Wednesday, April 5, 2023

"Unveiling the Past: 10 Rare Images of Pakistan's Timeline by Dr. Ghulam Nabi Kazi"


Gen Ayub Khan - Prime Minister for 13 hours
Gen Ayub Khan was appointed Chief Martial Law Administrator on 7 October 1958. 20 days later President Iskander Mirza appointed him as Prime Minister and he is seen presiding over a Cabinet meeting. 13 hours after his appointment, Mirza was deposed and Ayub Khan became the second President of the country. To his left civilian Deputy CMLA Mr Aziz Ahmed fixes his knot while Generals Azam, Burki and Sheikh, Manzur Qadir and 29-year old Z A Bhutto look on.


General Azam Khan - the first Martial Law Administrator having hard talk with Sardar Nishtar
With the government failing to contain anti-Qadiani riots in Lahore, property of civilians being destroyed and trouble spreading to other major cities of the Punjab in 1953, Prime Minister Khawaja Nazimuddin, a pious but ineffective administrator while presiding over a cabinet meeting in Karachi kept saying 'what should I do, what should I do'. Lahore was on fire and the Governor of Punjab had just confirmed the fact. Defense Secretary Iskander Mirza was asked to find out the exact situation. He went to the ante room and called GOC Lahore General Azam Khan who confirmed the reports. 'How long will it take you to control the situation?' Mirza asked him. 'One hour' quipped Azam. 'Then go ahead' Mirza advised him. He returned to the Cabinet room and announced that he had declared Martial Law in Lahore. True to his word Azam restored law and order, arrested Maulana Maududi and Maulana Abdul Sattar Khan Niazi, tried them in a summary military court, sentenced them to death and sent them to the black cell for hanging the next morning. A call from King Saud however got them a reprieve. But with the carte blanche given to Gen Azam, military supremacy had been ensured in Pakistan for all times to come.


Ayub Khan with his favorite ministers and secretaries
Picture shows Khwaja Shahabuddin, Z A Bhutto, A Sabur Khan, M Shoaib. In the back row is Information Secretary and de facto Vice President Altaf Gauhar. Incidentally the last official act of Ayub Khan was to award Hilal-i-Quaid-i-Azam to Altaf Gauhar. However within a few months Yahya Khan dismissed Altaf Gauhar and he was stripped of all four civil awards. Cabinet Secretary N A Faruqui is on extreme right.



Jackie shares a joke with Ayub and Bhutto


Marshal Chen Yi and Chou en Lai babysitting Seen here with Benazir, Murtaza, Sanam and Shahnawaz Bhutto


Mr Jinnah in a meeting of the Home Rule League in 1918 Dr Annie Besant can be seen in the center


Nusrat Bhutto in happy times at 70 Clifton, Karachi


Sindh Minister Kassim Patel and Federal Minister Kausar Niazi with the Imam-i-Kaaba


The Founder with Hindi poet and novelist Dinesh Nandini Dalmia who was also the wife of his friend industrialist Ramkrishna Dalmia



 Identify the child - Mr Jinnah on a car ride with a Parsi friend

No the child is not Ruttie or is she? Actually I thought so ages ago because a book of Mr Jinnah's photographs edited by Mr Rafiq Akhtar gave the identity of the driver as Sir Dinshaw Petit. Shagufta Yasmeen who wrote the first biography of Ruttie Jinnah told me it was not Ruttie. And now its been confirmed. Jinnah's friend here is Pestonjee H J Rustomjee and the child is Homi Rustomjee.

No comments:

Post a Comment