Ghazanfar Ali Khan
| Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 August 1895 Pind Dadan Khan, Jhelum district, Punjab, British India |
| Died | 1963 |
| Years active | 1923–1957 |
| Known for | One of the leaders of Pakistan Movement |
Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan (16 August 1895 – 1963) was born in Pind Dadan Khan, a town in Jhelum district, British India. He was a leading member of the All India Muslim League and a trusted lieutenant of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, serving in the Interim Government of India of 1946 as a Member of the Central Legislative Assembly of India.
After independence of Pakistan in 1947, he became the minister of Food, Agriculture and Health in the Government of Pakistan and finally a diplomat for Pakistan in many countries from 1948 to 1957.
Ghazanfar Ali Khan's father's name was Saif Ali Khan. A Khokhar Rajput from Pind Dadan Khan in Jhelum district, Ghazanfar Ali was an uncle of Pir Syed Fazal Shah of Jalalpur Sharif, another powerful and influential figure in the region during the Pakistan Movement. Ghazanfar completed his high school education at Jhelum and then went on to Government College, Lahore.
Ghazanfar Ali Khan joined the Unionist Party in 1923 because he had political ambitions and was a prominent figure in Muslim politics by 1927, when he attended a conference, comprising 30 significant Muslim leaders, that resulted in the "Delhi Muslim Proposals" which attempted to address constitutional development but were ultimately thwarted by the recommendations of the 1928 Nehru Report. He persuaded his nephew to support his career in politics and this brought with it support from those who favoured his nephew Pir Fazal Shah himself.
He stood in the 1937 provincial elections to the Punjab Legislative Assembly as a candidate of the All-India Muslim League and won this election to become a member of Punjab Legislative Assembly from 1937 to 1945. But then deserted the Muslim League in favour of the Unionist Party after being offered a position as a parliamentary secretary by Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana. He supported the pact arranged at Lucknow between Sikandar Hayat Khan and Muhammad Ali Jinnah in October 1937, believing that the nationalist movement had suffered greatly from internal divisions and that a political party that united the aspirant Hindu and Muslim nationalist communities might prove more effective. In 1944, he returned to the League fold after the split between Khizar Hayat Tiwana and Jinnah, realising that the League was likely to get the upper hand. His uncle and local supporters followed him through these various manoeuvres.
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