Researching Abdur Khan

Abdur Rahman Khan was the first child and only son of Mohammad Afzal Khan, and grandson of Dost Mohammad Khan, founder of the Barakzai dynasty. Abdur Rahman Khan re-established the writ of the Afghan government after the disarray that followed the second Anglo-Afghan war. He became known as The Iron Amir, because his government was a military despotism. This despotism rested upon a well-appointed army and administered through officials absolutely subservient to an inflexible will and controlled by a widespread system of espionage.

The nickname The Iron Amir is also associated with his crushing of a number of rebellions by various tribes who were led by his relatives. One source says that during his reign there were over 40 rebellions throughout his rule. Abdur Rahman Khan's rule was termed by one British official as a "reign of terror", as he was absolutely despotic and had up to 100,000 people judicially executed during his 21 years as Emir. Thousands more starved to death, caught deadly diseases and died, were massacred by his army, or were killed during his forceful migrations of tribes. However, he was perhaps the greatest military genius Afghanistan ever produced.

Born in Dera Ismail Khan, Sardar Rashid was educated at Islamia College Peshawar. he then joined the Indian Police (IP) and was serving as the Deputy Superintendent of Police in Peshawar City when Pakistan became an independent country on August 14, 1947. He was one of the senior most police officers in the newly emergent country.

Sardar Rashid rose to become the Inspector General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, but resigned from the police service on April 23, 1953, when he was appointed as the 8th Chief Minister of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. His nomination was controversial in that he was handpicked by his predecessor Abdul Qayyum Khan. However, he proved to be a popular choice, and in November 1953 he was elected as the provincial president of the Muslim League despite the efforts of Abdul Qayyum Khan to retain the post for himself following his elevation to the Central Government.

He remained Chief Minister until July 18, 1955, when he was forced to resign because of his opposition to the ""One Unit Scheme"". He was succeeded by Sardar Bahadur Khan (older brother of General Ayub Khan) who secured approval from the provincial assembly for the controversial scheme.

Sardar Rashid joined the Republican Party and was elected as a Member of the West Pakistan Assembly when the ""One Unit Scheme"" came into effect, and served in the cabinet of Dr Khan Sahib initially as Minister for Health and later as Minister for Finance and Information.

On the resignation of Dr Khan Sahib in July 1957, Sardar Rashid was elected as the second Chief Minister of West Pakistan. He resigned from this position on March 18, 1958, and was succeeded by Nawab Muzaffar Ali Khan Qizilbash.

Sardar Rashid (Republican) served as Minister for Commerce and Industries in the cabinet of Prime Minister Sir Feroz Khan Noon (Republican) from March 29, 1958 - October 7, 1958, when the cabinet was dismissed on the declaration of Martial Law by President Iskander Mirza.

After the fall of the Ayub Khan government, Sardar Abdur Rashid served as Minister for Home Affairs (Interior), Kashmir Affairs, States and Frontier Regions in the presidential cabinet of President and Chief Martial Law Administrator General Yahya Khan from August 4, 1969 - February 22, 1971.

Category:1906 birthsCategory:1995 deathsCategory:Chief Ministers of Khyber PakhtunkhwaCategory:Interior Ministers of PakistanCategory:Pakistani police officersCategory:Pakistani republicansCategory:Pashtun peopleCategory:Chief Ministers of West Pakistan

In 1972, Air-Marshal Abdur Rahim Khan along with the Pakistan Army's Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant-General Gul Hassan was prematurely retired from military service over his refusal to use Pakistan Air Force aircraft in Lyallpur to buzz over crowds of police agitation, demanding pay raise. Later he joined the Foreign Service and served as Pakistan Ambassador to Spain till 13 April 1977, when along with General Gul Hassan Khan, who was then the Pakistan Ambassador to Greece, he resigned as a protest against the rigging of the general elections held in 1977