Chaudhry Ali Akbar Khan | |
|---|---|
چوہدری علی اکبر خان | |
| Minister for Home and Kashmir Affairs | |
| In office 17 August 1965 – 30 November 1966 | |
| President | Ayub Khan |
| Preceded by | Ayub Khan |
| Succeeded by | Afzal Rahman Khan |
| Ambassador of Pakistan to Saudi Arabia | |
| In office 1958–1962 | |
| Preceded by | Khawaja Shahabuddin |
| Ambassador of Pakistan to Sudan | |
| In office 1957–1958 | |
| Minister for Education of Punjab | |
| In office 1953–1955 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1910-09-28)28 September 1910 |
| Died | 8 October 1967(1967-10-08) (aged 57) |
| Other political affiliations | All India Muslim League |
| Spouse | Begum Ali Akbar Khan |
| Children | Nisar Akbar Khan |
| Occupation | Politician, diplomat |
Chaudhry Ali Akbar Khan (Urdu/Punjabi:چوہدری علی اکبر خان; 28 September 1910 – 8 October 1967) was a Pakistani politician and diplomat. He was elected as a member of thePunjab Provincial Assembly in British India in 1946. A prominentPakistan Movement activist, Khan went on to serve in the newly-independent state of Pakistan as the provincialeducation minister of Punjab from 1953 to 1955 under chief ministerMalik Feroz Khan Noon, and as the federalMinister for Home and Kashmir Affairs in the cabinet of presidentAyub Khan from 1965 to 1966.[1]
He was also appointed as Pakistan's firstambassador to Sudan from 1957 to 1958, and asambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1958 to 1962.[1]
Chaudhry Ali Akbar Khan was born on 28 September 1910 in the village of Kolian, located in theDasuya subdivision ofHoshiarpur district inPunjab, British India.[1] He belonged to aRajput family.[2] He graduated from theGovernment College in Lahore in 1931 and obtained a law degree from thePunjab University in 1935.[1]
Khan started practicing as a lawyer in Dasuya before shifting toHoshiarpur in pre-partition Punjab. Following thepartition of British India in 1947, he moved with his family to the newly-founded state ofPakistan, initially arriving inLahore and then settling permanently inLyallpur in 1949.[1]
Khan became associated with thePakistan Movement during his student days and formally joined theAll India Muslim League (AIML) in 1937. In 1944, he was nominated as a member of the Provincial Muslim League Working Committee and went on to serve as the president of the AIML's chapter in Hoshiarpur district, an appointment he held until the partition.[1] He contested in the1946 provincial general election from his constituency in Hoshiarpur district, and was elected as a member of thePunjab Provincial Assembly in British India.[1]
Later, Khan was chosen byMuhammad Ali Jinnah as part of a three-member team to assistSir Zafarullah Khan in presenting the case of the Muslim League before theRadcliffe Commission, which was constituted to demarcate the borders between India and Pakistan.[1] After the independence of Pakistan, Khan became a member of theConstituent Assembly of Pakistan in 1950 and also served as secretary-general of the ProvincialMuslim League Parliamentary Board.[1]
In 1951, he contested in theprovincial election and was elected to theProvincial Assembly of Punjab from Lyallpur. He was inducted in the cabinet of chief ministerMalik Feroz Khan Noon in April 1953, serving as the Education Minister of Punjab until 1955.[1] In addition, he was given the portfolios of jails, information, law, public relations and village-aid. During his tenure as minister for education, he helped establish several educational institutions including theCadet College Hasan Abdal.[1]
In 1953, Khan represented the government of Pakistan at thecoronation of Elizabeth II.[1] After returning from diplomatic assignments abroad in 1962, he contested in elections and was elected to theNational Assembly of Pakistan from his constituency inSamundri in 1964. He was inducted in the cabinet of presidentAyub Khan and served as the federalMinister for Home and Kashmir Affairs from 1965 to 1966.[1] Khan's tenure coincided with the1965 Indo-Pakistani War, during which he visited and discharged duties on the war front inAzad Kashmir.[1]
Khan was appointed as Pakistan's firstambassador to Sudan from 1957 to 1958. He was alsoconcurrently accredited to Ethiopia.[1] In 1958, he was appointed as theambassador to Saudi Arabia, a post he held until 1962 with concurrent accreditation to Yemen and Somalia.[1] As the envoy in Riyadh, he established thePakistan Embassy School in Jeddah in 1959 to serve the children of Pakistani expatriates living in the kingdom.[1]
Khan died on 8 October 1967 in his hometown, Lyallpur (nowFaisalabad).[1] In 2011, his family members established a social welfare and charitable organisation in his name, the Ali Akbar Khan Foundation.[1] During thepartition of Punjab in 1947, Khan was known to have played an instrumental role in the rehabilitation of migrants fromEast Punjab who arrived in Pakistan.[2]
Khan was married to Begum Ali Akbar Khan.[1] His son,Nisar Akbar Khan, served as a member of the National Assembly in 1977 and from 1988 to 1990.[2] His son-in-law, Chaudhry Umar Daraz Khan, was elected as a member of the Punjab provincial assembly in 1977 and 1988.[1][3]
Nisar Akbar Khan, the PPP nominee, belongs to a respectable Rajput family of Hoshiarpur district, India. He is the son of Ch Ali Akbar Khan who had been one of the respected politicians of 60's...
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Minister for Home and Kashmir Affairs 1965–1966 | Succeeded by |