Lieutenant General Sahabzada Yaqub Ali Khan ( ; born 23 December 1920 – 26 January 2016)
was a Pakistani politician,
diplomat, military figure,
pacifist,
linguist
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingui ...
, and a retired general in the
Pakistani Army.
Born into an Indian
nobility, he was educated in England and at the
Indian Military College in
Dehradun
Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative A ...
, then the
Indian Military Academy and served during
World War II as an
officer in the 18th K. E. O. Cavalry Regiment of the
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which cou ...
. After the
Partition of British India in 1947, he
opted for Pakistan and joined the Pakistan Army where he participated in the
Indo-Pakistani war of 1965. He was the commander of the army's
Eastern Command in
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
. He was appointed as
Governor of
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
in 1969 and 1971 but recalled to Pakistan after he submitted his resignation amid civil unrest. In 1973, he joined the
Foreign Service
Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...
and was appointed as the
Pakistan Ambassador to the United States
The Pakistan Ambassador to the United States is in charge of the Pakistan Embassy, Washington, D.C. and Pakistan's diplomatic mission to the United States. The official title is Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the United Stat ...
and later ascended as
Foreign Minister, serving under
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Zia-ul-Haq in 1982.
His stint as Foreign Minister played a major role in the
Soviet intervention in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
(1979–89) and he took part in negotiations to end the
Contras
The Contras were the various U.S.-backed and funded Right-wing politics, right-wing Rebellion, rebel groups that were active from 1979 to 1990 in opposition to the Marxism, Marxist Sandinista National Liberation Front, Sandinista Junta of Nat ...
in
Nicaragua (1981–87) on the behalf of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
. In the 1990s, he served as an official of the United Nations for
Western Sahara
Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...
until he was reappointed as Foreign Minister under
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...
. After retiring from diplomatic services in 1997, he spent his remaining years in
Islamabad and died in Islamabad in 2016.
Biography
Youth and World war II
Early days
Mohammad Yaqub Ali Khan was born into an
Indian royal family known as the
Rohilla branch in
Rampur,
Uttar Pradesh,
British Indian Empire
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 himse ...
on 23 December 1920.
He had also been a close relative of the family of the Nawabs of Kasur, of
Punjab.
His father,
Sir
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
Abdus Samad Khan
Nawab Abdul Samad Khan Bahadur (1861–1943) was the Nawab of Chhatari and Nawab of Talibnagar in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. He belonged to the Lalkhani family of Muslim Rajputs.
Early life
He selected trustee of the Old Party in ...
was an aristocrat and politician who served as
chief minister of
Rampur, and as
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
's representative to the
League of Nations.
He was educated at the
Rashtriya Indian Military College
The Rashtriya Indian Military College (abbreviated RIMC; formerly known as Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College) is a military school for boys and girls situated in Doon Valley, Dehradun in India. The RIMC is a feeder institution for ...
at
Dehradun
Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative A ...
, then the
Indian Military Academy and gained a
commission in
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which cou ...
in 1940 and attached to the
18th King Edward's Own Cavalry
The 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry was a regular cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. Following the independence of India, the regiment was allotted to the Indian Army and redesignated as the 18th Cavalry.
Formation
Tracing its origins ...
.
Participation in WWII and POW
In his military career he saw action during
World War II and served in the
North African Campaign where he was attached to
18th King Edward's Own Cavalry
The 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry was a regular cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. Following the independence of India, the regiment was allotted to the Indian Army and redesignated as the 18th Cavalry.
Formation
Tracing its origins ...
from April 1942. He was taken
POW in North Africa in May 1942. In September 1943 he escaped from the Italian Prisoner of War camp P. G. 91 in Avezzano (with two other Indian officers) and was out for four to five months attempting to move south to Allied lines, but they were subsequently re-captured by German forces who put him in a Prisoner of War camp in Germany until April 1945 when he was released by the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
soldiers. During his time in German custody, he learnt languages by interacting with fellow prisoners and reading literature in those languages.
Return to India and Partition
Upon returning to India in 1945, he was selected as an
adjutant
Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commissioned ...
to
Field Marshal Lord Wavell
Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, (5 May 1883 – 24 May 1950) was a senior officer of the British Army. He served in the Second Boer War, the Bazar Valley Campaign and the First World War, during which he was wounded i ...
with an army rank of
major. After hearing the news of
partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...
and
creation
Creation may refer to:
Religion
*''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing
*Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it
*Creationism, the belief that ...
of Pakistan, he decided to
opt
OPT or Opt may refer for:
Computing
* /opt, a directory in the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard
* Option key, a modifier key on Apple keyboards
* Optimal page replacement algorithm, a page replacement algorithms for swapping out pages from memory
...
for Pakistan, and initially was selected as
Aide-de-camp to
Muhammad Ali Jinnah– the first
Governor-General of Pakistan.
It was then-
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
S.M. Ahsan who was made the
ADC at the behest of
Lord Mountbatten
Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of Germa ...
, and Yaqub was appointed as commandant of the
Governor-General's bodyguard for the first
Governor-General which he led until 1948.
In the period 1948–49, he attended the short one-year course at the
Command and Staff College at
Quetta and graduated with a
staff officer's degree.
In 1951, he served in the
Military Intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from ...
(MI) as
lieutenant-colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel ...
, and directed initiatives to analytical branch of the
ISI for the whereabouts of the
Indian Army but he reportedly struggled with providing factual intelligence that was provided to ISI.
He commanded the
11th Prince Albert Victor's Own Cavalry (Frontier Force)
The 11th Cavalry (Frontier Force), is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was previously known as the 11th Prince Albert Victor's Own Cavalry and was a regular cavalry regiment of the old British Indian Army. It was formed in 1921 by th ...
,
Armoured Corps from December 1952 to October 1953.
He was promoted to
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
in 1953 and went to
Paris in France to attend the famed
École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr where he graduated in 1954.
Upon returning to Pakistan, he was promoted to
Brigadier
Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...
in 1955 where he served as a chief instructor at the Command and Staff College.
Staff and war appointments:1960–69
In 1958, he was appointed as the vice
Chief of General Staff at the
Army GHQ and later becoming the
Commandant of the
Command and Staff College in
Quetta in 1960. In 1960 he was promoted to
major-general and commanded the 1st Armoured Division of
Armoured Corps and was said to have a portrait of Field Marshal
Erwin Rommel in his office.
As an armored commander, he arranged a course on philosophy on the ''
Panzer'' doctrine to educate the armoured division on the
tank battles and strategies.
He participated in the
war against India in 1965, having command of his 1st Armoured Division.
He helped develop the operational planning of the
armoured vehicular warfare deployments against the
Indian Army advances in Punjab and presented his views at the Army GHQ.
Soon after, he was appointed as
Director-General Military Operations (DGMO) by General
Musa Khan and directed all formats of ground operations during the
1965 war
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...
against India.
After the war, he was appointed as
Chief of General Staff at the
Army GHQ under army chief General
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 ...
in 1966 and remained until 1969.
East Pakistan: military advisor and governorship (1969–71)
In 1969, Lieutenant-General Yaqub Khan was posted to
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
as the commander of
Eastern Command in
Dacca by President
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 ...
and helped evaluate the
command rotation of the Eastern military.
Soon, he was appointed as
Governor of
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
where he began learning the
Bengali language
Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second most widely spoken of ...
and became accustomed to
Bengali culture
The culture of Bengal defines the cultural heritage of the Bengali people native to eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent, mainly what is today Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura, where the Bengali language is t ...
.
He was highly respected by the East Pakistani military officers due to his stance and professionalism and was said to be very well liked and respected in the East.
He was known to be an unusual military officer who knew very well about "limits of force",
and did not believe in the use of brute force to settle political disputes.
In 1969–71, he worked together with Admiral
Ahsan in advising the
Yahya administration in an effort to resolve the situation and restricted strictly the proposal of usage of military force in the province.
At the cabinet meeting, he was often fierce and strictly resisted the usage of military option but was respected in the military due to his understanding of Bengali issues and whose colleagues often labeled him as "Bingos."
In 1970, he notably coordinated the relief operations when the
disastrous cyclone had hit the state and gained prestige for his efforts in the country.
In 1971, he participated in the
area contingency and fact-finding mission, which was known as the
Ahsan–Yaqub Mission, to resolve the political deadlock between East Pakistan and Pakistan as both men argued that "military measures would not change the political situations".
In March 1971, he became aware of the rumors of a military action against East Pakistanis and delivered desperate
military signals
Military communications or military signals involve all aspects of communications, or conveyance of information, by armed forces. Military communications span from pre-history to the present. The earliest military communications were delivered b ...
to President Yahya Khan in
Islamabad to not use military solution as he feared Indian intervention.
After the resignation of Admiral Ahsan, he was ordered to use military force against the civil agitation led by the
Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for '' Awam'', the Urdu language word for common people.
The adjective appears in the following proper names:
* Awami Colony, a neighbourhood of Landhi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
* Awami Front, ...
but refused to take this order and tendered his resignation to be posted back to Pakistan.
His resignation came in the light of resisting the military orders and fiercely maintained to President Yahya that "military solution was not acceptable".
Commenting on the situation, Yaqub maintained that: "
resident
Resident may refer to:
People and functions
* Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country
* Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training
* Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceutic ...
Yahya was also keen to impose the "open sword" martial law to roll back the situation as it was in 1969."
He lodged a strong protest against the
military solution and maintained that the "central government had failed to listen to the voices of their co-citizens in the East."
To many authors, Yaqub Khan had become a "
conscientious objector
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
" in the military.
He was posted back to Pakistan, joined the Army GHQ staff and participated in
winter war against India in 1971 without commanding an assignment and retired from the military after the war, also in 1971.
Foreign service
Ambassadorship to France, United States, and Soviet Union
After seeking the
honorable discharge from the army, he joined the
Foreign Service
Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...
as a career diplomat in 1972, initially taking his first assignment as
Pakistan Ambassador to France until 1973.
In 1973,
Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto appointed him as the
Pakistan Ambassador to the United States
The Pakistan Ambassador to the United States is in charge of the Pakistan Embassy, Washington, D.C. and Pakistan's diplomatic mission to the United States. The official title is Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the United Stat ...
which he served in this capacity until 1979.
He was sent Pakistan's envoy to United States when the
foreign relations with the United States were cooling but he gained international prominence when he became involved with
Egyptian ambassador Ashraf Ghorbal
Ashraf Ghorbal (Alexandria, Egypt May 1925 – 29 November 2005) was an Egyptian diplomat.
Career
Ghorbal began his career in 1949 when he entered the Egyptian diplomatic service as a member of its delegation to the United Nations.
In January 1 ...
and
Iranian Ambassador to the United States Ardeshir Zahedi
Ardeshir Zahedi, GCVO ( fa, اردشیر زاهدی; 16 October 1928 – 18 November 2021) was an Iranian politician and diplomat who served as the country's foreign minister from 1966 to 1971, and its ambassador to the United States and the Uni ...
to take part in defusing the
siege of three federal buildings in the
Washington D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, N ...
by the group of
American Muslims in 1977.
In 1979, he was sent to
Moscow and was appointed as
Pakistan Ambassador to the Soviet Union where he worked towards building
foreign relations with the
Soviet Union by signing an educational accord. In 1980, he was reassigned in France again where he remained until 1982.
Foreign minister and United Nations
Yaqub Ali Khan was brought in to the
Zia administration as
Foreign Minister in 1982 when
Agha Shahi
Agha Shahi ( ur, آغا شا ﮨی; 25 August 1920 – 6 September 2006), ''NI'', was a Pakistani career Foreign service officer who was the leading civilian figure in the military government of former President General Zia-ul-Haq from 1977 ...
departed
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Zia-ul-Haq's cabinet.
He was appointed foreign minister in the conservative-aligned government but Yaqub maintained his composure and his wit in the
Zia administration.
As foreign minister, he directed a proactive and keen pro-American policy and supported the U.S. sponsored
clandestine program to arm the
Afghan mujahideen against
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
-sponsored
Socialist Afghanistan.
He advised President Zia-ul-Haq on many key matters and firmly had gripped the
country's foreign policy on the track of pro-U.S. foreign policy as many military officers joined his
Foreign ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
.
During this time, the matters were kept out of the sight of the
Foreign Office with Yaqub handling matters with the military.
He continued his role as foreign minister after the
general elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
held in 1985 by the Prime Minister
Mohammad Junejo.
At foreign fronts, he played a crucial role in providing the support for his country's cover and
clandestine nuclear development whilst maintaining a strong
policy of deliberate ambiguity.
In 1984, he reportedly issued a statement in Washington, D.C., on Pakistan's
massive retaliation when observing India's
pre-emptive strikes on Pakistan's facilities, and made unsuccessful proposal to United States to put Pakistan under its
nuclear umbrella
The "nuclear umbrella" is a guarantee by a nuclear weapons state to defend a non-nuclear allied state. The context is usually the security alliances of the United States with Japan, South Korea, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (m ...
.
In the 1980s, he provided his diplomatic expertise in resolving the
Soviet–Afghan War when he explored the possibility of setting-up the interim
system of government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
under former
monarch Zahir Shah
Mohammed Zahir Shah (Pashto/Dari: , 15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last king of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Serving for 40 years, Zahir was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan s ...
but this was not authorized by President
Zia-ul-Haq.
In 1984–85, he paid visits to China, Saudi Arabia,
Soviet Union, France, United States and the United Kingdom to develop framework for the
Geneva Accords which was signed in 1988.
About the
death and state funeral of President
Zia-ul-Haq, Yaqub was earlier warned by Soviet Foreign Minister
Edward Shevardnadze that Pakistan's
support
Support may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Supporting character
Business and finance
* Support (technical analysis)
* Child support
* Customer support
* Income Support
Construction
* Support (structure), or lateral support, a ...
for
Afghan mujahideen "would not go unpunished."
Yaqub Khan, on the other hand, stressed the need for
troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by the Soviet Union.
In the 1980s, he also
managed to maintain Pakistan's
close friendship with
Iran and the rich
Arab States
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western As ...
during the
Iran-Iraq war.
After the
general elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
held in 1988 in the country, Yaqub was kept as foreign minister in the
First Benazir ministry by
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...
in order to engage in negotiation with the
International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In 1988–90, he aided Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to reach agreement to sign an
arms control treaty with her
Indian counterpart Rajiv Gandhi.
In 1990, he met Indian External Minister,
I.K. Gujral to convene a secret message to Indian Prime Minister
V. P. Singh
Vishwanath Pratap Singh (25 June 1931 – 27 November 2008), shortened to V. P. Singh, was an Indian politician who was the 7th Prime Minister of India from 1989 to 1990 and the 41st Raja Bahadur of Manda. He is India's only prime minister to ...
to warn against an active conflict between two countries.
After the
general elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
held in 1990, he was inducted in
first Sharif ministry
The first Nawaz Sharif ministry under prime minister Nawaz Sharif was sworn into office on 9 November 1990, after the nine-party Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) unanimously nominated him the government head.
__TOC__
Cabinet
Sharif's 18-member cab ...
by
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif where he remained until 1991.
He once again put country's foreign policy to supporting
U.S.-led invasion of
Iraq in the
Gulf War.
After the Gulf War, Yaqub left his post as foreign minister following his resignation on 26 February 1991.
After his resignation, he went on to join the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
when he was named the
in 1992 which he remained until 1995.
In 1996, he was again re-appointed as foreign minister by Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto but it was short-lived when his tenure was cut-short after
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Farooq Leghari dismissed Benazir Bhutto's government.
Although he retired from politics in 1997, Yaqub Ali Khan did provide his support to President
Pervez Musharraf to stabilise his writ against the government of
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999 when he visited United States to provide legitimacy of
military martial law.
Post-retirement and death
In 1981, he was appointed as the founding chairman of the
board of trustees
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organi ...
of the
Aga Khan University
Aga Khan University is a non-profit institution and an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network. It was Founded in 1983 as Pakistan's first private university. Starting in 2000, the university expanded to Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, the United Ki ...
which he chaired for almost two decades until his retirement in 2001. He was also a commissioner in the now retired
Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict in
New York City, United States.
Yaqub Ali Khan was married to Begum Tuba Khaleeli of the Iranian Khaleeli family of
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commerc ...
with whom he had two sons, Samad and Najib.
He was said to be proficient in seven global languages including English, Russian, French,
Urdu, German, Italian, and
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
.
He died of an old age, at 95, in
Islamabad where he was laid to rest in
Westridge cemetery in
Rawalpindi,
Punjab, Pakistan. His funeral services were attended by then
CJCSC General
Rashad Mahmood
General Rashad Mahmood NI(M) ( ur, ), is a retired four-star army general in the Pakistan Army who served as the 15th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. He was appointed as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of Pakistan by prime mi ...
, then
COAS General
Raheel Sharif
General Raheel Sharif (Urdu: ; born 16 June 1956), is a retired four-star army general of the Pakistan Army who served as the 9th Chief of Army Staff from 29 November 2013 to 29 November 2016. After his retirement as Pakistan's army chief, he ...
, then
Air Chief General
Sohail Aman
Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman ( ur, ; born 10 June 1959) is a retired four star air officer who served as the Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force. He took charge from Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt on 19 March 2015.Mateen Ha ...
, then
Naval Chief Admiral
Muhammad Zakaullah
Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah (Urdu: محمد ذكاءالله ; born 10 January 1958) is a retired admiral in the Pakistan Navy, who was the 15th Chief of Naval Staff of the Pakistan Navy. He was later replaced by Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abb ...
and other high-ranking civil and military officials and people from all walks of life.
Awards and decorations
Foreign decorations
Autobiography
*
See also
*
*
Timeline of Afghanistan (1982)
References
* Indian Army List (April 1942, April 1945)
* Maj Gen Gurcharn Singh Sadu, I serve The Eighteenth Cavalry
External links
Yaqub Khan – the man who reinvented himself by Khaled Ahmed (The Friday Times)Short biographical article b
''S. Abbas Raza''
Sahibzada Yaqub and Gul Hassan: A Study in Contrast on The Friday Times
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Sahabzada Yaqub
1920 births
2016 deaths
People from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh
Indian nobility
Rashtriya Indian Military College alumni
British Indian Army officers
Indian Army personnel of World War II
World War II prisoners of war held by Germany
World War II prisoners of war held by Italy
Escapees from Italian detention
Indian escapees
Indian prisoners of war
Indian emigrants to Pakistan
Pakistani people of Afghan descent
German–English translators
Pakistani anti-communists
Pakistani pacifists
Linguists from Pakistan
École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni
People of the Cold War
Pakistani generals
Pakistani military leaders
Military strategists
Pakistan Armoured Corps officers
Translators to Bengali
Governors of East Pakistan
Pakistani conscientious objectors
Generals of the Bangladesh Liberation War
Generals of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Pakistani civil servants
Pakistani anti-war activists
Ambassadors of Pakistan to France
Ambassadors of Pakistan to the United States
Ambassadors of Pakistan to the Soviet Union
Military government of Pakistan (1977–1988)
Foreign Ministers of Pakistan
People of the Soviet–Afghan War
Russian–Urdu translators
Pakistan People's Party politicians
Government of Benazir Bhutto staffers and personnel
Pakistani officials of the United Nations
United Nations experts
Indian Military Academy alumni
Indian expatriates in the United Kingdom