Muhammad Aslam Khan Khattak | |
|---|---|
| 10thGovernor of North-West Frontier Province | |
| In office 15 February 1973 – 24 May 1974 | |
| President | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry |
| Preceded by | Arbab Sikandar Khan |
| Succeeded by | Syed Ghawas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 April 1908 Karak,North West Frontier Province,British Raj (nowKhyber Pakhtunkhwa,Pakistan |
| Died | October 10, 2008(2008-10-10) (aged 100) Islamabad,Pakistan |
| Relations | Yusuf Khattak (brother) Habibullah Khan Khattak (brother) Kulsum Saifullah Khan (sister) Anwar Saifullah Khan (nephew) Salim Saifullah Khan (nephew) Humayun Saifullah Khan (nephew) Mark Humayun (maternal grandson) |
| Awards | Sitara-e-Pakistan (Star of Pakistan) Award by theGovernment of Pakistan in 1958 |
Muhammad Aslam Khan Khattak,SPk (Pashto:محمد اسلم خان خټک) (Urdu:محمد اسلم خان خٹک) (5 April 1908 – 10 October 2008) was a Pakistanipolitician anddiplomat[1] who was the Governor of North-West Frontier Province (nowKhyber Pakhtunkhwa) from 1973 to 1974.[2]
Aslam Khattak used to play tennis, do some swimming and mountaineering in his younger years.[3]Khattak studied history atBrasenose College, Oxford, from 1929 to 1932.[4]
Born into aPashtunKhattak family on 5 April, 1908 atKarak,British India.[2] Aslam Khattak was the President of a student organization supportingPakistan Movement in the U.K. in the 1930s, serving alongside Dr. Abdur Rahim as Vice President andChaudhry Rehmat Ali as Secretary. This organization gave the world the name "PAKISTAN". Aslam Khattak was among the three people that signed the pamphlet called 'Now or Never', written by Chaudhry Rehmat Ali in 1933.[5][2]
Aslam Khattak worked closely withDr Khan Sahib in theNorth West Frontier Province's provincial government during his career as a civil servant, and after theindependence ofPakistan in 1947, he was assigned a position inAfghanistan where he played a key role in the failed negotiations for a confederation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.[2] In the 1970 elections, he was elected as an independent to theProvincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from Karak.[1][2] He then became speaker of theNorth West Frontier Province's Provincial Assembly in 1972. He also served asGovernor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa briefly after the ouster of the NAP-JUI governor as well, twice posted overseas as anAmbassador of Pakistan.[1]
He was promoted as Minister of Pakistan toKabul in 1956, and appointed as High Commissioner toAustralia in December 1959. As a diplomat, he served as ambassador toIran (1974–1977),Iraq andAfghanistan.[2][3]
Nominated toMuhammad Zia-ul-Haq'sMajlis-e-Shura in the 1980s,[3] he became a trusted political confidante of the Martial Law ruler.[2]
He was elected MNA from his constituency and served as deputy Prime Minister to Prime MinisterMuhammad Khan Junejo in 1985.[2] After the restoration of democracy in Pakistan in 1988, he joined thePakistan Muslim League (N), but was defeated in thePakistani general election, 1988. Re-elected again in 1990, he again served as Federal Minister inNawaz Sharif’s first government. Defeated in the 1993 elections, he left the PML (N) shortly before the 1997 election over a difference in the distribution of party tickets for his grandson and son-in-law.[2]
He died, after a protracted illness, at thePakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital,Islamabad on 10 October 2008 at age 100. He also had a history of heart disease.[1][2]
Aslam Khattak spoke, read and wrote Pashtu, Urdu, Punjabi, Persian, Arabic, French and English.[3] He stated that he did a journalism course from Brussels, and introduced freestyle essays in Pashtu literature in his booklet "Gul Masti". He also said he wrote a Pashtu play, "Da Veno Jam". This was highly commended in the literary supplement of `The Times' (London), when it was later translated into English.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 1973–1974 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Interior Minister of Pakistan 1985–1987 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
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