Fida Mohammad Khan

Fida Mohammad Khan
16th Governor of North-West Frontier Province
In office
27 August 1986 – 16 June 1988
President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
Preceded by Abdul Ghafoor Khan Hoti
Succeeded by Amir Gulistan Janjua
Personal details
Born Fida Mohammad Khan
(1919-11-24)24 November 1919[1]
Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province, British Indian Empire
Died December 20, 2007(2007-12-20) (aged 88)[1]
Peshawar, KPK, Pakistan
Citizenship British Subject (1919–1947)
Pakistan (1947–2007)
Nationality Pakistan
Political party Pakistan Muslim League (N) (1988–2007)
Other political
affiliations		 All-India Muslim League (1939–1947)
Muslim League (1947–1958)
Pakistan Muslim League (1962–1988)
Residence Peshawar, Pakistan
Alma mater Edwardes College
(BA)
Aligarh Muslim University
(LLB)

Fida Mohammad Khan (Urdu: فدا محمد خان; 24November 1919 – 20 December 2007) was a Pakistani conservative economist and lawyer who served as the Governor of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province under the military government of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq from 1986 until 1988.[2] He was one of the founding members of the All-India Muslim League for its Northwest Frontier Province chapter before 1947.[1]

Early life and career

Born in 1919, Fida Khan was educated at the Peshawar University, graduated and earned his BA degree in Economics from the Edwardes College, and LLB degree in Economic law from Aligarh Muslim University in 1945.[1] During this time, Fida Khan joined All-India Muslim League and actively participated in Pakistan Movement, serving as the leading activist of Pakistan Movement in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[1][3] Fida Muhammad Khan was a veteran Muslim Leaguer and former Governor of NWFP. He had also served as an ex-senator, federal minister, provincial minister and a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan (MNA). He had represented Pakistan in the United Nations also at an early age of 27. As a young man, Fida Mohammad Khan took part in the independence movement. As All-India Muslim League - Peshawar chapter president, he played an active role in the 1947 referendum in the NWFP in which majority of voters opted for their province to become part of Pakistan.[1] The referendum was rejected and boycotted by the Pashtun nationalists led by Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan.

He also remained active in the All-India Muslim League's National Guards and Muslim Students Federation.[1] He subsequently served as central and provincial president of the Muslim League. Twice during his political career, Fida Mohammad Khan was elected member of the Senate. However, he never contested an assembly election. During General Ziaul Haq's martial law regime, he served as federal housing minister. He remained governor of the NWFP from 1986 to 1988.

Fida Mohammad was fond of narrating the story of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah's visit to Khyber Agency. Due to opposition by the Congress party of India and its ally, Khudai Khidmatgar movement, Jinnah's trip to Khyber Agency was considered risky. But Fida Mohammad Khan volunteered to drive Jinnah to Landikotal, where his father Tehmas Khan was serving as political Tehsildar.[1]

This was a historic trip as tribesmen gave a warm welcome to the Quaid-i-Azam and announced their allegiance to the All-India Muslim League. Quaid-i-Azam was driven to Torkham on the border with Afghanistan and brought back by Fida Mohammad Khan to Peshawar. For the young Fida, this was a memorable event and he never missed an opportunity to narrate the story. Though Fida Mohammad Khan always remained a Muslim Leaguer, he did join one or the other factions of the PML on different occasions. Once he joined the Nawaz Sharif faction and was made its head after a political coup removed Mohammad Khan Junejo as president of the Pakistan Muslim League in the 1980s.

Death, awards and recognition

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Fida Khan passes away, Dawn (newspaper), Published 21 December 2007, Retrieved 8 August 2017
  2. 1 2 3 Former NWFP governor Fida Mohammad Khan passes away, Business Recorder (newspaper), Published 21 December 2007, Retrieved 8 August 2017
  3. ↑ Fida Mohammad Khan's interview remembered by a veteran print journalist, The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 22 November 2014, Retrieved 8 August 2017
Political offices
Preceded by
Syed Usman Ali Shah		 Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
1987–1988		 Succeeded by
Amir Gulistan Janjua
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