Asfandyar Wali Khan (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' 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 ...

: اسفندیار ولی خان) (born 19 February 1949) is a Pakistani

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 ...

politician who is the president of the Awami National Party (ANP). His father,

Abdul Wali Khan Khan Abdul Wali Khan ( ps, خان عبدالولي خان; 11 January 1917 – 26 January 2006) was a Pakistani secular democratic socialist and Pashtun leader, and served as president of Awami National Party. Son of the prominent Pashtun nat ...

, was the party's first president. He is the grandson of

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 ...

, better known as ''Bacha Khan''; Abdul Ghaffar was the founder of the non-violent political movement in

NWFP NWFP may refer to: *North-West Frontier Province, a province of British India, and later, Pakistan *Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP o ...

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 ...

("Servants of the God") during British colonial rule in India and a companion of

Mahatma 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- ...

. Asfandyar's Granduncle Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan was 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 ...

's Chief Minister 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. Followin ...

, during the waning days of 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 ...

, and also the Chief Minister of the province during the early days of independent

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 ...

. Asfandyar is the present president of the Awami National Party and has served as Member of Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan and senator in the

Senate of Pakistan Senate of Pakistan or Aiwān-e-Bālā Pākistān ( ur, , , literally "Pakistan upper house"), is the upper house, upper legislative chamber of the bicameral legislature of Pakistan, and together with the National Assembly (Pakistan), National As ...

. Asfandyar Wali Khan got credit of provincial autonomy in Pakistan and the renaming of North West Frontier Province as Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa with support of coalition partner PPP during 18th amendment 2010.

Personal background

Asfandyar Wali Khan was born in

Charsadda Chārsadda ( ps, چارسده; ; ur, ; ) is a town and headquarters of Charsadda District, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

, then a small village outside of

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 ...

Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa 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, ...

, Pakistan. He is the eldest son of

and his first wife Taj Bibi. After the death of his mother in February 1949 his father 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 ...

in 1954.

Sangeen Wali Khan Sangeen Wali Khan ( ur, سنگين ولی خان) (June 7, 1959 – June 28, 2008) was a politician in Pakistan. He was son of Abdul Wali Khan and Nasim Wali Khan, and the half brother of Asfandyar Wali Khan, leader of Awami National Party. ...

was his half brother and eldest son of Nasim Wali Khan.

Education

Asfandyar Wali Khan completed his early education from Aitchison College,

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 ...

, High School from Islamia Collegiate School and his BA from Islamia College, Peshawar Pakhtoon Khwa

University of Peshawar The University of Peshawar ( ps, د پېښور پوهنتون; hnd, پشور یونیورسٹی; ur, ; abbreviated UoP; known more popularly as Peshawar University) is a public research university located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pa ...

Political career

Asfandyar Wali Khan joined the opposition to Ayub Khan as a student activist. In 1975, Asfandyar was accused of the murder of

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 ...

, against whose leadership at NWFP Asfandyar had allegedly waged an armed campaign. He was imprisoned and tortured by the government of

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 ...

and convicted as part of the

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 ...

for 15 years. Released in 1978, he stayed away from electoral politics till 1990.. Asfandyar Wali Khan served as leader of the Pakhtun Student Federation prior to being elected to the provincial Assembly in the 1990 election, while in the 1993 election he was elected to Pakistan's National Assembly. A seat to which he was re-elected to the National Assembly in the 1997 election and served as Parliamentary leader of the ANP and Chairman of the standing committee on inter-provincial co-ordination. In 1999, he was elected party president for the first time. He was defeated in the 2002 election, in what was a repeat of his father's defeat in 1990, when a tactical alliance was formed by all the anti-ANP groups against him. After his defeat he resigned as President of his party, only to be re-elected unopposed in the subsequent party election. In 2003 he was elected to the Senate for a 6-year term. He was re-elected to the National Assembly in the parliamentary elections that was held in February 2008, leading his party to power both provincially and nationally, the former for the first time since 1947 and the latter since 1997. In September 2008, he was elected as Chairman of the standing committee on foreign Affairs. In 2008 it was reported by

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's hori ...

that he made a secret visit to the United States in which he made high level contacts with the U.S Central Command.

Assassination attempt

On 3 October 2008, he was targeted by a suicide bomber who attempted to kill him while he was greeting guests during Eid ul-Fitr.Retrieved October 4, 2008
/ref> Shortly after the attack, Asfandyar Wali Khan left Charsadda in a helicopter sent by the Prime Minister.

References

External links

Awami National PartyAwami National PartyKhan Abdul-Ghaffar Khan/Badshah Khan, Wali Khan, ANPAsfandyar Wali: Profile of Pakistan's Progressive Pashtun Politician By Hassan Abbas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Asfandyar Wali 1949 births Living people Aitchison College alumni Awami National Party politicians Asfandyar Wali North-West Frontier Province MPAs 1990–1993 Pakistani MNAs 1993–1996 Pakistani MNAs 1997–1999 Pakistani prisoners and detainees Pashtun nationalists Pashtun people