Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan (Urdu: نواب زاده نصر الله خان) (13 November 1916 – 27 September 2003) was a statesman in British India and later Pakistan.[2] He was also a prominent Urdu poet. He was the only West Pakistani to have served as the leader of the Awami League of the then East Pakistan (Now Bangladesh).
Nasrullah Khan | |
|---|---|
نواب زاده نصر الله خان | |
| Chairman of Pakistan Democratic Party | |
| In office June 1967 – 27 September 2003 | |
| Succeeded by | Nawabzada Mansoor Ahmed Khan[1] |
| Chairman of Alliance for Restoration of Democracy | |
| In office unknown – 27 September 2003 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 November 1916 Muzaffargarh, Punjab, British India |
| Died | 27 September 2003 Islamabad, ICT, Pakistan |
| Nationality | |
| Political party | Pakistan Democratic Party (1967 – 2003) |
| Other political affiliations | Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam (1933 – 1947) All-India Muslim League (1947 – 1947) Muslim League (1947 – 1966) Awami League (1966 – 1967) |
| Children | Nawabzada Mansoor Ahmed Khan (son) Nawabzada Iftikhar Ahmed Khan Babar (son) |
Early life
He was born in Khangarh, Punjab in Muzaffargarh District in southern Punjab in a prominent land-owning aristocratic family. Following the tradition of the elite of British India, he was educated at Aitchison College. [3]
Political Career
He started his political career in 1933 by joining the anti-British Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam, soon after it was formed by Syed Ata ullah Shah Bukhari.[3] He was considered to be close to the famous journalist Agha Shorish Kashmiri. He was also elected the Secretary General of All India Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam in 1945. This party held an Indian Nationalist position.[4] Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, coming from a background with ties to the Indian National Congress and Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam, opposed the Muslim League and its demand for the partition of India.[5]
However, he joined the All-India Muslim League in 1947 after the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan occurred. He won a seat of Provincial Assembly of Punjab in general elections in 1952 and the National Assembly of Pakistan seat in the 1962 general elections.[3] In 1964, he supported Fatima Jinnah in the election against president Ayub Khan.[6] In 1966, he served as the President of the Awami League party mostly active in former East Pakistan. In June 1967, he founded his own political party named as Pakistan Democratic Party and served its chairman till his death in 2003.[7][8][1] He helped form the opposition alliance Democratic Action Committee to remove military dictator President Ayub Khan from power.[3] In 1993, he was elected again to the National Assembly of Pakistan. He was also made the chairperson of the Kashmir Committee.[6][9] Just before his death, he was the Chairman of Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) working for the restoration of democracy in Pakistan against General Pervez Musharraf.[3][6]
Death and legacy
He died on 27 September 2003 after being admitted to a hospital in Islamabad, following a heart attack. He was 86 years old. He is buried in Khangarh, District Muzaffargarh, Punjab, Pakistan. His survivors include five sons and four daughters.[3]
A major Pakistani English-language newspaper comments about him, "Known for his Hukka, dark achkan and distinctive cap, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan spent all his life in fighting against dictators, military as well as civilian, and struggled to strengthen the parliamentary democracy, bothering little how he would go down in history for targeting all governments."[6]
In its obituary for Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, Dawn (newspaper) of Pakistan called hima 'Crusading democrat'.[10]
Another major English-language newspaper The Nation (Pakistan) ran his obituary in its editorial - titled, 'Death of a veteran'.[11]
Family Tree
| Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan | |||||||||||||||||
| Nawabzada Mansoor Ahmed Khan | Iftikhar Ahmed Khan Babar | ||||||||||||||||