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 ...

Muhammad Abdul Qayyum Khan (also known as ʻAbdul Qayyūm K̲h̲ān,

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

: سردار محمد عبدالقيوم خان) was a Azad Kashmiri politician who also served as the

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and

prime minister of Azad Kashmir The prime minister of Azad Kashmir (Urdu: , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam lit. 'Grand Vizier', Urdu pronunciation: �əˈziːr-ˌeː ˈɑː.zəm is the chief executive of Azad Jammu and Kashmir region of Pakistan. The title of Prime Minister ...

. He also remained President of

All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference The All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference () also shortly referred as Muslim Conference (MC) is a political party in Pakistan administered territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The party was founded in 1941 by Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas, and Syed ...

for over 20 years. He belonged to the Dhund-Abbassi Tribe.

Early life and career

Sardar Abdul Qayyum was born on 4 April 1924 in Ghaziabad, Bagh tehsil (

Poonch jagir Poonch jagir or Poonch district, was a former semi-autonomous region in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. The territory was divided between India and Pakistan in 1947, represented by the present-day Poonch Division of Azad Kashmir and ...

), then part of the princely state of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

into an Abbasi family. After completing his secondary education in

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

, he joined the Engineers Corps of the British Indian Army and served in Africa and the Middle East.Tariq Naqqash
Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan – End of an era
Dawn, Updated 11 July 2015, Retrieved 20 May 2017Obaid Abbasi
Profile and obituary of Muhammad Abdul Qayyum Khan
The Express Tribune, 11 July 2015, Retrieved 20 May 2017

1947 Kashmir conflict

He actively participated in the Kashmiri freedom struggle. His title ''Mujahid-e-Awwal'' (the first holy warrior) is based on the belief that he is the person who fired the first shot in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.

Political career

In 1951, he joined the

. He was elected president of this body a record 14 times during his lifetime. He was elected as

President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir The president of Azad Kashmir (Urdu: , romanized: ''s̤adr-i Azād Kaṣhmīr'' lit. 'President of Azad Kashmir', Urdu pronunciation: ̤ə'dr-e: a:'za:d kə'ʂmi:r, officially the president of the State of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, is the const ...

(AJK) state three times in 1956, 1971, and 1985. "Towards the end of his term, his relations with then prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto started turning sour. As a result, in 1974, Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan was removed from the office of the president through a vote of no confidence." He also remained Prime Minister of

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir ( ), is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger ...

from 1991 to 1996. In 2002, he was made chairman of the National Kashmir Committee. His son Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan also became Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir in 2006 and then again in 2010.

Writer

He is the author of dozens of books on the Kashmir Freedom Struggle (

Kashmir conflict The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, and also between China and India in the northeastern portion of the region. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1 ...

). He also wrote on political, mystic, spiritual and religious topics. Some of the publications include: *''Kashmir seeks attention'' *''Kashmir problem : options for settlement? : a geopolitical analysis'' *''Kashmīr banegā Pākistān'' *''Āzād Kashmīr men̲ Islāmī qavānīn kā nafāz̲'', on the enforcement of Islamic laws in Azad Kashmir during 1971–1975; speeches and articles previously published separately in various journals. *''Muqaddamah-yi Kashmīr'', a historical study on the Kashmir dispute.

Death and legacy

He died in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

on 10 July 2015. The

government announced a three-day mourning period on his death.

References