Central Government of Liaquat Ali Khan | |
---|---|
1st Cabinet of Pakistan | |
1947-1951 | |
Date formed | 15 August 1947 |
Date dissolved | 16 October 1951 |
People and organisations | |
Governor-General | Muhammad Ali Jinnah Khawaja Nazimuddin |
Head of government | Liaquat Ali Khan |
Member party | Muslim League |
Status in legislature | Absolute majority 100 / 100 (100%) |
History | |
Legislature terms | 1st Constituent Assembly of Pakistan |
Predecessor | Interim |
The Liaquat Ali Khan government, commonly abbreviated as the L.A Khan government or Ali Khan administration was the first government and cabinet of Pakistan [a] which ruled from 1947 to 1951, and was led by Liaquat Ali Khan.
The government was founded on 15 August 1947, almost immediately after the Partition of India and Pakistan's independence. The founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah tasked Liaquat Ali Khan, a leading figure in Pakistan's independence to form an administration and consolidate the new Pakistani governments’ control, while Jinnah himself opted for the more the ceremonial position of head of state (Governor-General). [1]
The administration would be led by the newly formed Muslim League, while the cabinet would be composed of several Pakistan movement activists and members of the Muslim League. The government's main focus was recovering from the bloody partition of India, which took the lives of over 1 million people. The government also faced increasing challenges from Communist opposition, Princely state annexations and mainly the outbreak of war with India. [2] The government tenure of Liaquat Ali Khan oversaw the consolidation of the new state of ‘Pakistan’, he did so effectively by laying the administrative groundwork for Pakistan's constitution in the 1949 Objectives Resolution. [3]
Liaquat's government would not function as a democracy; instead Muslim League-rule was implemented. The legislature of the government would consist of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. The governor-general, Jinnah died in 1948 and was replaced by Khawaja Nazimuddin who ruled till the governments end in 1951.
The government would dissolve in 1951, when Liaquat Ali Khan would be assassinated under mysterious circumstances. Governor-general Khawaja Nazimuddin would then take office as second prime minister of Pakistan and would form the second government in Pakistan's history after Liaquat died, though the same cabinet and constituent assembly continued from Liaquat's government. [4]
Liaquat Ali Khan's cabinet, called the Ali Khan Cabinet consisted of many seasoned politicians, statesmen and activists of the Pakistan Movement, with Liaquat himself regarded as a seasoned politician. [5]
Upon the cabinet's formation, Liaquat Ali Khan, alongside his already existing role as prime minister, assumed the roles of Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister of Defence, and Minister of States and Frontier Regions. Though, as the government and cabinet progressed, these roles were handed over to multiple diverse ministers.
Ministerial office | Officer holder | Term | Party | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Prime Minister | Liaquat Ali Khan | 1947–1951 | ML | |
Foreign Affairs | Sir Zafrullah Khan | 1947–1954 | ML | |
Treasury, Economic | Malik Ghulam | 1947–1954 | IND | |
Law, Justice, Labor | Jogendra Nath Mandal | 1947–1951 | ML | |
Interior | Khwaja Shahabuddin | 1948–1951 | ML | |
Defence | Iskander Mirza | 1947–1954 | ML | |
Science advisor | Salimuzzaman Siddiqui | 1951–1959 | N/A [b] | |
Education, Health | Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry | 1947–1956 | ML | |
Finance, Statistics | Sir Victor Turner | 1947–1951 | N/A [c] | |
Minorities, Women | Sheila Irene Pant | 1947–1951 | N/A [d] | |
Communications | Abdur Rab Nishtar | 1947–1951 | ML |
On 14 August 1947, The Partition of India began as Pakistan was declared as an independent state and Jinnah was placed as Pakistan's first Governor-General. [1] Following this on 15 August 1947, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan formed an administration, Liaquat Ali Khan was sworn in as first prime minister of Pakistan. Ministries, cabinets and the government were all formed. [6] In the following months of the governments formation, refugees from the partition were taken, courts, juries, agencies and positions were established, relations and embassies with foreign nations were also established.
In October 1947, following tensions skyrocketing between the Dominions of India and Pakistan over the princely state of Jammu & Kashmir, the Indo-Pakistani war of 1947-48 broke out. [7]
On 11 September 1948, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Governor-General died in office due to tuberculosis. Four days later, on 14 September 1948, Khawaja Nazimuddin is chosen as the second governor-general of Pakistan following Jinnah's death.
On 1 January 1949, the Indo-Pakistani war of 1947-48 officially ended with a proclamation of a ceasefire by the United Nations. [8]
On 7 March 1949, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan presented the Objectives Resolution unto the Constituent assembly of Pakistan, Out of 75 members of the assembly, 21 voted for opposing it. All the amendments proposed by minority members were rejected. Consequently, all ten of them voted against it. The resolution was passed and laid the groundwork for Pakistan's future constitutions. [3]
In March 1951, members of the Communist Party of Pakistan plotted to overthrow the L.A Khan government in the Rawalpindi Conspiracy. The plot failed and the conspirators were arrested by Liaquat's government law enforcement. [9]
On 16 October 1951, Prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan is shot twice and dies in office due to his injuries, dissolving the government. [10]
The first unicameral legislature of Pakistan formed after the partition of India. There were 100 Members of Parliament, including 44 from East Bengal, 17 from West Punjab, 3 from the Northwest Frontier Province, 4 from Sindh, and 1 from Balochistan. Four of West Punjab's 17 allocated seats were laid vacant. [4]
Liaquat Ali Khan was a Pakistani lawyer, politician and statesman who served as the first prime minister of Pakistan from 1947 until his assassination in 1951. He was as pivotal to the consolidation of Pakistan as the Quaid-i-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was central to the creation of Pakistan. He was one of the leading figures of the Pakistan Movement and is revered as Quaid-e-Millat and later on as "Shaheed e Millat".
Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin was a Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the second governor-general of Pakistan from 1948 to 1951, and later as the second prime minister of Pakistan from 1951 to 1953.
Nurul Amin was a Pakistani politician and jurist who served as the eighth prime minister of Pakistan from 7 December to 20 December 1971. His term of only 13 days as prime minister was the shortest served in Pakistani parliamentary history. He was also the only Vice President of Pakistan.
Sir Malik Ghulam Muhammad was a Pakistani politician and economist who served as the third governor-general of Pakistan from 1951 to 1955.
Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar was a Pakistani politician who served as the sixth prime minister of Pakistan, appointed in this capacity on 17 October 1957. He resigned due to a vote of no confidence on 11 December 1957, against him.
The Lahore Resolution, also called the Pakistan Resolution, was a formal political statement adopted by the All-India Muslim League on the occasion of its three-day general session in Lahore, Punjab, from 22 to 24 March 1940, calling for a separate homeland for the Muslims of British India.
From 14 August 1947 to 23 March 1956, Pakistan was an independent federal dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations. It was founded by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament.
East Bengal was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 1955, when it was renamed as East Pakistan. East Bengal had a coastline along the Bay of Bengal to the south, and bordered India to the north, west, and east and shared a small border with Burma to the southeast. It was situated near, but did not share a border with Nepal, Tibet, the Kingdom of Bhutan and the Kingdom of Sikkim. Its capital was Dacca, now known as Dhaka.
Events from the year 1947 in Pakistan.
Events from the year 1948 in Pakistan.
Events from the year 1949 in Pakistan.
Events from the year 1951 in Pakistan.
The history of East Bengal and East Pakistan from 1947 to 1971 covers the period of Bangladesh's history between its independence as a part of Pakistan from British colonial rule in 1947 to its independence from Pakistan in 1971.
The Muslim League was the original successor of the All-India Muslim League that led the Pakistan Movement to achieve an independent nation. Five of the country's Prime Ministers have been affiliated with this party, namely Liaquat Ali Khan, Khwaja Nazimuddin, Mohammad Ali Bogra, Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, and Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar. The Muslim League was defeated in the 1955 elections to the Constituent Assembly by a political alliance known as the United Front. However, Prime Minister Chaudhry Mohammad Ali and later Prime Minister Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar were appointed to lead a minority government. The party was dissolved in 1958 after the declaration of Martial Law by General Muhammad Ayub Khan, the Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army.
Sardar Amir Azam was a Pakistani politician and entrepreneur. Azam was a cabinet minister during the 1950s and was the pioneer of low cost housing in Pakistan. He initially emerged in 1951 as an MCA in the very first Pakistani government headed by Liaquat Ali Khan, and later re-emerged as the Minister of State and the Central Minister, several times in the succeeding Pakistani governments. He held multiple portfolios simultaneously. He is buried at Garhi Afghanan,near Taxila, his ancestral graveyard.
From 1947 to 1956, the Dominion of Pakistan was a self-governing country within the Commonwealth of Nations that shared a monarch with the United Kingdom and the other Dominions of the Commonwealth. The monarch's constitutional roles in Pakistan were mostly delegated to a vice-regal representative, the governor-general of Pakistan.
Mahmud Husain Khan was a Pakistani historian, educationist, and politician, known for his role in the Pakistan Movement, and for pioneering the study of social sciences. He served as Minister for Kashmir Affairs from 1951 to 1953 and Minister for Education in 1953, as well as minister of state in Pakistan's first cabinet under Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan.
The Bengal Legislative Assembly was the largest legislature in British India, serving as the lower chamber of the legislature of Bengal. It was established under the Government of India Act 1935. The assembly played an important role in the final decade of undivided Bengal. The Leader of the House was the Prime Minister of Bengal. The assembly's lifespan covered the anti-feudal movement of the Krishak Praja Party, the period of World War II, the Lahore Resolution, the Quit India movement, suggestions for a United Bengal and the partition of Bengal and partition of British India.
The Bengal Provincial Muslim League (BPML) was the branch of the All India Muslim League in the British Indian province of Bengal. It was established in Dhaka on 2 March 1912. Its official language was Bengali. The party played an important role in the Bengal Legislative Council and in the Bengal Legislative Assembly, where two of the Prime Ministers of Bengal were from the party. It was vital to the creation of the Dominion of Pakistan, particularly after its election victory in 1946.
Governor-General Ghulam Mohammad dismissed Pakistani Prime Minister Khawaja Nazimuddin's government in 1953 despite the Prime Minister enjoying the support of the Constituent Assembly and, subsequently, dismissed Pakistan's first constituent assembly in 1954, steps later described as Pakistan's constitutional coup given that Ghulam Mohammad was the representative of the head of state and Queen of Pakistan, Elizabeth II.
K. Sarwar Hasan, 1951. THE FOREIGN POLICY OF MR. LIAQUAT ALI KHAN