The Dawn of New Era in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Abdul Qaiyum Khan Chief Ministership 1947-53
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THE DAWN OF NEW ERA IN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA: ABDUL QAIYUM KHAN CHIEF MINISTERSHIP 1947-53 SYED MINHAJ UL HASSAN NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE, QUAID-I-AZAM UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD - 2015 THE DAWN OF NEW ERA IN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA: ABDUL QAIYUM KHAN CHIEF MINISTERSHIP 1947-53 NIHCR Publication No.170 Copyright 2015 All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing from the Director, National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research, Centre of Excellence, Quaid-i-Azam University. Enquiries concerning reproduction should be sent to NIHCR at the address below: National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research Centre of Excellence, New Campus, Quaid-i-Azam University P.O. Box 1230, Islamabad-44000. Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Website: www.nihcr.edu.pk Published by Muhammad Munir Khawar, Publication Officer Printed at M/s. Roohani Art Press, Blue Area, Islamabad. Price Pak: Rs.600/- SAARC Countries: Rs.800/- ISBN: 978-969-415-111-3 US$ 15/- Dedicated to My Parents, Wife and Children Aitezaz, Sania, and Ahmad LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN ENDNOTES FGGEO: N-W.F.P. Governor-General Extra Ordinary GOPG: Government of Pakistan Gazette LAD: N-W.F.P. Legislative Assembly Debates, Peshawar NA: National Archives Islamabad NDC: National Documentation Centre, Islamabad PA: North-West Frontier Province Archives, Peshawar PAGG: N-W.F.P. Archives, Government Gazette PGG: N-W.F.P. Government Gazette PGGED: N-W.F.P. Government Gazette, Extra Ordinary CONTENTS List of Abbreviations Used in Footnotes vi Acknowledgements viii Preface x Forward xi Introduction xiii CHAPTER 1 Early Life and Rise to Power 1 CHAPTER 2 Political situation of the Province: A Historic Background 31 CHAPTER 3 Administration and Administrative Reforms 95 CHAPTER 4 Reforms and Progress 149 CHAPTER 5 Decline and Removal from Chief Ministership 229 Conclusion 242 Appendices 248 Bibliography 290 Index 297 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The successful completion of this work would not have been possible without the help, support, guidance, and encouragement of my peers, friends, teachers, and family members. Each one of them contributed in his/her own way and deserves a due mention and my heartfelt thanks. First and foremost, I thank my teacher and mentor, Abdul Karim Khan, who introduced me to the History of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa when joined the University of Peshawar as an MA student. I am indebted to my dissertation chair, Dr. Fazal Rahim Marwat without whose help and guidance this work would have taken longer. He was always prompt and punctual in giving me his feedback on my work. My gratitude goes to Dr. Sikander Hayat of the Department of History, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad who very kindly agreed to join us in this project. He guided me through the tiring and monotonous process of writing and rewriting different drafts. I owe my thanks to Arbab Fateh Mohammad Khan who very generously spared time from his busy schedule and helped arrange interviews for me with different personalities. Dr. Sher Zaman Taizai guided me through my research and provided me with useful material during my work. I thank him for his help. I also need to thank Shabir Raza for his kindness and cooperation. I am grateful to my colleagues and staff at the department, especially our librarian, Saifur Rahman for their concern about my work and for their words of encouragement. I am deeply indebted to the staff and officials of different libraries who provided me with useful material, documents, and help through the completion of this project: Mian Aazam Jan and other staff members of National Archives Islamabad; Ibrar Khan of the National Documentation Centre, Islamabad; staff of the Punjab Archives, Lahore; Main Library of the University of the Punjab, Lahore; Quaid-i-Azam Library, Lahore; Baagh-i-Jinnah, Lahore; Diyal Singh Library, Lahore; Seminar Library, Department of History, University of Peshawar; Islamia College Library, University of Peshawar; Pakistan Study Centre Library, University of Peshawar; and Ganjeena-i-Daanish Library, Area Study Centre, University of Peshawar. I am also grateful to my FRIENDS on campus who, in their own casual way, showed their interest in how I was doing; the enquiry was more of a reminder to hurry up. I am thankful to them for their friendship and their concern. I am especially thankful to Dr. Ihsan Ali for his help, and to Dr. Nasir Jamal Khattak for taking pains over going through this dissertation. Last but not the least, I owe my Acknowledgement ix heartfelt gratitude to my family members, especially my children, Aitezaz, Sania, Ahmad, and my wife for their support, patience, and perseverance. Without them and their encouragement, this work would not have seen the light of day. PREFACE The immediate period of the post-partition Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, formerly known as N-WFP, is of paramount importance in being the only province which had the government of the Khudai Khidmatgar, an ally of the All-India National Congress. Its history, nonetheless, revolves around the pre-partition era or the termination of the British Period there—an evasion of sorts that lures students of the history of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the then Governor General of Pakistan, using his constitutional powers vested in him by the Interim Constitution of Pakistan, dismissed the government of the Congress Chief Minister, Dr. Khan Sahib, and appointed the Muslim League Chief Minister, Khan Abdul Qaiyum Khan. The latter did not have majority in the assembly. Many believe that this action set an undemocratic trend in the formative phase of Pakistan, which, some argue, continued in the years to come. Qaiyum Khan started his political career in the All-India National Congress and later joined All-India Muslim League. He was a person of strong political convictions and as a member of Congress, vociferously advocated the rights of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The actions he took as the Chief Minister of the province show that he continued to cherish the pro-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa views. He ruled the province with an iron hand and believed that his ends justified his means. He has been severely criticized for the treatment of his political opponents whether they were from Muslim League or any other party. On the other hand, Qaiyum Khan has also been generously praised for the infrastructural and socio-economic development that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa witnessed during his term as the Chief Minister. Writing about the Qaiyum Khan era was indeed very challenging. Qaiyum Khan’s admirers and opponents blur the thin line between the person and the administrator. I have tried to be objective without leaning over to either side of the divide. How far I have succeeded is for the critics and students of history to determine. The fact is that Qaiyum Khan left an indelible mark on the history of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa—something that is of immense importance to students of history. Prof. Syed Minhaj ul Hassan, PhD Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong March 16, 2015 FORWARD ABDUL QAIYUM KHAN (1901-1981) was a controversial politician in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province (formerly called the North-West Frontier Province) of Pakistan. Khan Qaiyum or Qaiyum Khan, as he was known in the province, lived a binary political life. On both sides of the fence, he always stood larger than life. While his political opponents loved to loath and label him as the ‘butcher of Babarah,’ thousands of his followers showered him with all sorts of praises for his contributions to the Pakistan movement. In popular political parlance, Qaiyum Khan was synonymous with political intrigues. Known for his lust for political and administrative powers that served him well against his opponents, he was the St. Patrick of provincial police and state centralism. He could be rightly called anything but dishonest or corrupt. Even his harshest critics, and some quite magnanimously, recognized him for his greatest achievement, giving his province an institution of higher education, the University of Peshawar. Writing on the life of a political figure like Abdul Qaiyum Khan is like stirring history’ hornets’ nests both in streets and schools across the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province. Most writers unwittingly betrayed his litmus test for being either with him or against him, which, in simple words, means love him or hate him. Syed Minhaj ul Hassan will disappoint many lovers and haters of Abdul Qaiyum Khan. When signing on his research project for doctoral dissertation, Dr. Hassan knew full well the pitfalls in his search for sources to reconstruct the political life of Qaiyum Khan. While readers can judge for themselves, I would like to remind them to remain open-minded and non-partisan, the two hallmarks that characterize this book. I am glad that Dr. Hassan has rejected the extremists’ view on both sides: for and against the subject. His meticulous research and the quest for fairness amid a myriad of accounts have produced a balanced view of Abdul Qaiyum Khan. Like any valuable research product, the book is based on both published and unpublished archival sources in English, Urdu and Pashto languages. The book also has invaluable interviews of several political leaders and socioeconomic experts whose views counterbalance the narrative on both sides of the fence. xii The Dawn of New Era in KP: Abdul Qaiyum Khan Chief Ministership, 1947-53 I hope and pray that another researcher will continue on the research journey of Dr. Syed Minhaj ul Hassan, and complete the remainder life story of Abdul Qaiyum Khan from 1953 to 1981. Abdul-Karim Khan, PhD Professor of History Coordinator, Global Studies Program University of Hawaii System – Leeward Community College Pearl City, 96782, USA March 16, 2015 INTRODUCTION 14 August 1947 was the dawn of a new era for the Muslims of India as they successfully culminated their struggle in the form of creation of Pakistan.