Liaquat Ali Khan

Described by Jinnah as his “right hand man” it was only natural that Liaquat Ali Khan should have been the successor of Quaid-e-Azam. The selfless determination and devotion with which he consolidated the nation after Jinnah’s death earned him the title of Quaid-e-Millat ( Leader Of The Nation ).

He joined the Muslim League in 1924.

In 1926, he was elected to the U.P. legislative council. He held this position for 14 years.

In 1937, he was elected Secretary of the Muslim League.

In 1940, he was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly where he became Deputy Leader of the Muslim League.

In 1946, he was appointed to the Viceroy’s Executive Council in 1946.

He became the Finance Minister in the Indian interim Government prior to partition.

He was elected the Premier of Pakistan in 1947.

Following the Quaid’s death by common consent he took the Quaid’s place as national leader. (September 1948-16^{th October 1951)}

The energies for the central Government under Liaquat Ali Khan were now directed towards national consolidation.

Under his sagacious leadership Pakistan maintained a steady record of progress.

The major criticism voiced against him was that he did not press forward the task of constitution making at a time when the country was united , yet he did move the Objective Resolution upon which the constitution of 1956 was to be based.

He visited New Delhi to discuss relations between India and Pakistan and negotiated with India for the settlement of territorial disputes.

Liaquat Ali Khan’s foreign policy was basically the same as the Quaid-e-Azam’s - it was based on independence non-alignment and sympathy for the Islamic World.

On October 16, 1951, he was assassinated at Rawalpindi.