Lieutenant-General Wajid Ali Khan Burki (28 October 1900 – 17 January 1989)

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, was a high-profile Pakistani military official who served as Minister-in-Charge of the Ministry of Health under the military government of Field Marshal Ayub Khan.

Early life and education

Wajid Ali Burki was born in Basti Baba Khel,

Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

Punjab, British India Punjab was a province of British India. Most of the Punjab region was annexed by the East India Company in 2 April 1849, and declared a province of British Rule, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British ...

on 28 October 1900, in a Punjabi-speaking

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 ...

family. His father Jehan Khan Burki was a landowner there. He received his early and basic education in Jalandhar and then came to the UK to study medicine at the

University of St. Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. He also started working as junior clinical assistant at the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital. Burki received his MD degree in 1926. In 1927, he joined the

Indian Medical Service The Indian Medical Service (IMS) was a military medical service in British India, which also had some civilian functions. It served during the two World Wars, and remained in existence until the independence of India in 1947. Many of its officer ...

and worked in military hospitals at Jalandhar,

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 ...

and

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

. He then returned to the UK for further studies in medicine and received his DOMS degree in 1932. He was then appointed as an eye specialist at

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...

, British India. Burki married Iqbal Khanum in 1935 and they had three sons and two daughters in this marriage.

Military and civil career

After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, he chose to live in Pakistan and became the first deputy director of the

Army Medical Corps (Pakistan) The Pakistan Army Medical Corps, Urdu: ﺁرمى مڈيكل كور; ''Army Medical Corps'', abbreviated as the AMC and popularly known as Medical Corps, is a military administrative combatant staff corps, and a primary military medical comman ...

. He was promoted to major general in 1952. In 1953, he was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed director-general of the Armed Forces Medical Services. Burki was one of the leading active-duty military official who played an influential role in advising and formulating the health reforms and policies of the Ayub Khan Military administration. General Burki was Ayub Khan's right-hand man, and was instrumental in Ayub Khan's rise to power. Until today the three families (Ayub, Burki and Nawab of Kalabagh) retain adjoining houses 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 ...

as part of their service in the creation of the city of Islamabad. He served as the Vice-Prime Minister of Pakistan, and the commander in chief in the Prime Minister's absence. He and another person at the time were the two major founders of the capital city of

, forming it from a mostly barren area of land. In many different ways, he played an important part in the history of Pakistan.

Achievements and positions held

* An army surgeon by training, General Burki played a significant role in the development of the Army's medical facilities, especially the

Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (Pakistan) The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (Reporting name: AFIP) is a main institution for defensive research into countermeasures against biological warfare. It is located in the vicinity of CMH Rawalpindi alongside the Armed Forces Institute of C ...

in Rawalpindi and the

Combined Military Hospital Combined Military Hospitals ( ur, , abbreviated as CMH) are Pakistan Armed Forces hospitals situated in various cantonments of Pakistan. History During the British Raj, the British Indian Army troops depended for their medical treatment enti ...

Network in Pakistan. * General Burki was the founding president of the

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan The College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan ( ur, , abbreviated as CPSP) is a regulatory college established in 1962 by a special act of the Parliament of Pakistan to oversee the postgraduate medical education and professional development. ...

in 1962. 'The General Wajid Ali Burki Medal' is awarded to one deserving graduating student each year by this college at its convocation each year. * From 1962 to 1964, he was Pakistan's ambassador to the Scandinavian countries.

Awards and recognition

* Appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire as Major, Indian Medical Service in recognition of distinguished services in the Middle East in the London Gazette 30 December 1941. * He was promoted to a

Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

on 15 November 1945 by King George VI in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

.Supplement to The London Gazette, Published 13 November 1945, Retrieved 23 May 2021

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burki, Wajid Ali Khan 1989 deaths 1900 births

Wajid Ali Khan Wajid Ali Khan (born April 24, 1946) is a Canadian businessman and politician. Until 2008, he was a member of the House of Commons of Canada, representing the riding of Mississauga—Streetsville as a Conservative Member of Parliament. In March ...

British Indian Army officers Pakistani generals Pakistani military doctors Pashtun people Alumni of the University of St Andrews Government College University, Lahore alumni Federal ministers of Pakistan Ambassadors of Pakistan to Sweden Pakistani Members of the Order of the British Empire Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Indian Medical Service officers