Mohammad Khan Junejo (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Sindhi: ; 18 August 193216 March 1993) was a Pakistani politician and an

agriculturist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the U ...

who served as the tenth

prime minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pa ...

, having elected in this capacity in 1985 until being dismissed in 1988. Junejo, a powerful landowner and was introduced in the agricultural industry , was educated in

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 ...

, having attended the St. Patrick's College, and was trained as an agriculturist at the Agricultural Institute near

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

in the United Kingdom. He gained public notice when he joined the Ayub administration and subsequently held cabinet portfolio of

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

and labour from 1963–69. After participating in the elections held in 1985, he was chosen to form the

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 ...

on a

Pakistan Muslim League The Pakistan Muslim League ( ur, ; known as PML), is the name of several different Pakistani political parties that have dominated the right-wing platform in the country. The Muslim League (a different party) was the party of Pakistan’ ...

's platform, of which, he took over the party's presidency. His government was noted for the support of

conservatism Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

austerity measures Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spend ...

that ultimately reduces the

government budget deficit The government budget balance, also alternatively referred to as general government balance, public budget balance, or public fiscal balance, is the overall difference between government revenues and spending. A positive balance is called a ''g ...

s and repealed the

emergency laws An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

to allow the freedom of press and media in the country. Despite strong resistance and fierce opposition from

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 ...

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 ...

, Junejo authorized his Foreign Minister Yakob Khan to sign and ratified the Geneva Accords in 1988. His relations with President Zia-ul-Haq also soured when he opened the parliamentary inquiry on

Ojhri Camp disaster Ojhri Camp ( ur, اوجھڑی کیمپ) was a military storage center located in Rawalpindi Cantonment, Rawalpindi Military District in Rawalpindi, Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab Province of Pakistan, and the site of the 1988 Ojhri Camp disaster. Ev ...

, also in 1988. On 29 May 1988, Prime Minister Junejo was dismissed by President Zia who leveled charges on incompetency and economic stagflation and immediately called for new general elections. 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, he led his own faction while being ceremonial party's presidency.

Early life and education

Mohammad Khan Junejo belonged to a Sindhi

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

Family. He was born in Sindhri Tharparker in

Mirpur Khas District Mirpur Khas District ( sd, ضلعو ميرپورخاص, ur, ) is one of the districts in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Its capital is Mirpur Khas. Administrative divisions The district of Mirpur Khas is sub-divided into 7 tehsils: * Digri ...

Sind 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 ...

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 ...

on 18 August 1932. He hailed from an influential agriculturalist (Haji Alisher Shah) feudalist family in

that had a traditional conservative mindset. He was educated at the St. Patrick's High School in

and later graduated from the St. Patrick's College. He went to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

where he was trained as an

and earned a diploma to be certified in 1954. Junejo was an agriculturist and a farmer who cultivated the famed

mangoes A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South ...

(the '' Sindhri'') in his local village in the Mirpur Khas. Junejo was a conservative Muslim and a dominant figure in his village, who had his wife living in the village for her entire life, and kept her out of public sight even when he was elected as Prime Minister and eventually moved to Prime Minister's Secretariat. Nothing or very little was known about his wife as he often traveled and visited other states with his elder daughter; he was married with five children. His public image was popular in politics for his driving of blue coloured Suzuki Mehran and, he popularly drove the Mehran 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 ...

despite the annoyance of President Zia who had a strong preference for

Mercedes-Benz W126 The Mercedes-Benz W126 is the company's internal designation for its second generation S-Class, manufactured in sedan/saloon (1979–1991) and coupé (1981–1990) models, succeeding the company's W116 range. Mercedes introduced the 2-door C1 ...

Political career

Upon returning from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1954, he joined the

(PML) and was elected as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

for

Sanghar District Sanghar District ( sd, ضلعو سانگھڙ, ur, ) is one of the largest districts of Sindh province, Pakistan. This district lies between 25058'13 N latitudes and 69024'4E longitudes. It was a village before Mallah Tribe were settled there. Th ...

and worked as a party worker for the Muslim League until 1963. He participated in elections and was elected for West-Pakistan legislative assembly and soon he joined the Ayub administration and subsequently held cabinet department of

Health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

Communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

and Labour until 1965. He again successfully participated in the

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...

in 1965, and was elevated as the

Minister of Railways A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructur ...

under the Ayub administration which he served until 1969. From 1970–77, he was unable to defend his constituency from

Sanghar Sanghar ( sd, سانگھڙ; ur, سانگھڑ English: Sānghar) is a city in Sanghar District, Sindh, Pakistan. Sanghar is the headquarters of Sanghar District and Sanghar Taluka (a subdivision of the district). The driving distance of Sangher ...

but became closer to religious leader

Pir Pagara sd, , image = , caption = , office = President of Pakistan Muslim League (F) , term_start = 1985 , term_end = 10 January 2012 , predecessor = ''Position established'' , successor ...

, of which he later became his political missionary. In 1977, he was named as a caretaker cabinet minister when General

, the chief of army staff, took over the

civilian government Civil authority or civil government is the practical implementation of a state on behalf of its citizens, other than through military units (martial law), that enforces law and order and that is distinguished from religious authority (for exampl ...

led by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

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 ...

. From 1977–79, he served as the

Railway minister A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructure. ...

but later resigned in 1979.

Prime Minister of Pakistan

In January 1985,

announced to hold nationwide

that would be based on

non-partisanism Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

– there have been political rumors that the

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Ronald Reagan had a subsequent political role in such regards. Junejo was successful in defending his constituency from the

and was known to be a religiopolitical missionary of

Pir Pagara sd, , image = , caption = , office = President of Pakistan Muslim League (F) , term_start = 1985 , term_end = 10 January 2012 , predecessor = ''Position established'' , successor ...

who had been leading his own political faction in Sindh. President Zia considered three names for the appointment of the Prime Minister that included:

Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi Ghulam Mustafa ‘Joseph’Jatoi (Sindhi:غلام مصطفا جتوئي) ( ur, ) (14 August 1931 – 20 November 2009) was a Pakistani politician who served as the Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan for three months, from 6 August 1990 to ...

Liaquat Ali Jatoi Liaquat Ali Jatoi ( ur, ; born 5 January 1948) is a Pakistani politician who was Chief Minister of Sindh during 1997–1998. Political career Liaquat Jatoi was first elected to the National Assembly in 1977. However, this Assembly was dissolv ...

and Junejo– all were from Sindh. After consulting with

Pir Pagara sd, , image = , caption = , office = President of Pakistan Muslim League (F) , term_start = 1985 , term_end = 10 January 2012 , predecessor = ''Position established'' , successor ...

, President Zia hand-picked and appointed Junejo as

through an invitation to form the

in accordance to the revival of

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

. His mindset reflected a

and was a powerful

feudalist Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structu ...

whom President Zia considered him to be ineffective in leading towards the decision-making processes. and after securing votes in the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

through the

Vote of Confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

(VoC), he met with President Zia and reportedly asking him about the ending of the

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

. The martial law was eventually lifted on his repeated instances and announced his cabinet which saw the ouster of many of President Zia's military members in the civilian cabinet. He kept two ministerial departments of

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indus ...

and interior. Prime Minister Junejo's social policies led to the

political independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the ...

when he was appointed as the

President of Pakistan Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcont ...

. His policy also included the freedom of the press despite the opposition he faced with President Zia in this issue. He gained popularity and significance for his daring stance and disagreement with President Zia over many issues that President Zia had been managing since his control over the government since 1977. On the economic front, he took the austerity measures and ultimately halted the Islamization of Economy ran under President Zia, which eventually put him at odds with President Zia.

Junejo Event

In 1986–87, his political relations with President Zia began to deteriorated over the control over the foreign policy and daringly authorized his Foreign Minister Yakob Ali Khan to ratify the Geneva Accords that allowed the Russian retreat from

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 ...

. In this regard, he had held a party conference that he invited the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

and Pakistan Peoples Party to discuss to end the bloodshed in

. In 1987, he provided his political support and eventually used his prerogative to appoint Lieutenant-General

Mirza Aslam Beg General Mirza Aslam Beg ( ur, ; born 2 August 1931), also known as M. A. Beg, was a Pakistan Army officer, who served as the 3rd Chief of Army Staff from 1988 until his retirement in 1991. His appointment as chief of army staff came when hi ...

as vice-army chief, despite President Zia wanting Lieutenant-General Zahid Ali Akbar who was sent to

DESTO Desto Records was an American record label. It was founded in 1951 by Horace Grenell who had a mail order business of selling children's records and was looking to expand genres. The first issue was a three disc edition of '' The Beggars Opera''. I ...

. Prime Minister Junejo also stalled the fundamentalist legislation in an attempt to keep leverage on President Zia. Following the massive explosion near a hidden facility in

Rawalpindi Cantonment Rawalpindi Cantonment is a large cantonment located in Rawalpindi, Punjab province, Pakistan. The headquarters of the Pakistan Army which are known as the General Headquarters (GHQ) are located in the Rawalpindi cantonment. Rawalpindi cantonm ...

that resulted in more than 100 lives lost, Prime Minister Junejo announced to call for a parliamentary inquiry to overlook the incident. On 28 May 1988, DG ISPR

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. I ...

Siddique Salik Brigadier Siddique Salik ( ur, ) born 6 September 1935, died 17 August 1988), , was an officer in the Pakistan Army, combat artist, humorist, novelist, and a memoirist who served as 8th Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations ...

informed Prime Minister Junejo of President Zia holding the press conference the next day in this regards, terming it "very important." On 29 May 1988, President Zia appeared on

PTV News PTV News HD is a 24-hour Urdu News channel owned by the Pakistan Television Corporation. It also broadcast as Terrestrial television. PTV News is a cable and satellite news channel launched in the face of tough international competition. Its o ...

and surprisingly announced to have dissolved the

, using the Eighth Amendment. Many investigative newspapers and political gossips pointed that it was the inquiry report on the "

" that implicated the military members in Zia's administration despite President Zia claiming of Junejo's Government had been dismissed because the law and order situation had broken down to an alarming extent and the government could not be run in accordance with the Constitution. During the

held in 1988, he was unsuccessful for defending his constituency but was elected for the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

held in 1990 and remained head of the PML.

Later life and death

In 1993, he was diagnosed with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

and went to 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 ...

for the treatment where he was treated at the

Johns Hopkins Hospital The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. It was founded in 1889 using money from a bequest of over $7 million (1873 m ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, where he died the same year. He was brought and buried in his locality. His widow, Begum Junejo, died in

on July 13, 2003, at the age of 60.

References

External links

* * * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Junejo, Muhammad Khan 1932 births 1993 deaths Sindhi people St. Patrick's High School, Karachi alumni Pakistani anti-communists Pakistani landowners Pakistan Muslim League politicians Military government of Pakistan (1977–1988) Defence Ministers of Pakistan Interior Ministers of Pakistan Prime Ministers of Pakistan Deaths from leukemia Pakistani Muslims Pakistani MNAs 1985–1988 People from Mirpur Khas District Pakistani MNAs 1990–1993 Pakistan Muslim League (J) politicians Pakistani MNAs 1962–1965 Pakistani MNAs 1965–1969 Minister of Railways (Pakistan)

Early life and education

Political career

Prime Minister of Pakistan

Junejo Event

Later life and death

Further reading

References

External links