Sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar (, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royal family, royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other Aristocracy (class), aristocrats. It ha ...

Ibrahim Khan (, ər'da:r ɪbra:'ɦi:m xa:n 22 April 1915 – 31 July 2003) was a revolutionary leader and politician from the western region of Jammu and Kashmir (present-day

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir ( ), is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger ...

), who led the 1947 Poonch Rebellion against the

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and played a key role in the First Kashmir War, supporting

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. He served as the President of Azad Kashmir for 13 years across four non-consecutive terms and still remains the longest-serving president of the state, since its establishment. He is revered as ''Ghazi-e-Millat'' (Warrior of the Nation) in

Early life and education

Sardar Ibrahim Khan was born on 22 April 1915 in Kot Mattay Khan, a village in the Poonch District of Kashmir to an elite Sudhan family. He received his primary education in his village. He attended college and received a Bachelors of Arts degree in 1937 at Islamia College (Lahore) and sought higher education abroad in 1938. He went to the UK in 1939 and obtained his LLB degree from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

in 1941. Khan then obtained a law degree from

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

, and later started practicing law at

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

, Kashmir.Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan - profile on Story Of Pakistan website
Published 4 January 2008, Retrieved 26 January 2021

1947 Poonch rebellion

Ibrahim Khan played a pivotal role in the initiative of the 1947 Poonch rebellion and the First Kashmir War. In

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

of 1946, he won the Jammu and Kashmir State Assembly election as a member of the Muslim Conference party and became a member of the Praja Sabha under Maharajah Hari Singh, Jammu and Kashmir ruler. This ruler signed a 'stand-still agreement' with the newly created state of

as a result of the

Indian Independence Act 1947 The Indian Independence Act 1947 ( 10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 30) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan. The Act received Royal Assent on 18 July 194 ...

which resulted in the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

into

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

following the end of

British rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. In 1947, Ibrahim Khan instigated and organised the Poonch rebellion, and with support from the Muslim League, planned and helped in the invasion and liberation of Jammu and Kashmir. He organised the rebellion through the use of former

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

soldiers of the Muslim population who had kept their weapons after the war and were heavily armed. Muslim Kashmiri leaders saw it as a liberation of Muslim-majority Kashmir from the Hindu ruler. On 19 July 1947, Khan held a general assembly meeting at his residence where a resolution was unanimously passed for the State of Kashmir to join Pakistan. The Maharaja, Hari Singh, disapproved of his actions, and Khan left the state and went to Murree, Pakistan. In Murree, he gathered ammunition from private individuals and organizations. With several fellow Kashmiris, he launched a ‘

Jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...

’ against the Maharaja. On 24 October 1947, he defeated the forces of the Maharaja in the Poonch rebellion and founded the state of

, which became a self-governing division of Pakistan. After fighting the Indian Army for 15 months, the Azad Kashmir militia accepted a United Nations-mediated

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce), also spelled cease-fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may b ...

. Khan and his army were able to capture substantial portions of the three western districts of Kashmir, which were renamed

(Free Kashmir). Khan was appointed the first

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

in 1948 by Pakistan. He represented Kashmir in different capacities at the United Nations from 1948 to 1971.Profile of Muhammad Ibrahim Khan on sardarsofkashmir.webs.com website
Retrieved 25 January 2021 Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan also wrote a book named ''The Kashmir Saga'' on government and politics of Azad Kashmir and included the history and philosophy of freedom struggle in the book.

1955 Poonch uprising

Khan's dismissal is widely regarded as the trigger to the 1955 uprising in Poonch Division.

Professional and political career

Under the Maharajah's rule in 1943, Khan was appointed as a public prosecutor in Mirpur. He later worked at the State Advocate General office of Jammu and Kashmir. Then he left the government job to participate in the Kashmir Freedom Movement and won the 1946 Jammu and Kashmir State Assembly elections. He went on to serve three more terms in office until August 2001. He retired at the age of 86. He also established the Azad Muslim Conference.

President of Azad Kashmir

As the first self-proclaimed President of Azad Kashmir, he was invited by the United Nations to brief the General assembly on the situation in Kashmir. Under the leadership of Khan, the annual session of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference was held at Kotli in 1954, and a resolution was passed for the establishment of a proper Legislative Assembly in Azad Kashmir. While he and his lieutenants continued to push for a legislative assembly, it was not until the presidency of General Yahya Khan in 1969 that the Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly was formed. Khan was elected as president of Azad Kashmir for the second time on 13 April 1957 and for the third time on 5 June 1975. Sardar Ibrahim was very close to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and had formed the Azad Kashmir chapter of the

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...

. In 1977, General Zia ul-Haq dissolved Bhutto's government, and offered to allow Khan to continue as president as long as he stopped supporting Bhutto. Khan refused to betray Bhutto, resulting in the termination of his presidency through a proclamation issued by General Zia Ul-Haq, the Chairman of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council, on 30 October 1978. Khan, however, was elected again as the President of Azad Kashmir in August 1996. He remained in office until August 2001 and was the Azad Kashmir president four times in his lifetime.

Death and legacy

Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan died at his

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

home on 31 July 2003 after a long period of illness at the age of 88. President

Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...

and Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali paid tribute to him in their condolence messages. Due to his services to Kashmir freedom struggle, he is known among the people of Kashmir as: * Sher-e-Kashmir ("Lion of Kashmir") * Bani-e-Kashmir ("Founder of Azad Kashmir") * Ghazi-e-Millat ("Hero of the Nation")