Sardar
Abdul Qayyum Khan
President of Azad Kashmir
In office
1 October 1985 – 20 July 1991
Preceded byAbdul Rahman Khan
Succeeded bySahibzada Ishaq Zaffar (acting)
In office
30 October 1970 – 16 April 1975
Preceded byAbdul Rahman Khan (acting)
Succeeded bySardar Ibrahim Khan
In office
8 September 1956 – 13 April 1957
Preceded byMirwaiz Yusuf Shah
Succeeded bySardar Ibrahim Khan
Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir
In office
29 July 1991 – 29 July 1996
Preceded byRaja Mumtaz Hussain
Succeeded bySultan Mehmood Chaudhry
Personal details
Born(1924-04-04)4 April 1924[1]
Ghaziabad, Poonch district, Jammu and Kashmir, British India
Died10 July 2015(2015-07-10) (aged 91)[1]
Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan[1]
Political partyAll Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference
RelationsAttique Ahmed Khan (son)

Sardar Muhammad Abdul Qayyum Khan (also known as ʻAbdul Qayyūm K̲h̲ān, Urdu: سردار محمد عبدالقيوم خان) was a Kashmiri politician who also served as the president and prime minister of Azad Kashmir. He also remained President of All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference for over 20 years.[2] He belonged to the Dhund-Abbassi Tribe.

Early life and career

Sardar Abdul Qayyum was born on 4 April 1924 in Ghaziabad, Bagh tehsil (Poonch jagir), then part of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir into an Abbasi family. After completing his secondary education in Jammu, he joined the Engineers Corps of the British Indian Army and served in Africa and the Middle East.[3][1]

1947 Kashmir conflict

He actively participated in the Kashmiri freedom struggle. His title Mujahid-e-Awwal (the first holy warrior) is based on the belief that he is the person who fired the first shot in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.[1]

Political career

In 1951, he joined the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference. He was elected president of this body a record 14 times during his lifetime.[1] He was elected as President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) state three times in 1956, 1971, and 1985.[2] "Towards the end of his term, his relations with then prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto started turning sour. As a result, in 1974, Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan was removed from the office of the president through a vote of no confidence."[3]

He also remained Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir from 1991 to 1996. In 2002, he was made chairman of the National Kashmir Committee. His son Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan also became Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir in 2006 and then again in 2010.[3]

Writer

He is the author of dozens of books on the Kashmir Freedom Struggle (Kashmir conflict). He also wrote on political, mystic, spiritual and religious topics.[2] Some of the publications include:

  • Kashmir seeks attention
  • Kashmir problem : options for settlement? : a geopolitical analysis
  • Kashmīr bane gā Pākistān.
  • Āzād Kashmīr men̲ Islāmī qavānīn kā nafāz̲, on the enforcement of Islamic laws in Azad Kashmir during 1971–1975; speeches and articles previously published separately in various journals.
  • Muqaddamah-yi Kashmīr, a historical study on the Kashmir dispute.

Death and legacy

He died in Rawalpindi on 10 July 2015.[1] The Azad Kashmir government announced a three-day mourning period on his death.[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Obaid Abbasi, Profile and obituary of Muhammad Abdul Qayyum Khan, The Express Tribune, 11 July 2015, Retrieved 20 May 2017
  2. 1 2 3 4 Sarwar, Awan. "Sar Muhammad Abdul Qayyum no more". pakobserver.net. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Tariq Naqqash, Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan – End of an era, Dawn, Updated 11 July 2015, Retrieved 20 May 2017
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