a visit to Punjab under the banner of the opposition alliance United Democratic Front (UDF).
[ ''THE NEWS''. Jang group. 5 February 2006. Archived fro]
the original
on 24 April 2006.
The fourth attack was carried out when he was about to address a public meeting in Liaquat Bagh Rawalpindi, a stray bullet killed a youth standing close to Wali Khan on the stage. Convinced that Bhutto had orchestrated the attacks with the collusion of Khan's old rival
Abdul Qayyum Khan Kashmiri, and after one particularly narrow escape, he warned Bhutto on the floor of the National Assembly that he would trade bullet for bullet with Bhutto, after that speech Bhutto's trips to the North-West Frontier Province were heavily guarded.
Debates between the two rivals remained bitter, in one case Bhutto had just returned from a successful trip abroad, and in a confrontational mood he lashed out at the opposition and Khan for slowing him down. When Bhutto was done, Wali Khan responded: "Mr. Bhutto, you stop telling lies about me and I will stop telling the truth about you.
[Dr. Malik, Farid (1 April 2006). "The story of a man of conviction". ''The Nation''. Nawa-e-Waqt group.]
The brutality he and his family experienced at the hands of Bhutto's government led to little sympathy from Wali Khan in 1979 when Bhutto faced execution.
[I.A. Rehman (February 2006)]
"Fight Well Fought".
''Newsline''. Accessed on 10-07-07.
Imprisonments
Wali Khan served several stints in prison, and survived several assassination attempts during his 48-year political career. His first arrest was under the
Frontier Crimes Regulations
The Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) were a special set of laws of British India, and which were applicable to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). They were enacted by in the nineteenth century and remained in effect in Pakistan un ...
(FCR) by the British Raj in 1943 for his role in the
Khudai Khidmatgar
Khudai Khidmatgar ( ps, خداۍ خدمتګار; literally "servants of God") was a predominantly Pashtun nonviolent resistance movement known for its activism against the British Raj in colonial India; it was based in the country's North-West ...
movement.
[Wali Khan passes away. (Friday, 27 January 2006) ''The Nation''. Nawa-e-Waqt. Available online a]
2006/27/index3.php
On 15 June 1948, he was arrested again, this time by the new Pakistani government, for the Khudai Khidmatgar's opposition to the creation of Pakistan, and placed behind bars in
Haripur jail in
Haripur, NWFP. In 1953, after serving more than five years in various jails without being charged, he was released by the central government. During this stint in prison, in February 1949, his first wife Taj Bibi and their second son died in a
Mardan
Mardān (Pashto and ; Urdu ; Pashto: ) is a city in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Located in the Valley of Peshawar, Mardan is the second-largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (after Peshawar). It is a fast-growing ...
hospital. Wali Khan was not allowed to attend her funeral.
In February 1949, Wali Khan was moved from Haripur jail to Mach jail in
Balochistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
, then to
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of ...
jail in May 1951, and to
Dera Ismail Khan
Dera Ismail Khan (; bal, , Urdu and skr, , ps, ډېره اسماعيل خان), abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of Dera Ismail Khan District, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 37th largest city of Pakistan ...
jail in 1952. He was brought back to Haripur jail in March 1952 and then released on 14 October 1953.
His third stint in prison was after Pakistani President
Iskandar Mirza
Sahibzada Iskander Ali Mirza ( bn, ইস্কান্দার আলী মির্জা; ur, ; 13 November 1899 – 13 November 1969), , was a Pakistani Bengali general officer and civil servant who was the first President of Pakista ...
was ousted in a military coup by General
Ayub Khan. The new military regime sought to purge political opponents, which led to Khan and hundreds of other politicians being disqualified from participating in politics. Wali Khan commented about his imprisonment to Ayub Khan's Information secretary in 1969 shortly after the Democratic Action Committee's conference with Ayub Khan had finished. Gauhar writes that, "Wali Khan narrated how Khawaja Shahabuddin asked him on three occasions during the conference, 'how is it that I never met a bright and able person like you when I was Governor of NWFP for three years.' Wali Khan let it pass on the first two occasions but on the third occasion he could not restrain himself and rejoined, 'Because all those three years you kept me in prison!'"
[Gauhar, Altaf (1998) ''Ayub Khan: Pakistan's First Military ruler''. Sang-E-Mill Publications. Lahore. p 465.] This was followed by another brief arrest in 1969 after another military ruler,
Yahya Khan
General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan , (Urdu: ; 4 February 1917 – 10 August 1980); commonly known as Yahya Khan, was a Pakistani military general who served as the third President of Pakistan and Chief Martial Law Administrator following his p ...
, assumed power after Ayub Khan resigned.
His final stint in prison was under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's government. Khan considered this period his most difficult experience. His party was banned and a brutal crackdown was launched against his family and friends.
[Khan, Hamid: Constitutional and political history of Pakistan. Karachi: Oxford UP. 2001.] As part of the crackdown, his brother-in-law was forced into exile and his son was tortured.
In his book ''Facts Are Sacred'',
[Khan, Abdul Wali Khan (1986). ''Facts Are Sacred''. Jaun Publishers.] he wrote of this stint in prison with some bitterness.
This difficult experience prompted Wali Khan to be often ambivalent in his criticism of military dictator
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...
who in 1977 ousted Bhutto and in 1979 had him executed.
Death and criticisms
After a long illness, Wali Khan died of a heart attack
[Yousafzai, Ashfaq (21 January 2006)]
"Wali Khan passes away".
''DAWN''. DAWN group. Retrieved 10 March 2006. on 26 January 2006 in Peshawar, Pakistan. He was buried in his ancestral village in Uthmanzai, Charsadda. His funeral was widely attended by members of the public and senior political leaders including Prime Minister
Shaukat Aziz; condolence messages were sent from Pakistani President
Pervaiz Musharraf, Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
He is survived by his wife Nasim Wali Khan, three daughters and two sons. Asfandyar Wali Khan, his eldest son, true to the political traditions of Wali Khan's family, is a politician in Pakistan and the current President of the Awami National Party.
Critics argue that Wali Khan made limited contributions to Pakistan's polarised and corrupt political system. They challenged his claim that he was the major or sole spokesperson for Pashtuns,
[Khan, Adeel (February 2003). ''Pakhtun Ethnic Nationalism: From Separation to Integration''. Asian Ethnicity, Volume 4, Number 1, February 2003 Carfax Publishing: Taylor & Francis Group.] discounted the benefits of the 1973 constitution and the Simla agreement, and disagreed with his principles of not compromising with dictators. Others argue that if he had compromised with Pakistan's military establishment he may well have ended up Pakistan's Prime Minister, but that his principles proved to be his undoing.
Some Pashtun nationalists were also critical of Wali Khan, as many felt that he squandered a chance to unite all Pashtuns in NWFP (now Khyber Pukhtunkhwa), Baluchistan and
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
, conventional_long_name = Federally Administered Tribal Areas
, nation = Pakistan
, subdivision = Autonomous territory
, image_flag = Flag of FATA.svg
, image_coat = File:Coat of arms ...
into one large province that could be named
Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...
or
Pakhtunistan
Pashtunistan ( ps, پښتونستان, lit=land of the Pashtuns) is a historical region in Central Asia and South Asia, inhabited by the indigenous Pashtun people of Afghanistan and western Pakistan. Wherein Pashtun culture, the Pashto, Pashto l ...
. Khan also faced criticism for his "betrayal of his language" because of his, and the National Awami Party, support for
as the provincial language of instruction in NWFP (now Khyber Pukhtunkhwa) and Baluchistan (declared in 1972) rather than the majority languages of
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official langua ...
and
Balochi.
[Rahman, Tariq. ''Pashto Language & Identity Formation in Pakistan''. Contemporary South Asia, July 1995, Vol 4, Issue 2, p151,20]
Wali Khan struggled for most of his life with the twin legacies of his influential father Ghaffar Khan and the perception of his "Anti-Pakistani activities".
As a result, he has been criticised for backing separatist ideals as well as causing social unrest in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
. His critics blamed him for alienation of Pashtuns from the rest of Pakistan and for supporting "anti-Pakistani forces".
He remained tagged with the title of traitor by the state run media and Pakistan's ruling establishment for much of his political career.
Paradoxically he is criticised by democrats for his alleged lukewarm opposition to Zia-ul Haq, who allegedly offered him the Prime Ministership of the country.
However writers like
Lawrence Ziring
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...
[Ziring, Lawrence (July 1975) Pakistan: A Political Perspective", ''Asian Survey'' 15:7.] have rejected the charges against him. Syed went a step further, arguing that the clash between the National Awami Party under Wali Khan, "was not a contest between the state of Pakistan and a secessionist force ... but was more like a clash of rival political wills".
His supporters disagree, and believe he promoted left of centre progressive and secular politics in Pakistan. Before his arrest in 1975, he was in fact striving for a more national role more in line with his position as Leader of the Opposition in government and he had started campaigning heavily in Punjab and Sind, where he was attracting large crowds.
[Anwar Muzdakiy (1972). ''Wali Khan Key. Siyasat''. Lahore: Tariq Publishers.]
In his statements he left an ambiguity in his policies, exemplified in 1972 when a journalist questioned his loyalty and his first allegiance, to which his reply was, "I have been a Pashtun for six thousand years, a Muslim for thirteen hundred years, and a Pakistani for twenty-five."
[Hilton, Isabel (3 December 2001). . ''The New Yorker''. Retrieved 10 January 2007. Archived fro]
the original
on 17 November 2006. However at the same time, before the 1990 general elections, he stated "The survival of the federation is the main issue in this election. Everyone considers themselves a Sindhi or Pashtun or Punjabi first. Nobody considers themselves a Pakistani. There has to be greater provincial autonomy".
["Chronology for Pashtuns (Pushtuns) in Pakistan"](_blank)
''Minorities at Risk''. Retrieved 3 July 2006.
He also worked well with many politicians from Punjab including prominent
Muslim Leaguers like Sardar
Shaukat Hayat Khan
Major Shaukat Hayat Khan ( Punjabi, ; 24 September 1915 – 25 September 1998) was an influential politician, military officer, and Pakistan Movement activist who played a major role in the organising of the Muslim League in the British-controlle ...
and
Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi
Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi (1917 - 25 September 1981) was a Pakistani politician who rose to prominence from a small town of Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan.
Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi began his career in the police force as a constable but gave it up soon after ...
(father of former Prime Minister
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain ( pa, ; ur, ; (born 27 January 1940) is a senior Pakistani politician from a Punjabi Jat family of Gujrat who previously served as 16th prime minister of Pakistan. Hussain is the party president of the Pakistan ...
) and with Baloch politicians especially Sardar
Ataullah Mengal
Ataullah Mengal (; 24 March 1929 – 2 September 2021) was a Pakistani politician and feudal figure. He was the head of the Mengal tribe until he nominated one of his grandsons, Sardar Asad Ullah Mengal, as his tribal successor. He was also the ...
and
Sherbaz Khan Mazari
Sherbaz Khan Mazari () (6 October 1930 – 5 December 2020) was a Pakistani politician and a leader of the opposition in the National Assembly.
Career
Mazari was born in Rojhan Mazari on October 5, 1930. His father, Mir Murad Bakhsh Khan, was ...
.
He was also accused of being a communist,
[The Emergence of the Federal Pattern in Pakistan. Malik Journal of Asian and African Studies.1973; 8: 205–215] or a secular
Pashtun
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
nationalist.
Khan's falling out with Baloch leader Ghous Bizenjo in the late 1970s can be traced to his disillusionment with Communism.
Khan, and by extension his party and family, maintained a long association with senior leaders in the Congress Party of India because of his father's close association with
Mohandas Gandhi. His preference for dialogue over conflict with India and his links to India also strengthened the impression that he was anti-Pakistan amongst the more strident anti-India elements in Punjab.
His opposition to the Pakistan-United States backed Afghan jihad and support for Afghan communist President
Mohammad Najibullah
Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai (Pashto/ prs, محمد نجیبالله احمدزی, ; 6 August 1947 – 27 September 1996), commonly known as Dr. Najib, was an Afghan politician who served as the General Secretary of the People's Democratic Par ...
damaged his standing amongst many conservative Pashtuns and Pakistanis."
Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan
The Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan (AWKUM) ( ur, ) is a public university located in Mardan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Established in April 2009, the university is named after Abdul Wali Khan, a prominent personality of Pashtunkhwa and ...
has been established in respect to him by Awami National Party government.
Bibliography
*
See also
*
Dr. Khan Sahib
Dr. Khan Sahib ( ps, ډاکټر خان صیب ) (born 1883, Utmanzai, Charsadda – 9 May 1958, Lahore), mistakenly named as Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan (), was a pioneer in the Indian Independence Movement and a Pakistani politician. He was the eld ...
*
Ajmal Khattak
*
Mian Ghulam Jilani
Major General Mian Gulam Jilani (SQA, Imtiazi Sanad) (1 March 1913 – 1 March 2004) was a two-star general officer in the Pakistan Army who, as an Indian Army officer during the Second World War had survived a Japanese PoW camp at Singapore. ...
*
Abdul Ali Khan
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Utmanzai, Charsadda, North-West Frontier Province, British India, now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
, death_date =
, death_place =
, nationality =
, education ...
*
Pakistan National Alliance
The Pakistan National Alliance (Urdu: پاکستان قومی اتحاد, Acronym: PNA), was a populist and consolidated right-wing political alliance, consisting of nine political parties of the country. Formed in 1977, the country's leading ...
*
List of political parties in Pakistan
Pakistan is a multi-party democracy. The country has many political parties and many times in past the country is ruled by coalition government.
The Parliament of Pakistan is bicameral, consisting of the National Assembly of Pakistan and the ...
*
Mir Gul Khan Naseer
Gul Khan Naseer ( ur, ), also known as Malek o-Sho'arā Balochistan ( ur, ; 14 May 1914 – 6 December 1983) was a politician, poet, historian, and journalist from Balochistan, Pakistan. Born on 14 May 1914 in Noshki, Gul Khan Naseer was at the ...
*
Mir Ghaus Baksh Bizenjo
Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo ( Urdu/ Baloch: میرغوث بخش بزنجو ) was a Pakistani politician from Balochistan. He served as the 3rd Governor of Balochistan.
Early life
He was born in Nall Khuzdar Balochistan in either December 1917 or 19 ...
*
Ataullah Mengal
Ataullah Mengal (; 24 March 1929 – 2 September 2021) was a Pakistani politician and feudal figure. He was the head of the Mengal tribe until he nominated one of his grandsons, Sardar Asad Ullah Mengal, as his tribal successor. He was also the ...
*
Khan Amirzadah Khan
References
Further reading
* Mazari, Sherbaz Khan (1999) ''A Journey to Disillusionment''.Oxford University Press Pakistan
* Pirzada, Sayyid A. S. (2000) ''The Politics of the Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam Pakistan, 1971–1977'' Oxford University Press Inc, USA
* Wolpert, Stanley (1993) ''Zulfi Bhutto of Pakistan: His Life and Times'' Oxford University Press Inc, USA.
* Khan, Adeel ''Pakhtun Ethnic Nationalism: From Separation to Integration''. (February 2003) Asian Ethnicity, Volume 4, Number 1, February 2003 Carfax Publishing: Taylor & Francis Group. Available online a
khyber.org Last accessed on 27 May 2006
* Newburg, Paula (2002)''Judging the State: Courts and Constitutional Politics in Pakistan'' (Cambridge South Asian Studies)Cambridge University Press
* Ziring, Lawrence (2004) ''Pakistan in the 20th Century: A Political History OUP Pakistan''.
External links
bachakhan.com (website dedicated to Bacha Khan & Wali Khan)Awami National PartyWali Khan Funeral pictures*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wali Khan, Abdul
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Pakistani secularists
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Pashtun people
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National Awami Party politicians
Pakistani MNAs 1972–1977
Pakistani MNAs 1988–1990
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