Abdul Wali Khan: Legacy of a Pashtun Leader (1917-2006)
November 15, 2023
Abdul Wali Khan (11 January 1917 – 26 January 2006) was a Pakistani democratic socialist and president of the Awami National Party. The son of Pashtun nationalist leader Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Wali Khan actively participated in non-violent resistance against the British Raj, following in his father’s footsteps. Educated at Colonel Brown Cambridge School, Dehra Dun, he later joined the Indian National Congress. This information is sourced from ZRMNews.
After Pakistan’s creation in 1947, Wali Khan, associated with the Congress, became a arguable discern in Pakistani politics due to his stance in opposition to the formation of Pakistan. in spite of this, he have become a respected baby-kisser, contributing to Pakistan’s 1/3 constitution and leading protests for democracy recuperation inside the 1960s and Nineteen Eighties. inside the Nineteen Seventies, he served as the parliamentary leader of the opposition in Pakistan’s first at once elected parliament.
Early Life:
Wali Khan, born on eleven January 1917 in Utmanzai, Charsadda district, belonged to a circle of relatives of neighborhood landlords deeply involved in the Pashtun Nationalist motion. His father, Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Bacha Khan), was a distinguished figure within the Khudai Khidmatgar movement. in spite of his pacifist upbringing, Wali Khan, the second one of 3 sons, faced adversity for the duration of a British military operation in 1930, narrowly escaping dying.
He received early schooling at the Azad Islamia college in Utmanzai, a part of his father’s network of faculties related to the Khudai Khidmatgar movement. In 1933, he attended Colonel Brown Cambridge school in Dehra Dun however did not pursue similarly training due to ordinary eyesight troubles.
As a younger freedom fighter, Wali Khan, regardless of his pacifist historical past, expressed frustration with his father’s pacifism. He recounted an interaction with Gandhi, questioning the efficacy of non-violence whilst faced with approaching chance. no matter his preliminary views, he later liked Gandhiji’s angle on non-violence.
His adolescence also saw private demanding situations, consisting of the demise of his first wife in 1949 whilst he became in prison. In 1954, he married Nasim Wali Khan, the daughter of a Khudai Khidmatgar activist.
Politics: 1958–1972
In 1962, Ayub Khan proposed a new constitution and declared his candidacy for the upcoming Presidential election. Wali Khan, as an competition leader, supported Fatima Jinnah, the consensus candidate, against Ayub Khan. regardless of their efforts, Ayub Khan changed into re-elected in 1964, amid allegations of vote rigging and internal divisions within the competition.
Tensions escalated in 1967, main to the formal cut up of the national Awami party into Wali Khan and Bhashani factions. Wali Khan became the President of his faction. In 1968, widespread unrest in opposition to Ayub Khan’s rule brought on negotiations among the opposition, together with Wali Khan, and Ayub Khan for the healing of democracy.
In may also 1969, notwithstanding compromises on some issues, Ayub Khan resigned below pressure from the navy. preferred Yahya Khan took over and introduced elections in 1970. The effects saw Sheikh Mujib-ur Rehman winning in East Pakistan, and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto securing considerable seats in West Pakistan. notwithstanding the Awami League’s victory, the navy government rejected the results, main to the occasions that culminated inside the introduction of Bangladesh.
In 1971, Wali Khan, together with other politicians, tried to assist Sheikh Mujib in forming a government, but the military crackdown in East Pakistan proceeded. Wali Khan protested the navy operation, main to the banning of the national Awami celebration and mass arrests of its activists through the military government.
Politics: 1972–1990
In 1972, as the opposition leader, Wali Khan engaged in negotiations with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to boost martial law and set up a new charter, ensuing in the Tripartite settlement. This accord brought about the elimination of martial regulation and the ban at the country wide Awami birthday celebration. despite initial cooperation, tensions among Khan and Bhutto escalated.
In 1973, a bloodbath at Liaquat Bagh heightened ethnic tensions among Pashtuns. regardless of this, Wali Khan continued talks with Bhutto, main to the passage of Pakistan’s best “unanimous” constitution in August 1973. however, closing-minute disagreements arose, and Khan’s efforts to prevent the attention of power in Bhutto’s workplace faced challenges.
After Hayat Sherpao’s assassination in 1974, Bhutto accused Wali Khan and the national Awami birthday party, main to their ban and the arrest of its management. The Hyderabad tribunal performed a widely discredited trial.
In 1986, Wali Khan and others formed the Awami countrywide birthday party (ANP), and he have become its first President. The ANP contested the 1988 elections in alliance with the Pakistan Peoples’ birthday party but confronted limited achievement. The ANP-PPP alliance collapsed in 1989, prompting Wali Khan to join the opposition and align with the Islamic Democratic Alliance earlier than the 1990 standard elections.
Dying and Criticisms:
Wali Khan exceeded away because of a coronary heart assault on January 26, 2006, in Peshawar, Pakistan. He become laid to rest in his ancestral village in Uthmanzai, Charsadda. the general public and political leaders, inclusive of prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, attended his funeral. Condolence messages had been obtained from Pakistani President Pervaiz Musharraf, Indian top Minister Manmohan Singh, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Wali Khan is survived by way of his wife Nasim Wali Khan, 3 daughters, and two sons. His eldest son, Asfandyar Wali Khan, keeps the circle of relatives‘s political legacy and presently serves because the President of the Awami countrywide party in Pakistan.