Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar with Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, standing outside the House of Commons when they participated in the 2nd Round Table Conference on Sept. 1931
Sir Zafarullah Khan’s speech on the Palestine problem in
October 1947 at the UN General Assembly is said to be one of the most forceful
ever made on the issue and prompted King Abdul Aziz al-Saud to write to him on
May 5, 1948
Yet there was a time when the foreign service of Pakistan
was considered amongst the finest in the world. The first foreign minister of
the country, Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, who is also credited for drafting
the Lahore Resolution of 1940, was a legend in his lifetime. He inspired the
first diplomats of the newborn state by his example, and in the process won
many laurels for his country.
Sir Zafarullah Khan’s speech on the Palestine problem in October 1947 at the UN General Assembly is said to be one of the most forceful ever made on the issue and prompted King Abdul Aziz al-Saud to write to him on May 5, 1948. In the letter he acknowledged that the Pakistani foreign minister’s “high principles have created a desire among all righteous persons to identify themselves with the efforts of Your Excellency, not only on behalf of the Arabs but Muslims all over the world as well.”
Supported by a team of dedicated officials of the foreign ministry, Sir Zafarullah struggled relentless for the Palestinian and Muslim causes, and this was acknowledged by the leading Islamic statesmen of the time. The secretary general of the Arab League, Abdur Rahman Azzam Pasha, wrote to Sir Zafarullah on Nov 15, 1951: “Reading your speech in the UN (General) Assembly, I prayed to God to save you and preserve your health in the service of Islam.”
Despite these encomiums, 23 years later the man who the Islamic world cherished so fondly would be declared a non-Muslim in his own country with the adoption of the Second Amendment to the Constitution on Sept 17, 1974, under which Ahmadis were excommunicated from Islam. It is strangely ironical that in March 1958 he had been invited for Umra by King Saud ibn Abdul Aziz, and in 1967, during the reign of King Faisal ibn Abdul Aziz, performed Haj.
Sir Zafarullah Khan’s speech on the Palestine problem in October 1947 at the UN General Assembly is said to be one of the most forceful ever made on the issue and prompted King Abdul Aziz al-Saud to write to him on May 5, 1948. In the letter he acknowledged that the Pakistani foreign minister’s “high principles have created a desire among all righteous persons to identify themselves with the efforts of Your Excellency, not only on behalf of the Arabs but Muslims all over the world as well.”
Supported by a team of dedicated officials of the foreign ministry, Sir Zafarullah struggled relentless for the Palestinian and Muslim causes, and this was acknowledged by the leading Islamic statesmen of the time. The secretary general of the Arab League, Abdur Rahman Azzam Pasha, wrote to Sir Zafarullah on Nov 15, 1951: “Reading your speech in the UN (General) Assembly, I prayed to God to save you and preserve your health in the service of Islam.”
Despite these encomiums, 23 years later the man who the Islamic world cherished so fondly would be declared a non-Muslim in his own country with the adoption of the Second Amendment to the Constitution on Sept 17, 1974, under which Ahmadis were excommunicated from Islam. It is strangely ironical that in March 1958 he had been invited for Umra by King Saud ibn Abdul Aziz, and in 1967, during the reign of King Faisal ibn Abdul Aziz, performed Haj.
Sir Zafarullah Khan with John F kennedy
Sir Zafarullah Khan with Quaid Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Sir Zafarullah Khan with John F Kennedy
Sir Zafarullah Khan Receiving Quaid Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Sir M. Zafrullah Khan talks with Sir Carl A. Berendsen.
Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan & Allama Iqbal, London, 1930s
Sir Zafrulla Khan with Senator Robert Kennedy and others
Sir Zafrullah Khan in the UN with Ambassador Ispahani and Sheikh Abdullah
Sir Zafrullah Khan stands by the PAkistan flag in a SEATO COnference, 1954
Sir Zafarullah Khan with King Faisal of Saudi Arabia
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