Agha Shahi
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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 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 ...
General
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 ...
from 1977 to 1982. A diplomat and technocrat by profession, he joined Foreign Services in 1951 and held important diplomatic assignments in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, China, and the
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. He served as the Foreign secretary— the leading bureaucratic position in Pakistan Government— in 1973 until 1977, after
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 ...
's government was dismissed (see Codename ''Fair Play''). However, he immediately served as the foreign policy adviser to upcoming
Chief Martial Law Administrator The office of the Chief Martial Law Administrator was a senior and authoritative post with Zonal Martial Law Administrators as deputies created in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia that gave considerable executive authority and p ...
General Zia-ul-Haq who appointed him as the Foreign Minister shortly after assuming the control of the country. In 1982, after losing General Zia's favour when he made an attempt to keep country on
Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide. The movement originated in the aftermath o ...
membership, he lost the foreign affairs ministry to senior military officer Lieutenant-General Yakob Ali Khan. His relationship with General Zia-ul-Haq and his military government further deteriorated, with General Zia complaining about Shahi's speech on improving Pakistan's relations with Soviet Union and the Non-Aligned Movement. He departed from country in 1982 to join the
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
and served as the Chairman of UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination until 1990, and served as the Chairman of the Pakistan delegation at
World Conference on Human Rights The World Conference on Human Rights was held by the United Nations in Vienna, Austria, on 14 to 25 June 1993. It was the first human rights conference held since the end of the Cold War. The main result of the conference was the Vienna Declarati ...
. During his last years, he associated with the
Institute of Strategic Studies The Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI), () is a strategic studies think tank based in Islamabad, Pakistan established in 1973. It is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan. Its most famous member is the nationalis ...
(ISS), Islamabad where he served as its President until his death.


Diplomatic career

Agha Shahi was born in
Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
, former
Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
state and present-day
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
, India to the Urdu-speaking community, the son of educator who was the local principal of British government-sanctioned school. He was educated in Bangalore, excelling the science courses he took in school. In 1939, Shahi enrolled in
Indian Institute of Science The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The institute was ...
where he joined the Department of Physics, and receiving his BSc in Physics, followed by MSc in
applied physics Applied physics is the application of physics to solve scientific or engineering problems. It is usually considered to be a bridge or a connection between physics and engineering. "Applied" is distinguished from "pure" by a subtle combination ...
and MA in Mathematics in 1944. Following his master's degree, he joined the faculty of Mathematics teaching undergraduate calculus courses but his parents were unsatisfied of their son being a scientist; therefore, encouraged by his parents, Shahi soon left his position after applying at the
Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...
in 1944. He took the advanced exam, "All India Competitive Examinations", where he excelled and was commissioned in the Indian civil service soon after. His first assignment was
Sindh Province Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
as a Commission of Education Department, and the family moved to Karachi, Sindh. In 1947, he opted for Pakistan citizenship, and served as the constitutional adviser to Chief Ministers of Sindh Province
Ghulam Hussain Hidayat Ullah Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah KCSI ( ur, غلام حسین هدايت الله , sd, غلام حسين هدايت الله; January 1879 – 4 October 1948) was a colonial Indian and Pakistani politician from Sindh. He held several offices i ...
from 1947 till 1948, and to Ayub Khuhro from 1948 until 1949. In 1949, the
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
George Baxandall Constantine Sir George Baxandall Constantine (22 June 1902 – 8 September 1969) was an English and Pakistani jurist who served as the Chief Justice of Sindh High Court, and prior to that, Governor of Sindh for a brief tenure. In 1955, he was elevated as t ...
appointed him as the Commissioner of District Thatta. In 1967, Shahi gained a Master of Science in Strategic studies from Defence & Strategic Studies (DSS) Department. Shahi had a long career as a Pakistani diplomat, beginning in 1951. He served as Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations, and China and also served in many other positions.


Early career as an ambassador

He opted for the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1951 and played a prominent role in formulation of foreign policy right from the early years of Pakistan's creation. He was part of various delegations to the United Nations during the 1950s and 1960s and served with A.S. Bokhari (known as Patras Bokhari), Sir
Muhammad Zafrulla Khan Chaudhry Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan ( ur, ‎; 6 February 1893 – 1 September 1985) was a Pakistani jurist and diplomat who served as the first Foreign Minister of Pakistan. After serving as foreign minister he continued his internation ...
and
Prince Aly Khan Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan (13 June 1911 – 12 May 1960), known as Aly Khan, was a Pakistani diplomat of Iranian and Italian descent. He was the son of the Aga Khan III, and the father of Aga Khan IV. A socialite, racehorse owner and jockey, ...
(father of
Prince Karim Aga Khan Shāh Karim al-Husayni (born 13 December 1936), known by the religious title Mawlānā Hazar Imam by his Ismaili followers and elsewhere as Aga Khan IV, is the 49th and current Imam of Nizari Ismailis, a denomination within Shia Islam. He h ...
and Pakistan's permanent representative to UN). Shahi served as Counselor in the Pakistan Embassy in Washington from 1955–58. He was Pakistan's Deputy Permanent Representative to UN from 1958–61 and later served as Permanent Representative to United Nations from 1967–72. During his term as permanent representative to United Nations, he played an important role in enabling China to become a member of the United Nations. He became Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1964 and served in that position till 1967.


Foreign Minister of Pakistan

In 1972, he was appointed Pakistan's Ambassador to China. In 1973, Shahi became Foreign Secretary and served in that position till the fall of Prime Minister
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 ...
in 1977. Shahi was appointed Advisor on foreign affairs/foreign minister in 1977 by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and resigned from the position of foreign minister in 1982, after developing serious differences with General Zia.


Post-resignation activities

Shahi led various delegations of Pakistan to UN General Assembly, conferences of
Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide. The movement originated in the aftermath o ...
and
Organization of Islamic Conference An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...
. He was a member of various UN commissions and was also elected Chairman of the UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) of which he had been a member since 1982. In 1993, Shahi was Co-Chairman of the Pakistan delegation to the
World Conference on Human Rights The World Conference on Human Rights was held by the United Nations in Vienna, Austria, on 14 to 25 June 1993. It was the first human rights conference held since the end of the Cold War. The main result of the conference was the Vienna Declarati ...
held in Vienna. Shahi also served as Chairman of Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad and headed Islamabad Council of World Affairs – a private think tank. He was the younger brother of
Agha Hilaly Agha Hilaly (20 May 1911 – 6 February 2001) ( ur, آغا هلالی) was one of Pakistan's senior most diplomats who held several high offices in the Government of Pakistan, including Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States from 21 Octo ...
who also joined ICS and later opted for Pakistan's foreign service, serving as Pakistan's Ambassador in important capitals such as London, Moscow and Washington (at a time when his younger brother Shahi was Pakistan's permanent representative to UN in New York). Agha Hilaly's son,
Zafar Hilaly Zafar Ali Hilaly ( , born 1942) is a Pakistani political analyst and diplomat who has previously served as his country's ambassador to Yemen, Nigeria, and from February 2001 Italy. He was educated at Highgate School. Hilaly is a columnist and fr ...
(who is also a former diplomat), is Agha Shahi's nephew.


Death and legacy

On 6 September 2006, he died after suffering a heart attack, at the
Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences ( ur, , abbreviated as PIMS) is a research oriented health sciences institute located in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is one of the region's leading tertiary level hospitals which includes 22 medical and ...
in
Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...
, aged 86.Agha Shahi passes away (obituary and profile)
Dawn (newspaper), Published 7 September 2006, Retrieved 24 November 2018
Pakistan's foreign minister in 2006, Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri, reportedly commented on Agha Shahi's death, "Agha Shahi served in various key positions in the Foreign Ministry with great distinction rising to the position of foreign secretary and foreign minister. A generation of Pakistani diplomats had the fortune to learn from him."Ex-foreign minister Agha Shahi passes away
The News International (newspaper), Published 7 September 2006, Retrieved 24 November 2018


See also

*
Agha Hilaly Agha Hilaly (20 May 1911 – 6 February 2001) ( ur, آغا هلالی) was one of Pakistan's senior most diplomats who held several high offices in the Government of Pakistan, including Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States from 21 Octo ...


Further reading

* * *


References


External links


Pakistan's ex-Foreign Minister Agha Shahi passes away
from the Pakistan Times (newspaper) (archived) * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Shahi, Agha 1920 births 2006 deaths Politicians from Bangalore Muhajir people Foreign Ministers of Pakistan Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan Members of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Permanent Representatives of Pakistan to the United Nations Ambassadors of Pakistan to China Indian Civil Service (British India) officers Project-706 Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz Pakistani civil servants Pakistani scholars Military government of Pakistan (1977–1988) Pakistani anti-communists People from Karachi Indian Institute of Science alumni Pakistani officials of the United Nations