Liaquat Ali Khan was the first Prime Minister of Pakistan. The Quaid found him sincere, able, hard working and true to the Muslim cause. Quaid-i-Azam described him as his “right hand” in the Struggle for Pakistan. He was the longest serving General Secretary of the All-India Muslim League.
He became leader of the Muslim League Parliamentary Party; Chairman of the Central Parliamentary Board in 1945, and leader of the Muslim League parliamentary party in the Interim Government in October 1946 before being named Pakistan’s Prime Minister in August 1947.
Liaquat Ali Khan was born in a well to-do Zamindar family of Karnal (East Punjab) on 1 October, 1895. He was the second son of Nawab Rustam Ali Khan. He received his early education in his own hometown. In 1919 he graduated from Allahabad University. After graduation, he decided to go to England for higher studies, and left India in September, 1919 for England and joined St. Catherine College, Oxford and thereafter migrated to Exeter College. He took up Honours School of Jurisprudence and obtained the degree in 1921. After completing his studies in England, he returned to India in 1922. When he was at Oxford, he was the prominent member of the Indian Majlis- a debating club, generally discussing topics pertaining to the political developments in the Sub-continent. In 1933, Liaquat Ali Khan married a second time. Begam Rana, his second wife was a distinguished economist and educationist, who later contributed to his success because of her outstanding mental and social qualities.
During his stay in England, Liaquat Ali Khan met the Quaid and persuaded him to return to the Sub-continent to lead the Muslims. It was on April 26, 1936 that Liaquat Ali Khan, in a session of the Muslim League at Bombay, was elected the Honorary Secretary of the League in place of Sir Muhammad Ya’qub.
Liaquat Ali Khan was again elected as Honorary Secretary of the Muslim League in 1938. In an astonishingly short period, he came to command popularity and esteem by hard work, common sense and boundless devotion to the Muslim cause. He devoted himself whole – heartedly to the work of re-ogranisation of the Muslim League and opened its offices in different districts of the Sub-continent. He won the confidence of the Quaid-i-Azam who entrusted him with new responsibilities day after day. Liaquat Ali achieved popularity and confidence of the Muslims and ranked amongst the foremost leaders of the community after the Quaid.
In 1940, Liaquat Ali Khan was elected as member of the Central Legislative Assembly. The same year the Muslim League, recognizing the importance of the work in the Assembly, had organized the Muslim League Assembly Party. Previously they had worked in the Independent Party which Quaid had organized in 1924. Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was elected as the leader and the Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan as the Deputy Leader of the Party. Quaid-i-Azam, after 1940, found little time to attend to the business of the Legislative Assembly. As a result, Liaquat had to shoulder the responsibility of safeguarding Muslim interests in the Assembly.
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