Asghar Khan
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Asghar Khan (b. 1921) is a Pakistani politician. At the age of 36 he served as the youngest head of the Pakistan Air Force (P.A.F). Later on he was appointed as the head of the National flag carrier PIA (Pakistan International Airlines). He is considered an honest but at the same time a politician who did not achieve all his goals, a man who failed to translate his War Hero and clean image into electoral success. His long career in the Airforce, running PIA and in politics spanned many of the key moments in Pakistan's history. He is also the author of half a dozen books.
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[edit] Pre-Political Career in the Air Force
Asghar Khan was originally an Army Officer in the British Indian Army. At the outbreak of the war, when the Indian Air Force embarked on its expansion, a number of Army Officers transferred to the IAF. Asghar Khan was one of them and he was commissioned into the Indian Air Force on 22 December 1940. He was one of the senior most officers in the IAF as can be asserted by the fact his 'Commission number' was within the first 100
His early career in the IAF is not known but he was one of the first Indian Officers to be given command of a Squadron. He took over command of No.9 Squadron IAF in 1945. Asghar's attachment with the Squadron was so much that at the time of Partition, when the assets of the Royal Indian Air Force were divided between India and Pakistan, he insisted that No.9 Squadron be given to Pakistan.
After his command of No.9 Squadron, Asghar undertook a staff course in the UK in 1946 and became one of the first Indians to fly a jet fighter - A Gloster Meteor fighter bomber.
After the partition of British India he became the first muslim commandant of the Royal Pakistan Airforce College at Risalpur.
After independence Khan became Pakistan's first Air Chief and also its youngest at the age of 36. He held the position of Air Chief for over 8 years(1957-65) during which the PAF underwent all its expansion, re-equipping, and training programs. Khan, who retired on July 23, 1965 i.e. six weeks before the 1965 Indo-Pak War, was not even informed nor consulted before the launch of the Operation Gibraltar.
Asghar Khan squarely blamed Pakistan for the 1965 and 1971 wars and strongly opposed the war with India over the Bangladesh issue in 1971 but still known as certainly one of the best leaders the country had.
[edit] Early Political Career
Asghar Khan entered politics in 1968 after resigning from his post, when the movement against Ayub Khan started.
Asghar Khan made a fifteen day tour of Punjab and NWFP and an eleven day tour of East Pakistan and attended the round table conference convened by Ayub Khan to agree on the terms of transfer of power. On 13 March 1969, he annou[[Category:]]nced the formation of a new political party, the Justice Party. In June 1969, Asghar Khan merged his party with others to form the Pakistan Democratic Front in a decision he was soon to regret. Out manouvered by Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, Asghar Khan ended up being ousted from his own party.
Disillusioned with politics he suddenly withdrew from politics in December 1969, but a little later he formed the Tehrik-i-Istiqlal and took part in the 1970 general elections, he suffered a shock defeat to Pakistan Peoples Party unknown Khurshid Hasan Meer and his party was routed.
[edit] Political Career (1972-1978)
During Bhutto's rule from 1971 to 1977, Asghar Khan played a major role in opposition to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, there was a deep dislike between the two men. It was during this period he and his party faced frequent attacks by Pakistan Peoples Party supporters and from the brutal paramilitary Federal Security Force. During the 1977 elections, Asghar Khan allied his party with the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) against the People's Party. Contesting two seats one from Karachi and the other from Abbotabad, despite the PPP's sweep in the rest of the country Asghar Khan was elected by a huge margin from Karachi, defeating PPP candidate Kamaluddin Azfar, but suffered a defeat from the other seat. The PNA rejected the election results as rigged and launched a Nationwide agitation against the results. It was during this time that Asghar Khan wrote a much criticised letter to the chiefs of staff and the officers of the defence forces, asking them to renounce their support for the "illegal (Z A Bhutto's) regime" and asked to "differentiate between a 'lawful' and an 'unlawful' command...and save Pakistan." This letter is considered by many democrats and political writers as instrumental in encouraging the advent of the Zia regime. After the overthrow of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's government by the Army in the summer of 1978 Asghar Khan was offered a cabinet post by Zia Ul Haq, Asghar Khan refused to join the cabinet and also withdrew from the PNA after a growing split between the various parties.
[edit] Political Career (1978-1999)
Asghar Khan joined the newly formed Movement for Restoration of Democracy (MRD) in 1983 and was detained by the government. In 1986, Asghar Khan left the MRD, as a result of which many of the Tehrik's members resigned in protest. The Air Marshal boycotted the 1985 non-party elections but took part in the 1988 elections where he was again defeated. Opposing the government of Nawaz Sharif, Asghar Khan led his party to join the Pakistan Democratic Alliance. Contesting in 1993 from Lahore, Asghar Khan once again faced defeat. Briefly retiring from active politics in the late 1990's his party faced another one of its many splits.
[edit] Political Career (1999-)
His son Omar Asghar Khan served as Federal minister in Pervaiz Musharraf's government. After his resignation from the cabinet to contest the 2002 elections he took over Tehrik-e-Istiqlal from his father. He subsequently merged it with assorted other non governmental groups and formed a new party called Qaumi Jamhori Party, an event which caused another split in the party. The party suffered a shock with Omar Asghar's mysterious death prior to the elections. After the elections on the insistence of party workers, Asghar Khan was elected party leader of the NJP.
[edit] Opposition to ISI role in Politics
Besides his role in electoral politics, Asghar Khan is particularly noted for his fierce opposition to the involvement of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency of Pakistan in Pakistani politics. His petition to the Pakistan Supreme Court which listed large sums of money used by the ISI in the creation of the Islami Jamhori Ittehad remains pending in the Supreme Court over the last decade.
[edit] Bibliography
- Khan, Mohammad Asghar(Lahore, 1983). Generals in Politics. Vikas
- Khan, Mohammad Asghar((January 1, 1979)). The first round, Indo-Pakistan war 1965. Vikas
- Khan, Mohammad Asghar. We have Learnt Nothing from History.Pakistan: Politics and Military Power. Published by Oxford University Press, Karachi
- Khan, Mohammad Asghar(1985). The Pakistan experience: State & religion. Vanguard Press.
