Mehmood-ur-Rehman | |
|---|---|
 Mahmud (left) pictured with PresidentSheikh Mujibur Rahman ofBangladesh | |
| 8th Chief Minister of the North-West Frontier Province | |
| In office 1 March 1972 – 15 February 1973 | |
| Governor | |
| Preceded by | Sardar Bahadur Khan |
| Succeeded by | Inayatullah Khan Gandapur |
| General Secretary ofJamiat Ulema-e-Islam | |
| In office 1968–1980 | |
| Preceded by | Maulana Ghulam Ghaus Hazarvi |
| Succeeded by | Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman (later elected as the President) |
| President ofWafaq ul Madaris Al-Arabia, Pakistan | |
| In office 15 May 1978 – 14 October 1980 | |
| Preceded by | Muhammad Yousuf Banuri |
| Succeeded by | Muhammad Idrees Mirti |
| Member of theNational Assembly of Pakistan | |
| In office 26 March 1977 – 5 July 1977 | |
| Constituency | NA-18 (D.I.Khan) |
| In office 14 April 1972 – 10 January 1977 | |
| Constituency | NW-13 (D.I.Khan) |
| In office 8 June 1962 – 7 June 1965 | |
| Constituency | NW-6 (D.I.Khan-I) |
| Muhtamim ofJamia Qasim-ul-Uloom | |
| In office 1974–1980 | |
| Preceded by | Maulana Muhammad Shafi Multani |
| Succeeded by | Maulana Faiz Ahmed |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 June 1919 (6 Rabi Us Sani 1337) |
| Died | 14 October 1980(1980-10-14) (aged 61) Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan |
| Resting place | Abdul Khel,DI Khan, KPK |
| Nationality |
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| Political party | Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam |
| Children |
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| Alma mater | Madrasa Shahi, Moradabad |
| Occupation |
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Mufti Mehmood-ur-Rehman (Urdu:مفتی محمود الرحمان; 1919–1980) was a PakistaniIslamic scholar andstatesman who was one of the founding members of theJamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI); widely regarded as one of the greatest politicians in the history of Pakistan, known for his political acumen.[1]
He served as the first electedChief Minister ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, and later on as theLeader of the Opposition inNational Assembly.[2][1]
He led the opposition movementPakistan National Alliance againstZulfiqar Ali Bhutto, which eventually led to Bhutto's downfall. He was among the principal architects of the1973 Constitution of Pakistan.[3]
Born in January 1919, he born into the ethnicNasarPashtun tribe from Panyala,Dera Ismail Khan District,colonial India (now Pakistan).His father, Maulana Khalifa Muhammad Siddiq, was a religious scholar and had permissions in all four orders of the Sufi Tariqa.[4][5]
He received his religious education atMadrasa Shahi, Moradabad,UP and graduated from theDarul Uloom Deoband.[6]
In 1941, he worked as a teacher inIsakhel,Mianwali.[1] On the advise of his teacher he settled down inAbdul Khel, a town inDera Ismail Khan, and married into aMarwat Pashtun family there.[7]
At the time of theIndian independence movement Mufti Mahmudopposed the partition of colonial India and opposed the creation of Pakistan. ”[8][9][10]
He served as aMuhtamim atJamia Qasim-ul-Uloom inMultan and later in his career, he also held the positions ofChief Mudarras in charge of education,Chief Mufti, andSheikhal-Hadith. He issued at least 25,000Fatwas in his lifetime and his students includedMaulana Abdullah Ghazi,Abdul Majeed Ludhianvi andNoor Muhammad.[11]
Mufti Mahmud was a critic of family planning programme ofAyub Khan's government. He participated in the elections for the National Assembly for the first time under Ayub Khan's 'Basic Democracy Program' and defeated all his opponents in 1962.[11]
He also opposed the 'One Unit Scheme'.On 8 January 1968, inDacca, then inEast Pakistan, Mufti Mahmud was one of the key leaders ofJamhoori Majlis-e-Amal that opposed Ayub Khan's regime. In the 1970 general election, Mufti Mahmud had a landslide victory against Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in theDera Ismail Khan constituency.[11]
After the 1970 general election in Pakistan, he became the president ofJamiat Ulema-e-Islam founded byMaulana Shabir Ahmed Usmani. His party went into a coalition with theNational Awami Party for the1970 Pakistani general election. In the 1970s, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam received significant funding fromSaudi Arabia.[12]
On 1 March 1972, he was elected as the chief minister of the province ofKhyber-Pakhtunkhwa during theZulfiqar Ali Bhutto government in Pakistan.
During his tenure as chief minister, he instituted many reforms, such as prohibition against alcohol, making Urdu as the official language in government offices, ban on interest in financial transactions and declared Friday as the official holiday in his province.[11]
Mufti Mahmud played a vital role inTehreek-e-Khatme Nabuwwat, a religious movement which has highlighted the beliefs of the followers of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in Pakistan, in 1953 and again in 1974. He led a team of Islamic scholars which worked for the declaration of Ahmadis as non-Muslims in 1974.
He and his cabinet resigned in protest at the dismissal of the NAP–JUI coalition government inBalochistan on 14 February 1973.[11] He vowed to launch an anti-government movement, and first formed the UDF (United Democratic Front), and later onPakistan National Alliance: the largest opposition movement in the history of Pakistan against Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. In 1977, thePakistan National Alliance launched nationwide street agitation against the rigging of Bhutto in 1977 General Elections. The same year Bhutto was removed in a Coup d'etat by Zia ul Haq.[13]
Towards the end of his life, he continued his endeavours for democracy, and in 1980 had started negotiations with his arch-rivalPPP, for a joint struggle against dictatorship.[13]
He supported the Afghan jihad against theUSSR in 1979 (see alsoSoviet–Afghan War).
He died on 14 October 1980, inKarachi, Sindh at the age of 61. He was buried in Abdul Khel,Dera Ismail Khan District. His sonMaulana Fazal-ur-Rehman is a politician who leads theJamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) party in Pakistan.[14]
Mufti Mahmud, in his speech on the occasion, pointed out that "the JUI was against a division of the country". He said that since the party had opposed the partition of India (linking with the stance of ...
By the 1970s, the JUI, under the leadership of Mawlana Mufti Mahmud (d. 1980) was a chief recipient of the aforementionedWahhabite-Athari support from the Gulf monarchies, chieflySaudi Arabia.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link){{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Chief Minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 1972 – 1973 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Ameer ofJamiat Ulema-e-Islam 1968 – 1980 | Succeeded by |
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Italics indicate acting chief ministers | ||
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