Asghar Khan
Encyclopedia
Air Marshal
Air Marshal
Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...

 Asghar Khan is a Pakistani 3-star
3 star rank
An officer of three-star rank is a very senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-8. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members...

 rank general and politician who was the first native Air Force Commander-in-Chief
Chief of Air Staff (Pakistan)
The Chief of the Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force, abbreviated as CAS, is typically the highest ranking 4-star rank officer in the Pakistan Air Force, unless a four-star officer is appointed as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. The CAS is a senior and permanent member of the...

 of Pakistan Air Force
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...

. A politician and world war II veteran fighter pilot
Fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained in air-to-air combat while piloting a fighter aircraft . Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting...

, at the age of 36, he served as the youngest and first Pakistani head of the Pakistan Air Force
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...

 (PAF). Later on he was appointed as the head of the National flag carrier PIA (Pakistan International Airlines
Pakistan International Airlines
Pakistan International Airlines Corporation commonly known as PIA, is the flag carrier airline of Pakistan. The airline has its head office on the grounds of Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. and operates scheduled services to 24 domestic destinations and 38 international destinations in 27...

).

He is considered an honest politician who did not achieve all his political goals due to the principled stands that he took. His long career in the Air Force, running PIA and in politics spanned many of the key moments in Pakistan's history. He is also the author of a dozen books. During his long political career which included imprisonment, he was adopted as a Prisoner of Conscience by Amnesty International and was awarded the Gold Medal by the Pakistan Society of Human Rights. He has also been awarded the Jinnah Award by the Jinnah Society for outstanding services to the cause of democracy and for upholding the values and principles of Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a Muslim lawyer, politician, statesman and the founder of Pakistan. He is popularly and officially known in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam and Baba-e-Qaum ....

.

Early life

Air Marshal M. Asghar Khan is the son of Brigadier Thakur Rahmatullah Khan Bahadur (an Afridi Pathan from Tirah Valley) who served in the Kashmir Army. He was born in Jammu
Jammu
Jammu , also known as Duggar, is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...

, Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...

 on 17 January 1921. Asghar Khan was educated at the Prince of Wales's Royal Indian Military College, Dehradun
Dehradun
- Geography :The Dehradun district has various types of physical geography from Himalayan mountains to Plains. Raiwala is the lowest point at 315 meters above sea level, and the highest points are within the Tiuni hills, rising to 3700 m above sea level...

 from 1933 to 1939. He joined the Indian Military Academy in 1939, was commissioned in the Royal Deccan Horse in December 1941 and seconded to the Royal Indian Air Force in January 1942. He commanded a Flight of No. 9 Squadron Royal Indian Air Force in Burma in 1944 and 45 and took part in Air Operations against the Japanese.

Much of Asghar Khan's family which had left Tirah Valley in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province
North-West Frontier Province
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...

 (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) to settle in Kashmir, again migrated at the time of partition
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...

 to Abbottabad
Abbottabad
Abbottabad is a city located in the Hazara region of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in Pakistan. The city is situated in the Orash Valley, northeast of the capital Islamabad and east of Peshawar at an altitude of and is the capital of the Abbottabad District...

 in the North-West Frontier Province
North-West Frontier Province
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...

 and settled there. This included his parents and his ten siblings. He and all his brothers, except one, then joined the armed forces of Pakistan.

Career in the Air Force

Asghar Khan was originally commissioned in the Indian Army. At the outbreak of the war, when the Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...

 embarked on its expansion, a number of Army Officers transferred to the IAF. Asghar Khan was one of them and he was seconded to the Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...

 on 30 November 1940. He was one of the senior most officers in the IAF.

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, Indian Air Force, in 1945.

He was the first Indian Air Force officer to fly a jet fighter aircraft—a Gloster Meteor—whilst doing a fighter leader's course in UK in 1946. He is a graduate of the RAF Staff College UK, the Joint Services Staff College UK and the Imperial Defense College, London.

Career after partition

After the partition of British India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...

 in 1947 he became the first Pakistani commandant of the Royal Pakistan Air Force College at Risalpur
Risalpur
Risalpur is a city in Nowshera District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on the Nowshera-Mardan Road. It is nearly 45 km from Peshawar and 15 km from Mardan and is located at 34°4'52N 71°58'21E. In a basin some 1014 feet above sea level, it is bounded on the south and west by the Kabul and...

. In 1950s, he was also made the first DGen
Director-general
The term director-general is a title given the highest executive officer within a governmental, statutory, NGO, third sector or not-for-profit institution.-European Union:...

 of the Directorate-General
Directorate-General
A Directorate-General is a branch of an administration dedicated to a specific field of expertise.* The European Commission: Commission Directorates-General are each headed by a European Commissioner;* The European Patent Office: EPO Directorates-General;...

 for Air Operations (DGAO) of Pakistan Air Force. In the RPAF his prominent assignments before becoming the Commander-in-Chief at the age of 36, included the first command of what is now the PAF Academy, a tenure as Group Commander at Peshawar and tours at Air Headquarters as Director of Admin and of Assistant Chief of Air Staff.

Prominent among the major units he established during his tenure were the Fighter Leaders School, the PAF Staff College and the College of Aeronautical Engineering
College of Aeronautical Engineering
The College of Aeronautical Engineering is located at the Pakistan Air Force Academy, Risalpur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, and is affiliated with the National University of Sciences and Technology ....

. He also instituted the Inspectorate and initiated the tradition of regular air staff presentations. Two of his brothers, Squadran Leader Khalid Khan and Pilot Officer Asif Khan were killed during service with the Pakistan Air Force.

After independence Asghar Khan became the first Pakistan's Air Chief at the age of 36. He held the position of Air Chief for 8 years (1957–65) during which the PAF underwent all its expansion, re-equipping, and training programs. Asghar Khan, retired on 23 July 1965 i.e. six weeks before the 1965 Indo-Pak War
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. This conflict became known as the Second Kashmir War fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, the first having been fought in 1947...

. He was neither informed nor consulted before the launch of Operation Gibraltar
Operation Gibraltar
Operation Gibraltar was the codename given to the strategy of Pakistan to infiltrate Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of India, and start a rebellion against Indian rule...

.

Asghar Khan blamed President Ayub Khan and his Foreign Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto for the 1965 war and General Yahya Khan for the 1971 war which resulted in the breakup of Pakistan when Sheikh Mujibur Rehman's Awami League, which had won the election, was not allowed to form a government.

After retiring from the PAF in 1965, Asghar Khan served as the President of Pakistan International Airlines and Head of Tourism and Civil Aviation from August 1965 to November 1968.

Asghar Khan relinquished awards of 'Hilal-i-Pakistan' and 'Hilal-i-Quaid-i-Azam' as a protest against repressive policies of Field Marshal Ayub Khan in January 1969.

During the Liberation war of Bangladesh he did support the eastern part morally alleging the west Pakistan of depriving east from their political and economical right. He also demanded power to be handed over to the people of East Pakistan.

Political Career (1972–1978)

During Bhutto's rule from 1971 to 1977, Air Marshal Asghar Khan played a major role in opposition to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. During the 1977 elections, Asghar Khan allied his party, the Tehreek-i-Istiqlal with the Pakistan National Alliance
Pakistan National Alliance
The Pakistan National Alliance was a nine-party alliance in Pakistan, formed in 1977 in which the alliance agreed to run as a single bloc to overthrow the rule of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first elected leader of that country. It was a major and largest alliance formed against...

 (PNA) against the People's Party. It was during this period he and his party faced frequent attacks by Pakistan Peoples Party
Pakistan Peoples Party
The Pakistan Peoples Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International. Pakistan People's Party is the largest political party of Pakistan...

 supporters and from the brutal paramilitary Federal Security Force
Federal Security Force
Federal Security Force was a paramilitary force created by Pakistani President Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Established in 1972, created as a civil task force of the federal government, ostensibly...

. He was imprisoned in Kot Lakhpat and Sahiwal prisons from March to June 1977.

He contested two seats, one from Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...

 and the other from Abbotabad, despite alleged rigging by the ppp, Asghar Khan was elected by a huge margin from both seats. The PNA rejected the election results as rigged and launched a Nationwide agitation against the results. Asghar Khan resigned from both National Assembly seats as a mark of protest against massive rigging in the elections.

While imprisoned, Asghar Khan wrote a much criticized letter to 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 some as instrumental in encouraging the advent of the Zia regime. However, Asghar Khan strongly defended his letter as according to him nowhere in the letter had he asked for the military to take over and he had written it in response to a news story that he had read in which a Major had shot a civilian showing him the 'V' sign. 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.

Political Career (1978–1999)

When General Zia announced to hold the general elections in 1979 Air Marshal's Tehrik-e-Istiqlal
Tehrik-e-Istiqlal
Tehrik-e-Istiqlal Pakistan is a political party in Pakistan. It was formed by Air Marshal Retd. Asghar Khan in 1970. Asghar Khan has retired from the post of President of the party and is currently headed by [Asaf Fasifuddin Vardag], former Member of the senate.In 1979 Tehrik-e-Istiqlal Pakistan...

 became the most favorite party. A large number of big political figures of current politics were members of Tehrik-e-Istiqlal including Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri
Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri
Mian Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri is a Pakistani politician and diplomat. He was the Foreign Minister of Pakistan from 2002 to 2007.- Family background :Khurshid M. Kasuri belongs to one of the old political families of Pakistan...

, Aitzaz Ahsan
Aitzaz Ahsan
Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan is a Pakistani lawmaker, barrister, and politician from Pakistan's People's Party who served as President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan.-Early life and education:...

, Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, Javed Hashmi
Javed Hashmi
Makhdoom Muhammad Javed Hashmi is a Pakistani political scientist, geostrategist, statesman, and the central public figure of the PML...

, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, Mushahid Hussain Syed, Mehnaz Rafi, Raja Nadir Pervez
Raja Nadir Pervez
Major Raja Nadir Pervez Khan is a Pakistani politician, ex-MP of the Parliament, and former Pakistan Army officer. A former member of the Pakistan Army's 6 Punjab Regiment, Parvez was a minister in the Nawaz Sharif government during the 1990s. He is the brother-in-law of the former Corps Commander...

, Gohar Ayub Khan
Gohar Ayub Khan
Gohar Ayub Khan is a Pakistani politician and a son of the late Pakistani dictator, President General Ayub Khan. A Tareen/Tarin Afghan/Pathan, he was born in village Rehana, Haripur, Hazara region. Khan studied at Army Burn Hall College, Abbottabad, and Saint Mary's Academy, Rawalpindi,...

, Allama Ehsaan Elahi Zaheer, Malik Haider Usman, Nisar Khoro, Nafees Siddiqui, Ashraf Liaqat Ali Khan, Zafar Ali Shah, Allama Aqeel Turabi, Ahmed Raza Kasuri
Ahmed Raza Kasuri
Sahibzada Ahmed Raza Khan Kasuri is a former Pakistani politician from the Punjab province.-References:...

, Sher Afgan Niazi
Sher Afgan Niazi
Dr. Sher Afgan Khan Niazi is from the famous pashtun tribe of Niazi. He was the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs of Pakistan. He was elected to National Assembly as a member of Muslim League . Sher Afgan Niazi helped President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf to replace the judges of the Supreme...

, Manzoor Wattoo, Musheer Pesh Imam, Syeda Abida Hussain
Syeda Abida Hussain
Syeda Abida Hussain is a Pakistani politician. She is a former National Assembly member from Jhang, Punjab.Hussain is married to Syed Fakhar Imam also prominent Pakistani politician, who was the Speaker of the National Assembly in 1985-86...

, Syed Fakhar Imam and many others. But at the last movement Gen. Zia postponed the elections and Asghar Khan remained in house arrest for more than five years. Asghar Khan joined the newly formed Movement for Restoration of Democracy
Movement for Restoration of Democracy
The Movement for the Restoration of Democracy was a major alliance formed by Secular-Socialist democratic political forces aiming to end the General Zia-ul-Haq's martial law and military dictatorship in the country. It was formed in February 1981. The alliance was aimed at restoring democracy and...

 (MRD) in 1983 and was detained by the government. He was kept under house arrest at his Abbotabad residence from 16 October 1979 to 2 October 1984 and was adopted a 'Prisoner of Conscience' by Amnesty International. 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 from the platform of newly formed Pakistan Awami Ittehad (Pakistan People's Alliance) but this Alliance was defeated. Opposing the government of Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...

, Asghar Khan led his party to join the People's Democratic Alliance. Contesting in 1990 from Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...

, Asghar Khan once again faced defeat. Briefly retiring from active politics in the late 1990s his party faced another one of its many splits.

Political Career (1999–)

His son Omar Asghar Khan
Omar Asghar Khan
Omar Asghar Khan was a Pakistani economist, social, political scientist. A professor of Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the Quaid-i-Azam University, he was the founder of Qaumi Jamhoori Party ....

 served as Federal minister in Pervaiz Musharraf's government. After his resignation from the cabinet he took over Tehrik-e-Istiqlal
Tehrik-e-Istiqlal
Tehrik-e-Istiqlal Pakistan is a political party in Pakistan. It was formed by Air Marshal Retd. Asghar Khan in 1970. Asghar Khan has retired from the post of President of the party and is currently headed by [Asaf Fasifuddin Vardag], former Member of the senate.In 1979 Tehrik-e-Istiqlal Pakistan...

 from his father. He subsequently merged it with assorted other non governmental groups and formed a new party called Qaumi Jamhoori Party, an event which caused another split in the party. The party suffered a shock when Omar Asghar Khan was killed in suspicious circumstances in Karachi on June 25 prior to the elections. An inquiry into his death was ordered by the Sindh High Court and in spite of repeated requests, it was never started.

Personal life

He has also authored many famous writing i.e. We’ve Learnt Nothing from History, Pakistan and The Crossroads,General In politics,
Asghar Khan married Amina Shamsie in 1946.

They have four children, Nasreen, Shereen, Omar (deceased)and Ali.

Currently he is in the honour list by the Govt. Of Bangladesh for his contribution and support in the Bangladesh Liberation war. He has also been seeking for Nationality Of Bangladesh to their Embassy in Pakistan as he considers Bengalis his own people like they were before 1971.

Books

1. The First Round -- Indo-Pakistan War 1965
2. Pakistan at the Cross Roads
3. Generals in Politics
4. The Lighter side of the Power Game
5. We've Learnt Nothing from History
6. My Political Struggle
7. Milestones in a Political Journey
8. Chehray nahi Nizam ko Badlo

External links

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