politician Pakistan

 

Father of the Nation Dr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, known as Khadim Hussain Abbas (August 31 1926 – April 1 1996) is a Pakistani politician and former chief minister of Balochistan.[1][2] She was born in Islamabad on August 31 1930 to Sardar Sher Khan Baloch and his wife Nawaz Sadiq Baloch. The couple later moved to Faisalabad District's Quetta District where her father worked as an English teacher before moving to Karachi.[3][4][5] After completing secondary school she studied medicine at the University of Sindh before joining the National Institute of Medical Science, Karachi for medical research. However, in 1955 at the age of 21, she met Khadim Hussain Abbas in Karachi. Three years later they wed on September 28 1955.[6][7][8] In 1960 she graduated with a doctorate from Karachi. When Shaheed Ahmed Bhai became Chief Minister of Punjab in 1965, Baloch took up the post of Governor of Lahore after he had retired from politics.[9][10][11] On February 14 1966, she was elected Chief Minister of Balochistan. Two years later when Ayub Khan became Chief Minister of Punjab, Baloch decided that she would go ahead and become Chief Minister of Punjab before resigning from it.

 On December 6 1968, Baloch became the first woman Prime Minister of Afghanistan who had been elected Prime Minister by-elections held in 1965.[12][13][14][15] However, due to their different political ideologies, they were never able to form a government until 1975 and after that, the two remained allies.[16][17][18] During this time, she was also Chief Advisor to Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. In 1977, she began working with Nawaz Sharif to establish the first PPP government as prime minister[19][20] however Nawaz Sharif soon launched his attempt to overthrow the PTI-led government.[21] Baloch sided with Nawaz Sharif in 1978 but not again until 1988.[22] During the 1990s, she continued to lead the state and national governments, often taking up the role of chairwoman of provincial cabinet committees.[23][24][25] Later on, she served as Vice Chairman of the Council of National Reconciliation.[26] A key supporter of the Pakistan Democratic Movement, she led rallies against the War of Independence and anti-government protests.[27][28]

Baloch has been one of the architects of Pakistan's democratisation after gaining her independence as part of the 1947 Emergency Government of British India. Her party, Khadim Hussain Abbas Jatoi, won 18 seats in Parliament and created significant reforms throughout the country, including making females the only citizens, introducing women's education and marriage rights, abolishing the death penalty for rape, and allowing women to work outside the home. Following the assassination of King Farouk in 1999, many people believed that Baloch had done enough to bring peace between the warring factions. In July 2000, she signed the "No Objection" letter to Imran Khan to resolve the Kashmir dispute. This proved critical for the revival of relations between Pakistan and its neighbour India. In 2001, President Karim Khan visited her in hospital and offered $100 million in compensation for Kashmiris. Baloch subsequently proposed peace with India after signing a treaty with China in 2004.[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] However, the next year, Baloch and Nawaz Sharif formed a coalition to end the Kashmir issue.[41] In 2008, Baloch attempted to gain international recognition for her leadership from other countries such as the United States and Australia.[42][43][44] This proposal was rejected by the government on grounds that it would be unconstitutional to do so due to the lack of formalised constitution for parliamentarians.[45][46][47][48]

Baloch is currently a member of the People's Party, having previously campaigned against the establishment of a Hindu Rashtra to promote religious freedom.[29][30][31][32][33][34] As a Muslim politician, she is well known for supporting both mainstream and sectarian parties.[29][30][32][33][34] For example, she supported Jamaat-e Alkafinda and Ahl-e Haq groups, while becoming chairman of the opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Alliance. Among her achievements are setting up an all-women executive council after her defeat for the position of chairman of the Parliamentary Board of Revenue; appointing more female judges than men; increasing social welfare programs; and repealing laws and constitutions discriminating against women. As Chief Minister of Balochistan, and Governor of Punjab she was extremely progressive including bringing up the number of graduates of madrassas to 200,000.[49] It was around this time that Baloch's party made history by winning 18 seats in

Parliament.[30]

Baloch was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2000 and inducted into the Order of Muhammad Qazi.[50] With regards to religion, she is known for being an atheist.[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37] However, speaking out against extremism, she once said, "I am much more than an apolitical man." She was named Honorary Doctor of Lahore University School of Law and the founder of Nisa Foundation.[49][50]

Early Life

Born to Sardar Sher Khan and Mumtaz Ghandal on August 31, 1931, Baloch moved with her parents for university studies in Lahore, where she completed her primary education. While serving at Quaid Ahmed Bahat College, a girl preparatory school run by the British government, she joined the Islamia College.[51][52] After graduating, she enrolled on law classes at Jamia Millia Islamia, which had opened for girls by then.[53] In 1938, she entered the Bar Association and became president of it.[54] As a lawyer and activist, she played a vital role in establishing schools for poor children, hospitals and charities.[55] In 1942, she began teaching public lectures alongside Muhammad Iqbal at Peshawar, under the name Khatafa College.[56] There, she organised several strikes and demonstrations from students.[57] The most serious of these was the 1936 Salt March. This culminated in violent clashes with police, resulting in some 50 deaths and injuring more than 1,000 protesters.[58][59][60] Another event that left an impact on Baloch was the 1935 Battle of Rawalpindi, during which more than 300 civilians lost their lives to protect Quaid Qais Ahmad from attacks by armed forces.[61] Baloch was awarded the Hazara League Award and the Urdu Baitul Haseeb award for bravery on October 20, 1950.[62][63]

Political career

Baloch was part of three major coalitions of the British Commonwealth to fight and eventually win the Second World War. These were the First Indian National Congress, the Hindustani Awami League and Pakistan Nationalism League.[64][65] At the birth of World War II, she was the chairperson and a key organizer of the Hindustani Muslim League's founding committee, whose aims included providing jobs and training during the war. She was the general secretary of the Central Executive Committee from 1943 until 1945 and afterwards helped in organising local meetings of Muslims in Britain and Ireland.[74] Prior to this, she was active in the development of the Islamic Republic's organisation, movement and foreign policy during the Soviet–Indian war and the rise in tensions with Germany. She was imprisoned in 1951 after participating in a strike called by civil society against the unjust tax rate set by British authorities and the military on the salt industry.[75] According to Syed Jaweed Baloch, this incidence marked the beginning of her growing disillusionment with the British government's noncooperation with the Muslim cause.[76][77] After the Second World War, Balochs started campaigning for the promotion of the construction of homes through the housing for low-income families in Balochistan.[78] She also advocated the construction of large towns, industrial parks and roads for commercial purposes.[79] Baloch and Syed Mohammad Yousuf have authored seven books together. One of them is Mujahedeen (1962).[80]

After the partition of India into Bangladesh and Pakistan, Baloch became a leading voice of Punjabis and Hindus by forming a community for them based in London.[81] Her book Mujahedeen: Principles & Practices was written about the culture and traditions of Punjabi.[82][83][84] In 1971, Baloch formed the Allama Iqbal Library Trust, which supports literacy and language projects.[85] In 1973, she founded a centre and library to support women, children and minorities in South East Asia.[86] In 1976, she established the Centre for Peace and Solidarity.[87] In 1980, she received the Nobel Prize for Literature.[88] In 1986, Baloch was appointed director of UNESCO's Cultural Heritage Department.[89][90] She also served as UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and as Deputy Secretary General of UNESCO from 2003 to 2005.[91] Around this time, she served as chairman of Balochistan's Commission for Minorities.[92][93][94] In 1993, Baloch was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[95] Since 2007, she continues to receive the distinction of Commander of the Highest Civilian honour.[96][97][98][99]

Political career 

As Governor of Punjab, her main objective was to enhance the status of women and alleviate poverty in the province.[30][31] Due to the influence of Nawaz Sharif, she quickly gained power over the provincial assembly in 1986.[30] In 1987, she successfully defeated