Mohammad Khan Junejo (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

: ; Sindhi: ; 18 August 193216 March 1993) was a Pakistani politician and an agriculturist 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 Pak ...

, 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 ...

, 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 a ...

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 Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

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 inqui ...

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 ...

on a Pakistan Muslim League's platform, of which, he took over the party's presidency. His government was noted for the support of

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

, austerity measures that ultimately reduces the government budget deficits 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 Zia-ul-Haq, 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, 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 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, Sind,

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 Sind 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 ...

where he was trained as an agriculturist and earned a diploma to be certified in 1954. Junejo was an agriculturist and a farmer who cultivated the famed mangoes (the ''

Sindhri The 'Sindhri' mango is a mango cultivar grown in Sindhri, a town in Sindh, and other areas of Sindh province in Pakistan. It is a large oval shaped mango which is extremely sweet and aromatic. It is considered the ''Queen of Mangoes'' because o ...

'') in his local village in the

Mirpur Khas Mirpur Khas ( Sindhi and ; ''meaning "Town of the most-high Mirs"'') is the capital city of the Mirpur Khas District and Mirpur Khas Division in the Sindh province, Pakistan. Mirpur Khas is the 16th largest city in Sindh province and the 80th ...

. 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 The Suzuki Mehran is a rebadged version of the second-generation Suzuki Alto CA/CC71, manufactured by Pak Suzuki Motors. It was introduced as the successor to the classic Suzuki FX, a rebadged First Generation Suzuki Alto (SS80S). Upon its in ...

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 Capita ...

despite the annoyance of President Zia who had a strong preference for Mercedes-Benz W126.

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 Pakistan Muslim League (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 as ...

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. ...

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 inqui ...

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 ...

in 1965, and was elevated as the Minister of Railways 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 Sangh ...

but became closer to religious leader Pir Pagara, of which he later became his political missionary. In 1977, he was named as a caretaker cabinet minister when General Zia-ul-Haq, the

chief of army staff Chief of Army Staff or Chief of the Army Staff which is generally abbreviated as COAS is a title commonly used for the appointment held by the most senior staff officer or the chief commander in several nations' armies. * Chief of Army (Australia ...

, took over the civilian government 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 is ...

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 four ...

. From 1977–79, he served as the Railway minister but later resigned in 1979.

Prime Minister of Pakistan

In January 1985, President Zia-ul-Haq announced to hold nationwide general elections that would be based on non-partisanism– there have been political rumors that the U.S. President 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 who had been leading his own political faction in

Sindh 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 ...

. President Zia considered three names for the appointment of the Prime Minister that included: Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, Liaquat Ali Jatoi and Junejo– all were from

. After consulting with Pir Pagara, President Zia hand-picked and appointed Junejo as

through an invitation to form the civilian government 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 princip ...

. His mindset reflected a

and was a powerful feudalist whom President Zia considered him to be ineffective in leading towards the

decision-making processes The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to thought (thinking): Thought (also called thinking) is the mental process in which beings form psychological associations and models of the world. Thinking is manipulating i ...

. 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. ...

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 indust ...

and

interior Interior may refer to: Arts and media * ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas * ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck * ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See * Interior de ...

. Prime Minister Junejo's social policies led to the political independence when he was appointed as the President of Pakistan Muslim League. His policy also included the

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerci ...

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 A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...

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 bord ...

. 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 The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...

to discuss to end the bloodshed in

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

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...

Mirza Aslam Beg 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''. It ...

. 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 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. In ...

Siddique Salik 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 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 " Ojhri Camp disaster" 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 general elections 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 ...

general elections 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 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

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 ...

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 ...

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, 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)