Muhammad Aslam Khan Khattak, SPk () () (5 April 1908 – 10 October 2008) was a Pakistani

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 ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

Aslam Khattak passes away at 100
Dawn (newspaper), Published 11 October 2008, Retrieved 9 March 2023 who was the Governor of North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) from 1973 to 1974.

Early life and education

Aslam Khattak used to play tennis, do some swimming and mountaineering in his younger years. Khattak studied history at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

, from 1929 to 1932.

Career

He was born into a

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

Khattak The Khattak () tribe is a prominent Pashtun tribe located in the Khattak territory, which consists of Karak, Nowshera, Kohat districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. History Origins Multiple British Raj historians have identified the Khat ...

family on 5 April1908 at Karak,

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 ...

. Aslam Khattak was the President of a student organization supporting

Pakistan Movement The Pakistan Movement was a religiopolitical and social movement that emerged in the early 20th century as part of a campaign that advocated the creation of an Islamic state in parts of what was then British Raj. It was rooted in the two-nation the ...

in 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in the 1930s, serving alongside Dr. Abdur Rahim as Vice President and Chaudhry Rehmat Ali as Secretary. This organization gave the world the name "PAKISTAN". Aslam Khattak was among the three people that signed the pamphlet called 'Now or Never', written by Chaudhry Rehmat Ali in 1933. Aslam Khattak worked closely with

Dr Khan Sahib Abdul Jabbar Khan () (born 1883, Utmanzai, Charsadda – 9 May 1958, Lahore), popularly known as Dr. Khan Sahib (), was a pioneer in the Indian Independence Movement and later, a Pakistani politician. He was the elder brother of the Pashtun act ...

in the

North West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ) was a province of British India from 1901 to 1947, of the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, and of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 1970 to 2010. It was established on 9 November 1901 from ...

's provincial government during his career as a civil servant, and after the

independence Independence is a condition of a 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 status of ...

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# ...

in 1947, he was assigned a position in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

where he played a key role in the failed negotiations for a confederation between Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the 1970 elections, he was elected as an independent to the

Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa The Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is located in Peshawar, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of t ...

from Karak. He then became speaker of the

's Provincial Assembly in 1972. He also served as

Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa The Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as Governor of North-West Frontier Province) is the appointed head of state of the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province, or NWFP), Pakistan. Alth ...

briefly after the ouster of the NAP-JUI governor as well, twice posted overseas as an

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

of Pakistan. He was promoted as Minister of Pakistan to

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

in 1956, and appointed as High Commissioner to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in December 1959. As a diplomat, he served as ambassador to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

(1974–1977),

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

. Nominated to

Muhammad 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 Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He also se ...

's ''Majlis-e-Shura'' in the 1980s, he became a trusted political confidante of the Martial Law ruler. He was elected MNA from his constituency and served as deputy Prime Minister to Prime Minister

Muhammad Khan Junejo Mohammad Khan Junejo (18 August 1932 18 March 1993) was a Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the tenth Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1985 to 1988 under president Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. During his tenure as prime minister he sou ...

in 1985. After the restoration of democracy in Pakistan in 1988, he joined the

Pakistan Muslim League (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (N) or (PML(N)) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right, Conservatism in Pakistan, conservative political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third-largest party in the Senate of Pakistan, Senate and the larges ...

, but was defeated in the

Pakistani general election, 1988 General elections were held in Pakistan on 16 November 1988 to elect the members of the National Assembly and Senate. The elections saw the resurgence of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) under the leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's daughter, B ...

. Re-elected again in 1990, he again served as Federal Minister in

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

’s first government. Defeated in the 1993 elections, he left the PML (N) shortly before the 1997 election over a difference in the distribution of party tickets for his grandson and son-in-law.

Death

He died, after a protracted illness, at the

Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (, abbreviated as PIMS) is a research oriented health sciences institute located in Islamabad, Pakistan. Dr Behram Ul Hassan is the foremost anesthetist in this hospital. It is one of the region's leading ...

(PIMS) hospital,

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 ...

on 10 October 2008 at age 100. He also had a history of heart disease.

Awards and recognition

Sitara-e-Pakistan Civil awards and decorations of Pakistan are awards and decorations which are bestowed by the Government of Pakistan for acts of accomplishment benefiting the nation as a whole. It was established after the constitution of Pakistan was passed in ...

(Star of Pakistan) Award by the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

in 1958.

Bibliography

Aslam Khattak spoke, read and wrote Pashtu, Urdu, Punjabi, Persian, Arabic, French and English. He stated that he did a journalism course from Brussels, and introduced freestyle essays in Pashtu literature in his booklet "Gul Masti". He also said he wrote a Pashtu play, "Da Veno Jam". This was highly commended in the literary supplement of `The Times' (London), when it was later translated into English. *'A Pathan Odyssey', an autobiography by Muhammad Aslam KhattakA Pathan Odyssey launched
Dawn (newspaper), Published 11 February 2005, Retrieved 9 March 2023

References

External links

*

A man for all seasons

A story of a Khattak
Muhammad Aslam Khan Khattak's obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khattak, Muhammad Aslam Khan 1908 births 2008 deaths Governors of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Interior ministers of Pakistan Pakistani men centenarians Pashtun politicians Ambassadors of Pakistan to Afghanistan Ambassadors of Pakistan to Iran Ambassadors of Pakistan to Iraq High commissioners of Pakistan to Australia Pakistan Movement activists Speakers of the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistani MNAs 1985–1988 Pakistani civil servants Pakistani MNAs 1990–1993 Federal ministers of Pakistan Aslam Recipients of the Sitara-e-Pakistan Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford