George Ali Murad Khan

Khan was born on 29 June 1933 at Brighton, Sussex in United Kingdom to Mir Faiz Muhammad Khan II and Dulhan Pasha Begum. He studied at St Bonaventure's High School in Hyderabad followed by Aitchison College, Lahore, before graduating from the University of Cambridge.[1]

At an age of nine months, Khan was mistakenly shot by his father. Although the bullet passed through his right lung and stomach, he survived.[1]

Khan's father Faiz Muhammad Khan II was deposed by the British on 19 July 1947,[1] due to being declared mentally unfit.[2] On 24 July, he ascended the throne at Faiz Mahal[1] but a regency board, consisting of his close relatives was created to govern the state on his behalf, as he was a minor.[3]

During Khan's reign, Khairpur spanned over 15,700 square kilometres (6,050 sq mi) with a population of around 300,000[3] and a substantial part of the Lahore-Karachi railway track was within the state, thus making it a high-value territory for the newly formed Pakistan.[3] On 4 August 1947, the state government issued a notification declaring that 15 August would be celebrated as the state's independence day[3] and finally after rounds of negotiation,[4] on 3 October, Mir Ghulam Hussain Khan—one of the regents, signed the instrument of accession on behalf of Khan acceding the state to the Dominion of Pakistan.[3]

A supplementary instrument signed on 1 February 1949 considerably reduced the effective powers of Khan and the Durbar and not only took control of the armed forces but also bound the chief-minister to be appointed only after consultation with the national government. [5] The Government of Khairpur Act, 1949 was subsequently passed which initiated for quasi-democratic reforms and established a 15-member legislative assembly composed of local representatives.[6] It thus became one of the two states (the other one being Bahwalpur) of Pakistan, where universal adult franchise was enabled for the first time.[7] But, democratic ideals failed to develop,[7] given that the proceedings of the assembly were allowed to be veto-able by the Chief-minister and additionally, the Chief Minister was granted absolute authority to promulgate laws without the consent of the assembly.[6] In 1951, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan investitured an 18 year old Khan with absolute ruling powers and disbanded the regents-council.[1][8] The Government of Khairpur Act was soon passed in 1953 despite strong reservations of Khan, converting Khairpur into a province and consolidating further powers in the hands of centrally appointed chief-minister.[8] On 25 May 1954, the assembly passed a resolution that rejected proposals of being merged with Sindh.[9] Finally, on 10 November 1954, the state assembly was somewhat compelled to pass a resolution to absolutely merge with the Dominion of Pakistan and remove Khan's claim to any minimal extent of sovereignty.[9]

Khan's first wife was Ghulam Saddiquah Begum, the daughter of Nawab Sadeq Mohammad Khan V of Bahawalpur State, whom he married at the Sadiqgarh Palace in Bahawalpur.[1] His second wife was Alya Talpur, a daughter of religious scholar Rasheed Turabi. She died on 8 February 2019.[10] Khan fathered two sons, Abbas Raza Khan and Mehdi Raza Khan and one daughter Zahra from his second wife.[1]

Notes

References

• Long, Roger D.; Singh, Gurharpal; Samad, Yunas; Talbot, Ian (2015). State and Nation-Building in Pakistan: Beyond Islam and Security. Routledge. ISBN 9781317448204.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Wilcox, Wayne Ayres (1963). Pakistan. The Consolidation of a Nation. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231887700. OCLC 504316667.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)