Khawaja Shahabuddin (31 May 1898 – 9 February 1977), sometimes spelled Khwaja Shahabuddin, was a politician of Kashmiri-Bengali descent from East Pakistan who was a minister in the Government of Pakistan and member of the Dhaka Nawab family. He was the younger brother of Sir

Khawaja Nazimuddin Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin (19 July 1894 – 22 October 1964), also spelled Khwaja Nazimuddin, was a Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the second Governor-General of Pakistan from 1948 to 1951, and later as the second Prime Minister ...

and the father of

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the Bay of Bengal, eponymous bay. Bangladeshi nationality law, Bangladeshi citizenship was fo ...

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

Khwaja Wasiuddin.

Early life

Khawaja Shahabuddin was born on 31 May 1898. His father was Khwaja (or Khawaja) Nizamuddin, who was a

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

. Shahabuddin served as the municipality commissioner of Dhaka from 1918 to 1921. In 1921, he joined the Dhaka district board. He became the chairman of the board in 1923 to 1924. From 1928 to 1944, he was the president of Dhaka district Muslim League.

Career

In 1936, he was a member of the executive council of the Governor of

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

. From 1930 to 1938 he was the treasurer at the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

. He was elected to the Bengal legislative assembly from

Narayanganj Narayanganj () is a city in central Bangladesh in the Greater Dhaka area. It is in the Narayanganj District, about southeast of the capital city of Dhaka. With a population of almost 1 million, it is the 6th largest city in Bangladesh. It is als ...

in 1937. He was the Chief Whip in the A K Fazlul Haq government in Bengal from 1937 to 1941. He was the Minister of Commerce, Labour and Industry in his brother's government from 1943 to 1945. Shahabuddin was involved in the movement for the creation of Pakistan. In 1947, he became the Chief whip in

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 ...

. In 1948, he became the Minister of Home Affairs, Information and Broadcasting in the cabinet of

Liaquat Ali Khan Liaquat Ali Khan (1 October 189516 October 1951) was a Pakistani lawyer, politician and statesman who served as the first prime minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the he ...

. In 1951, he was appointed Governor of the North West Frontier Province. He was the Ambassador of Pakistan to Saudi Arabia and Yemen in 1954, Egypt in 1958, Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Togo and Sierra Leone from 1961 to 1964. He served as the Minister of Information and Broadcasting from 1965 to 1969 under the administration of Ayub Khan.

Pakistan Football Federation

Shahabuddin served as president of the

Pakistan Football Federation The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) is the national governing body of association football in Football in Pakistan, Pakistan. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of Association football, football, and affiliated to the A ...

between 1950 and 1951.

Death

He died on 9 February 1977 in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

, Pakistan, aged 78.

References

1898 births 1977 deaths Interior ministers of Pakistan Governors of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Members of the Dhaka Nawab family Politicians from East Pakistan Pakistani MNAs 1947–1954 Ambassadors of Pakistan to Saudi Arabia Ambassadors of Pakistan to Yemen Ambassadors of Pakistan to Egypt High commissioners of Pakistan to Nigeria High commissioners of Pakistan to Cameroon Ambassadors of Pakistan to Senegal Ambassadors of Pakistan to Togo High commissioners of Pakistan to Sierra Leone Bengal MLAs 1937–1945 Members of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan Presidents of the Pakistan Football Federation {{Pakistan-MNA-stub