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Azad Kashmir politician
Sardar
Muhammad Abdul Qayyum Khan
(also known as
?Abdul Qayy?m K?h??n
,
Urdu
: ????? ???? ????????? ???) was a Kashmiri politician who also served as the
president
and
prime minister of Azad Kashmir
. He also remained President of
All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference
for over 20 years.
[2]
He belonged to the
Dhund-Abbassi Tribe
.
Early life and career
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Sardar Abdul Qayyum was born on 4 April 1924 in Ghaziabad,
Bagh tehsil
(
Poonch jagir
), then part of the princely state of
Jammu and Kashmir
into an
Abbasi
family. After completing his secondary education in
Jammu
, he joined the Engineers Corps of the British Indian Army and served in Africa and the Middle East.
[3]
[1]
1947 Kashmir conflict
[
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He actively participated in the Kashmiri freedom struggle. His title
Mujahid-e-Awwal
(the first holy warrior) is based on the belief that he is the person who fired the first shot in the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1947
.
[1]
Political career
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In 1951, he joined the
All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference
. He was elected president of this body a record 14 times during his lifetime.
[1]
He was elected as
President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir
(AJK) state three times in 1956, 1971, and 1985.
[2]
"Towards the end of his term, his relations with then prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto started turning sour. As a result, in 1974, Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan was removed from the office of the president through a vote of no confidence."
[3]
He also remained Prime Minister of
Azad Kashmir
from 1991 to 1996. In 2002, he was made chairman of the National Kashmir Committee. His son
Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan
also became Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir in 2006 and then again in 2010.
[3]
Writer
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He is the author of dozens of books on the Kashmir Freedom Struggle (
Kashmir conflict
). He also wrote on political, mystic, spiritual and religious topics.
[2]
Some of the publications include:
- Kashmir seeks attention
- Kashmir problem : options for settlement? : a geopolitical analysis
- Kashm?r bane g? P?kist?n
.
- ?z?d Kashm?r men? Isl?m? qav?n?n k? naf?z?
,
on the enforcement of Islamic laws in Azad Kashmir during 1971?1975; speeches and articles previously published separately in various journals.
- Muqaddamah-yi Kashm?r
,
a historical study on the Kashmir dispute.
Death and legacy
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He died in Rawalpindi on 10 July 2015.
[1]
The Azad Kashmir government announced a three-day mourning period on his death.
[2]
See also
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References
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]