Asghar Khan
Air Marshal Muhammad Asghar Khan (Retd.) (Urdu: اصغر خان 17 January 1921 – 5 January 2018), was a Pakistani politician and an autobiographer, later a dissident serving the cause of pacifism, peace, and human rights.
Air Marshal Muhammad Asghar Khan Shaheen-i-Pakistan | |
|---|---|
Asghar Khan (1921–2018) | |
| President of Pakistan International Airlines | |
| In office 20 August 1965 – 30 November 1968 | |
| Preceded by | Mirza Ahmad Ispahani |
| Succeeded by | Air-Mshl. Nur Khan |
| Director-General of the Civil Aviation Authority | |
| In office 1965–1968 | |
| Commander in Chief of Pakistan Air Force | |
| In office 23 July 1957 – 22 July 1965 | |
| President | Ayub Khan (1960–65) Iskander Mirza (1956–59) |
| Deputy | Air-Mshl. Sharbat Changezi (Deputy Air Cdr-in-C) |
| Preceded by | AVM Arthur McDonald |
| Succeeded by | AM. Nur Khan |
| Chairman of the Solidarity Movement | |
| In office 29 June 1970 – 12 December 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Party established |
| Succeeded by | Imran Khan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mohammad Asghar Khan 17 January 1921 Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, British India (present day Jammu and Kashmir, India) |
| Died | 5 January 2018 (aged 96) Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Cause of death | Cardiac arrest |
| Resting place | Abbottabad, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan |
| Citizenship | British India (1921–1947) Pakistan (1947–2018) |
| Political party | Pakistan Movement For Justice (2012–2018) |
| Other political affiliations | Solidarity Movement (1970–2012) National Democratic Party (1964–1970) |
| Children | Omar Asghar Khan (son) Ali Asghar Khan (son) |
| Civilian awards | Hilal-e-Pakistan Hilal-i-Quaid-i-Azam Order of Crown Order of the Crown of Thailand: vii |
| Nickname(s) | Shaheen-i-Pakistan Night Flyer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | British India Pakistan |
| Branch/service | British Indian Army Royal Indian Air Force Pakistan Air Force |
| Years of service | 1939–68 |
| Rank | Air Marshal |
| Unit | 9th Deccan Horse, Armored Corps |
| Commands | Pakistan Air Force Academy Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, Air AHQ Peshawar Air Force Base No. 9 Squadron, RIAF |
| Battles/wars |
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| Military awards | Crosses of Aeronautical Merit |
Born into a military family, Asghar Khan briefly served as an officer in the Indian Army before being deputed to the Royal Indian Air Force (IAF) as a military adviser in 1941— he was later drafted into the IAF as its commanding officer on the Asian front of World War II. After the Partition of India In 1947, Khan chose to join the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and later secured promotion as a three star rank air officer when he was appointed in 1957 as Commander-in-chief to command the PAF at the age of 36 – the youngest officer at the command level in the Pakistani military at that time. In 1965, his dissent with General Musa Khan, the Army Commander in Chief, over the Operation Gibraltar area contingency plans, and vetoing decisions to go on the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, eventually led to his replacement with Air Marshal Malik Nur Khan. Asghar Khan continued to serve with his rank when he was deputed as a Pakistan International Airlines's executive, until retiring in 1968.
After his retirement from the military in 1968, Asghar Khan founded the Tehrik-e-Istiqlal (Solidarity Party) with a secular and centrist political program in direct opposition to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML), but failed to make any significant impact in the 1970 Pakistani general elections. From the 1970s–90s, Khan's political career focused towards the 'Dharna' or 'politics of agitation', against the elected civilian governments, and gained notability when he filed multiple lawsuits, over the Mehrangate bank scandal, against the PPP and the PML(N) at the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the 1990s. During this time, Khan authored many political books, some very critical or given dissenting criticism of the Pakistan Army's involvement in national politics.
In 2011, Khan merged his party with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Pakistan Movement for Justice). Khan died in January 2018 and was buried with full state honours.