Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan () (1 June 1932 – 9 October 2021) was an
Azad Kashmiri politician who served as the
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 ...
for two non-consecutives terms. He also served as the
President of Azad 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 ...
twice. He was the longest-serving prime minister of Azad Kashmir, having served a total of more than 10 years across two tenures.
Early life and education
Born into an eminent political family of
Domaal Rajputs
Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...
from Kashmir, Khan was the son of Sardar Fateh Muhammad Khan Karailvi, famous for his role in one of the first major uprisings against the
Dogra
__NOTOC__
Dogras, or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic community of Pakistan and India.
Dogra, Dogras or Dogri may also refer to:
* Dogra dynasty, a Hindu dynasty of Kashmir
* Dogri language, a language spoken by Dogras and other ethnic commu ...
regime in 1931. His father led the protest against a tax on salt imposed by the Maharaja's regime. Sardar Fateh Muhammad Khan Karailvi along with Baba-e-Poonch Col Khan Muhammad Khan were the only two elected members of the Jammu Kashmir Legislative Assembly Called "Praja Sabha" from Poonch District for 12 consecutive years from 1934-46.
Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan received his early schooling in his native village of Karela in
Fatehpur Thakiala, now in District Kotli, and in
Poonch city. He went on to study at
Gordon College (Rawalpindi), graduating in 1956 before going on to the University Law College in Lahore to obtain a law degree in 1958.
Career
After formally joining the
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 ...
, he ran for membership in the Kotli council, a position he occupied for eight years, during which he was also elected the President of Bar Association, Kotli. In 1970, he was elected to the Azad Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly and became the Revenue Minister in 1972.
He returned to office from his constituency in every election held in Azad Kashmir between 1970 and 2001, barring the years when he was President of Azad Kashmir. His brother Sardar Muhammad Naeem Khan served as a member from that area during that period.
He served as acting President of the Jammu & Kashmir Muslim Conference in the 1976–78 period and was elected President in 1978, a position he held until 1988. In 1985, he was elected Prime Minister of AJK and served until 1990. He headed the opposition in the Assembly until 1991, when he was elected President of AJK for a five-year term. On 25 July 2001, he was sworn in as Prime Minister of AJK for a second time, serving another five-year term. Khan initially retired from active politics in July 2006.
However, he later played a major role in introducing
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 ...
in AJK for which he was given the position of Senior Vice President of PML-(N) in 2011.
He quit PML-(N) in February 2021 and joined the Muslim Conference as head of the party.
Death
On 9 October 2021, Hayat, who was diabetic and a cardiac patient, died in his hometown; aged 87.
References
External links
Prime Ministers of Azad Jammu and KashmirPresidents of Azad Jammu and KashmirGovernment of Azad Kashmir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Sikandar Hayat
People from Poonch District, Pakistan
1934 births
2021 deaths
Presidents of Azad Kashmir
Prime ministers of Azad Kashmir
Pahari Pothwari people
Diabetes-related deaths
Government Gordon College alumni
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Punjab, Pakistan