ISLAMABAD: The 61st martyrdom anniversary of the country's first prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan was observed on Tuesday.
Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan was born on October 1, 1896 in Karnal (Punjab), India. He graduated from Anglo Oriental College in 1918. He refused to join Indian civil service and left for England for higher education.
He returned to sub-continent in 1923 after completing his studies. Soon after his return, he decided to join politics.
He was a member of the United Provinces Legislative Council from 1926-1940. He was also the leader of the Democratic Party of the Council.
In 1937, he went to London as a member of the Indo-British Trade Delegation. When Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah reorganized the All India Muslim League in 1936, Liaquat Ali Khan was elected its honorary general secretary.
In 1940, he was elected to the central legislative assembly and became the deputy leader of the Muslim League. He was the convener of the Action Committee of the League and member of the Parliamentary Board in 1943.
In 1946, he was appointed as a member of the Governor General's Executive Council and the leader of the Muslim League Party in the Indian interim government. He held the portfolio of finance minister, becoming the first Indian Finance Minister. The budget for 1947-48 which he presented was acclaimed throughout the country as a 'Poor man's Budget'.
On August 14, 1947, he became the first Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence of Pakistan.
He wielded effective power and provided dynamic leadership to Pakistan during the most crucial phase of its history. In 1950, he signed the "Liaquat- Nehru Pact" in New Delhi to address the the problem of minorities.
After independence, Quaid-i-Azam and Muslim League appointed Liaquat Ali to be the head of Pakistan government. Being the first prime minister of the country, he had to deal with a number of difficulties facing the country in its early days.
He presented the Objectives Resolution in the Legislative Assembly which was passed on March 12, 1949. Under his leadership a team also drafted the first report of the Basic Principle Committee.
He died at the hands of an assassin on October 16 1951 while addressing a public meeting at Rawalpindi and was buried in the courtyard of the Quaid-e- Azam's mausoleum.
His last words were "KHUDA PAKISTAN KI HIFAZAT KARAY". His assassination was the first political murder of any civilian leader in Pakistan.
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