Nawab of Kalabagh Nawab of Kalabagh Malik Amir Mohammad Khan (; 20 June 1910 – 26 November 1967) was the hereditary ruler of Kalabagh Estate and a prominent feudal lord, politician of Pakistan. He was also the Chief or Sardar of the Awan tribe. Nawab of Kala ...

Malik Amir Mohammad Khan (; 20 June 1910 – 26 November 1967) was the hereditary ruler of Kalabagh Estate and a prominent

feudal lord An overlord in the English feudal system was a lord of a manor who had subinfeudated a particular manor, estate or fee, to a tenant. The tenant thenceforth owed to the overlord one of a variety of services, usually military service or s ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

of Pakistan. He was also the Chief or

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 ...

of the

Awan Awan may refer to: * Awan (surname), including a list of people with the name *Awana, also known as Awan is a clan of Gujjars in South Asia * Awan (tribe), a social group of Pakistan * Awan dynasty, an Elamite dynasty of Iran * Awan languages, ...

tribe. Nawab of Kalabagh has been a ruling title for tribal estate of

Kalabagh Kalabagh () is a town of Mianwali District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is part of Isakhel Tehsil. It is located on the western bank of the Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Him ...

, in

Mianwali District The Mianwali District () is a Districts of Pakistan, district located in the Sargodha Division of the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Mianwali District remained part of Rawalpindi Division until 1963, when Mianwali District beca ...

of north western

Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (, ) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. With a population of over 127 million, it is the Demographics of Pakistan, most populous province in Pakistan and the List of first-level administrative divisions by popu ...

Early life

Nawab Malik Amir Mohammad Khan received his college education at

Aitchison College Aitchison College is an elite private, boarding school, boarding Junior School, Secondary School for boys in Lahore, Pakistan. It has educated Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime ministers, including Imran Khan, Feroz Khan Noon, president of Pakist ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

and then went on to finish his education at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Career

Nawab Malik Amir Mohammad Khan served as a member of the

Provincial Assembly of Punjab The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, also known as the Punjab Assembly, is the supreme Legislature, legislative body of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. It convenes at the #Assembly building, A ...

from 1956 – 1958. He also served as

Governor of West Pakistan West Pakistan was the western province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1970, covering the territory of present-day Pakistan. Its land borders were with Afghanistan, India and Iran, with a maritime border with Oman in the Gulf of Oman in the Arabi ...

from 1960 to 1966. He was appointed chairman

Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) () is a state corporation of Pakistan working under Ministry of Industries and Production (Pakistan), Ministry of Industries and Production. History Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation ...

with the rank of a Central Minister in 1959, and subsequently

on 12 April 1960 by Pakistan President General

Ayub Khan Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, se ...

. His role during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 is praised, as he kept the law and order, controlled the prices, trafficked the raw material, and prevented smuggling. Among the guests to his famous Kalabagh guest house, the Bohr Bangalow were

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

in 1952 and former Pakistani Presidents

Iskander Mirza Iskander Ali Mirza (13 November 189913 November 1969) was a Bengali politician, statesman and military general who served as the Dominion of Pakistan's fourth and last governor-general of Pakistan from 1955 to 1956, and then as the Islamic Repub ...

and

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

. General Jahandad Khan, who was military secretary to Nawab Malik Amir Mohammad Khan, the then governor of West Pakistan, wrote a book, ''Pakistan Leadership Challenges''. In that book Nawab Malik Amir Mohammad Khan comes across as a sound, no-nonsense administrator, firmly wedded to the values and traditions of the feudal class. He was also considered "brutal," "ruthless" and "harsh" in both his public and private life. British assessment of the Nawab of Kalabagh was very similar. In his book ''Jahandad'', Nawab Malik Amir Mohammad Khan's military secretary dismisses alleged rumours about a somewhat sinister aspect of the Ayub regime. In 1963, the regime faced strong opposition from the political party Jamaat-i-Islami. Ayub himself "felt gravely threatened by its head, Maudoodi." "Some sycophants" sought to persuade Ayub that "the physical elimination" of Maulana would bring peace to the country and that Malik Amir Mohammad Khan would help execute this attempt. Khan dismisses this as a baseless rumour in his above book.

Controversy

In 1965, the Shah of Iran made a state visit to Pakistan and was hosted by the Nawab of Kalabagh, the Governor of West Pakistan. Neelo, who was at the height of her popularity was instructed to appear before the Shah to dance. She refused. An agitated Nawab dispatched the police to seize her and bring her forcibly to the Governor’s House. But no sooner did she take to the floor then she collapsed. Some say she fainted from the shame her dancing would bring upon her paramour Riaz Shahid. Others suggest she tried to commit suicide. In any case, Neelo was rushed to the hospital and the incident became an instant cause célèbre.

Death

It was widely reported in

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

news media The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public. These include News agency, news agencies, newspapers, news magazines, News broadcasting, news channels etc. History Some of the fir ...

that his third youngest son Asad Khan killed him over a family property dispute on 26 November 1967.

Descendants

His eldest son Nawab Malik Muzaffar Khan had been a member of

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 repr ...

from Mianwali for 3 consecutive term in 1962-1964, 1965-1969 and 1970-1977. Nawab Malik Muzzafar Khan had three sons: the eldest Malik Idrees Khan, the second Malik Fareed khan and the youngest Malik Waheed Khan. Nawab Malik Idrees Khan became the Nawab of Kalabagh after his father’s death. He died without issue. After his death, his second Brother Nawab Malik Fareed Khan became Nawab. Nawab Malik Fareed Khan died in a vehicle accident. Thus his only son Nawab Malik Mohammad Ali Khan became Nawab of Kalabagh, a position he holds to this day. Nawab Malik Amir Muhammad Khan's second son Malik Allahyar also remained a member of Majlis-e-Shoora during

General Zia-ul-Haq Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistani military officer and statesman who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He also served as the second chief of ...

's military regime from 1981 to 1985. Malik Allahyar's daughters, Sumaira Malik and Ayla Malik, both were members of the

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...

from 2002 until 2013.Sumaira Malik, Member of National Assembly on pakistanileaders.com website
Retrieved 5 March 2018 Amir Mohammad Khan's third son was Malik Asad Khan. Malik Asad's son Malik Amad Khan, won the

seat from NA-71 Mianwali-I in the February 2008 elections as an independent candidate. He also served as state minister of Foreign Affairs Pakistan from 2008 to 2013. Nawab Malik Amir Mohammad Khan's fourth and youngest son Malik Azam Khan was murdered in 1995. Malik Azam died without issue.

Early life

Career

Controversy

Death

Descendants

See also

References

Further reading