Gohar Ayub Khan
Gohar Ayub Khan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 20th Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office February 25, 1997 – August 7, 1998 | |
| President | Rafique Tarrar Wasiem Sajjad |
| Prime Minister | Navaz Sharif |
| Deputy | Siddiq Khan Kanju |
| Minister for Water and Power | |
| In office August 7, 1998 – October 12, 1999 | |
| President | Rafiq Tarrar |
| Prime Minister | Navaz Sharif |
| 14th Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan | |
| In office November 4, 1990 – October 17, 1993 | |
| President | Ghulam Ishaq Khan |
| Prime Minister | Navaz Sharif |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gohar Ayub Khan January 15, 1937 Rehana, North-West Frontier Province, British Indian Empire |
| Citizenship |  Pakistan |
| Nationality | People of Pakistan |
| Political party | Pakistan Muslim League (Navaz) |
| Other political affiliations | Independence Movement Islamic Democratic Alliance Pakistan Muslim League |
| Relations | Ayub Khan (Father) |
Gohar Ayub Khan (born January 1937) is a Pakistani politician and a son of the late Pakistani dictator, President General Ayub Khan. A Tareen/Tarin Afghan/Pathan, he was born in village Rehana, Haripur, Hazara region. Khan studied at Army Burn Hall College, Abbottabad, and Saint Mary's Academy, Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi. Later, he graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, U.K.. Thereafter, he joined the Pakistan Army, from which he resigned as a captain in 1962. He began to serve as his father's ADC during that period travelling with him on several foreign trips. Upon his resignation he began a lucrative business career and also entered politics.
Political Role in 1965 Presidential Election
His role in Karachi after his father's election in the allegedly rigged 1965 Presidential elections against Fatima Jinnah is a subject of criticism by many writers. Gohar Ayub it is said to have led a victory parade right into the heartland of opposition territory in Karachi, in a blatantly provocative move and the civil administrations failure to stop the rally led to a fierce clashes between opposing groups with many locals being killed.[1][2] Gohar Ayub also faced criticisms during that time on questions of family corruption and cronyism through his business links with his father-in-law retired Lt. General Habibullah Khan Khattak. One Western commentator in 1969 estimated Gohar Ayub's personal wealth at the time at $4 million dollars, while his families wealth was put in the range of $10–$20 million dollars.[3]
Speaker of National Assembly of Pakistan
Gohar Ayub had been elected five times to the National Assembly of Pakistan from his home constituency. He was first elected in March 1965 as a Muslim League candidate. In 1977, he contested the National Assembly seat from Peshawar Jail and was elected on the ticket of Asghar Khan's Tehrik-e-Istiqlal party through the aggressive campaigning of his wife. Gohar Ayub Khan has served as senior vice president of the Muslim League and was elected Speaker of the National Assembly after the 1990 general election, remaining in this post until 1993 elections. After re-election in 1993 Gohar Ayub became deputy leader of the opposition in the National Assembly. After the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz victory in 1997, he was appointed Foreign Minister by Nawaz Sharif.
Minister of Power and Water
In 1998 Gohar Ayub resigned his position and was reassigned as Federal Minister for Water and Power which he stayed until the ouster of the PML-N government in October 1999. Defecting from the PML-N to join the military-backed PML of Mian Azhar faction in 2001 he was appointed the Secretary General of the party. Unable to contest the 2002 election because of the graduation degree restriction introduced by Pervez Musharraf. In instead his son Omar Ayub Khan contested and won from his Haripur District seat, while his wife was elected MNA on the reserved women seats. His strongest political opponent in his constituency has been former Chief Minister Raja Sikander Zaman. His son Raja Aamir Zaman defeated Omar Ayub for District Nazim seat in 2002.
After retirement from electoral politics he authored Glimpses into the Corridors of Power and published his fathers diary.[4] He has recently became a prominent opponent of the renaming of NWFP to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and a supporter of the creation of a separate Hazara province.
Record of deliberate false statements
False accusation against Sam Maneckshaw
In May 2007, Gohar claimed that retired Indian Army Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw had sold some of Indian Army secrets to Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 for 20,000 rupees, but his accusations were dismissed by the Indian defence establishment who claimed "Gohar Khan is a madcap, with a history of making dubious claims and exaggerating. Don’t give credence to him." [5][6]
Baseless accusation against the Indian government
In December 2008, Khan confirmed suspicions that he consistently makes false statements when he accused[7] the Indian government itself of carrying out the Mumbai attacks. In response to a question on why the Pakistan government does not rein in terrorists like Yusuf Muzammil and Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Khan said "You (referring to India) had your own top man of intelligence (referring to Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad Chief Hemant Karkare) killed either by your own people or by these terrorists"[7].
References
- ^ A Sorry Beginning - Time
- ^ Mazari, Sherbaz 1999. A journey into disillusionment. Oxford University Press
- ^ Pick, Franz, World Currency report. April 1969
- ^ Khan, Ayub (26 April 2007)Diaries of Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan, 1966-1972. OUP Pakistan ISBN 0195474422
- ^ Military livid at Pak slur on Sam Bahadur. Times of India. 8th May 2007
- ^ Revenge for Manekshaw's role in '71 war? Times of India. 8th May. 2007
- ^ a b http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/mumbaiterrorstrike/video.aspx?id=46235
