Talk:Asghar Khan

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It is wrong to assert that Asghar Khan's father Thakur Rehmatullah Khan moved from Tirah Valley to Kashmir. Given the title Thakur being of Hindu origin it is totally unrealistic to expect him to be of Pakhtun background as well. The family is originally from Jammu in Kashmir and are widely known to be of Hindu roots - this is common knowledge. The name Khan is commonly used in Kashmir by communities that do not claim Afghan, Turkic or Mughal blood e.g. Sudhans etc. Various clans of rajputs also incorrectly add Khan to their names rather than use the title of Singh which is proudly used by Hindu rajputs of Rajputana as a symbol of their warrior past. ((User:Moarrikh)) 07 December 2011, 20:22 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Moarrikh (talk • contribs) 20:22, 7 December 2011 (UTC)

Honest man
A sentence about AK being widely considered an honest politician has twice been inserted in the article without any source. Can anyone provide a source for this? Otherwise, it will need to be removed. It borders on WP:POV as well. Khazar2 (talk) 19:49, 30 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Agree with Khazar, even if a reliable source says he is an honest politician, we need to tone it down, so it doesn't look like a POV. I have left the involved user talkback. -- S M S  Talk 21:44, 30 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Since no one else has responded or provided a source in some time, I have removed it. Khazar2 (talk) 12:20, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 20 November 2012
Dear All, There are many sections in this page which are factually incorrect and can easily mislead readers. Below is an accurate version of Asghar Khan's page:

SUMMARY Asghar Khan (Urdu: ائیر مارشل اصغر خان) January 17, 1921 is a veteran, peace activist, and a retired military figure— a three star air marshal— He served as the first Pakistani Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) from 1957 to 1965  and completed two four year terms as its Chief. Asghar Khan was educated at the Prince of Wale’s Royal Indian Military College, Dehra Dun (India) which he joined in 1933, at the age of 12 and the Indian Military Academy Dehra Dun from 1939 to 1940. After being commissioned in the Indian Army, he was seconded to the Indian Air Force in 1941. He Commanded a Flight of No.9 Squadron, Indian Air Force in operations against the Japanese in Burma in 1944 till the end of the War in 1945. Initially commissioned in the Indian Army, Asghar Khan was Seconded to the Royal Indian Air Force in 1940. He is a graduate of the RAF Staff College Cranwell, Joint Services Staff College, Latimer and the Imperial Defence College London. Asghar Khan commanded No. 9 Squadron of Indian Air Force, in 1945 – 1946. Asghar Khan was also the first Indian Air Force officer to fly a jet fighter aircraft—a Gloster Meteor— whilst doing a fighter leader's course in UK in 1946. After partition he became the first commandant of the PAF Flying Training School, now known as the Pakistan Air Force Academy in 1947. In 1957 he became the youngest and the first Pakistan Air Force Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Air Force. During his tenure as the air commander, the PAF was extensively modernized, in terms of both technical and military equipment. After retiring from the Pakistan air force in 1965, Asghar Khan was appointed as the Head of Civil Aviation, Tourism and the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) which appointments be held until 1968. Asghar Khan was the Chief Flying Instructor at the Indian Air Force Advance Flying Training School at Ambala at the time of partition, when he took over command of the Pakistan Air Force Flying Training School (Now the PAF Academy) at Risalpur in 1947. Asghar Khan founded the Tehrik-e-Istiqlal in 1970. In 1977, the party participated in the parliamentary elections, and Asghar Khan was elected from two National Assembly seats. He was imprisoned by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and was designated a ‘prisoner of conscience’ by Amnesty International, and was awarded the Gold Medal by the Human Rights Commission, and Jinnah Award by the Jinnah Society for the cause of democracy. After years of political struggle Asghar Khan retired from politics in 2011 at the age of 90. The party that he had founded in 1970 merged with Imran Khan’s Tehrik-i-Insaf in 2011.

Early life Mohammad Asghar Khan was born in Jammu, (Kashmir) in a Pashtun family hailing from Tirah, on 17 January 1921. His father, Brigadier Rahmatullah Khan, was in the Kashmir Army. Asghar Khan's grandfather left Tirah Valley in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) to settle in Kashmir. The family again migrated at the time of partition to Abbottabad in the North-West Frontier Province and settled there. This included his parents.

Pakistan Air Force On 7 June 1947, Asghar Khan was a member of the sub-committee led by RAF Air Vice Marshal Perry-Keene to distribute the defence assets of undivided India between India and Pakistan. After the partition of India on 14 August 1947, Asghar Khan moved to Pakistan and was appointed the first commandant of the Pakistan Air Force Flying School at Risalpur. Asghar Khan was its Commandant when the Governor-General, Muhammad Ali Jinnah visited Risalpur in 1948, and named it the Pakistan Air Force College. In 1950, Asghar Khan was appointed the director of Air Operations in Air HQs and in 1955, the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff. As Assistant Chief of the Air Staff, Asghar Khan established major units and infrastructure including the Fighter Leaders School (now Combat Commander's School), the Air Force Staff College and the College of Aeronautical Engineering. As assistant chief of the air staff, Asghar Khan also established the Inspectorate directorate for the air force. Two of his brothers, Squadran Leader Khalid Khan and Pilot Officer Asif Khan were killed during service with the Pakistan Air Force.

Air Marshal Asghar Khan, reviews Pakistan Air Force, 1960 After the retirement of Air vice-marshal McDonald, Prime minister Huseyn Suhrawardy appointed Asghar Khan as the commander-in-chief of Pakistan Air Force. In July 1957. At 36, he was the youngest Commander-in-chief of any Air Force in the world. Asghar Khan commanded the air force for eight years, modernized it and equipped it with Jet Aircraft. Asghar Khan also launched the fighter training programmes and combat course at the PAF to train fighter pilots in modern air warfare. During his long tenure, PAF bases were established at Samungli, Sargodha, and Peshawar.

Pakistan International Airlines After retiring from the air force, Asghar Khan was appointed, the president of the national flag carrier, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), where he learned to fly Boeing Aircraft and obtained a Commercial pilot’s licence after being tested by the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States. During his tenure, PIA achieved its lowest aircraft accident rate and the highest net profit and became a formidable competitor in the world airline business.

Pakistan Army and Indian Army Operations in Sindh 1965.

In March 1965 (six months before the Sep 65 war) the Pakistan Army was involved in hostilities with the Indian Army on the Sindh border. The area was at the extremity of the range of the Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft located at Mauripur Airfield at Karachi and the PAF could not have provided effective support to the Pakistan Army in the event of the Indian Air Force being used there. Asghar Khan telephoned his opposite number, Air Marshal Arjan Singh, the Chief of Air Staff of the Indian Air Force whom he knew well, having served in the Indian Air Force together and told him that if the Indian Air Force was used in the ongoing Skirmish between the two armies in Sindh, the Pakistan Air Force would also be used, but not necessarily in Sindh. The PAF, he said, would be free to attack targets elsewhere in India. This warning was a big factor in the Indian Air Force not being used in support of the Indian Army in Sindh, and thus helping the Pakistan Army in ending the Indian military operations in that part of the country. His telephone call to Arjan Singh probably saved many Pakistani lives. National Politics After leaving PIA and Civil Aviation, he struggled for democracy in Pakistan and as a protest against the repressive policies of Ayub Khan, he renounced the Awards of Hilal-i-Pakistan and Hilal-i-Qaid-i-Azam. He publically opposed Yahya Khan for his attitude towards East Pakistan and was a strong opponent of the 1971 war, which resulted in the breakup of Pakistan. In 1970, Asghar Khan founded the Tehrik-e-Istiqlal, initially as a centrist secular party. Asghar Khan criticized Bhutto for his policies towards East Pakistan and for not allowing Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman to form a Government. During Bhutto's rule from 1971 to 1977, Air Marshal Asghar Khan played a major role in opposition to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. During the 1977 elections, Asghar Khan allied his party, the Tehreek-i-Istiqlal with the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) against the People's Party. It was during this period he and his party faced frequent attacks by Pakistan Peoples Party supporters and from the brutal paramilitary Federal Security Force. He was imprisoned in Kot Lakhpat and Sahiwal prisons from March to June 1977 by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He was later kept under house arrest by General Zia-ul-Haq for five years. When Bhutto was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court, Asghar Khan asked Zia-ul-Haq to release him. In the 1977 Elections he was elected to the National Assembly from Karachi and Abbotabad, with huge majorities from both seats. Asghar Khan resigned from both the National Assembly seats as a mark of protest against massive rigging in the elections.

‘Lawful Command’ and the ‘Asghar Khan Case’ The Army had been called out in Lahore in 1977 when Asghar Khan was in Kot Lakhpat Jail. He read in the newspapers that a Major had shot a boy for showing a ‘V’ sign. He wrote a letter to the Armed Forces to remind them that they were under oath to obey only lawful commands, and shooting a boy for showing a ‘V’ sign was not lawful. He asked the military leadership to "differentiate between a "lawful and an unlawful" command. 22 years later, this was vindicated by a decision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the now well known ‘Asghar Khan’ case when Generals Aslam Beg and Asad Durrani were found guilty of obeying unlawful orders of the President at that time, of distributing money to politicians for the elections of 1990. 35 years earlier, in 1942, Asghar Khan, was in No.3 Squadron, Indian Air Force, stationed at Hyderabad, in Sindh, for operations against the ‘Hurs’.  One day General Richardson, the Martial Law Administrator of Sindh ordered that Pir of Pagara who was travelling to the East of Sanghar in a caravan of camels should be shot up by the PAF.  Asghar Khan’s commanding officer, ordered Asghar Khan to take up four aircrafts to do this.  Asghar Khan took the flight of aircraft, as ordered and spotted the Caravan which had women and children in it. He decided that shooting women and children was not a lawful act and returned to Hyderabad without taking any action. General Richardson was very annoyed that his orders had not been obeyed. Asghar Khan maintained that shooting unarmed women and children was not lawful. The decision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, on 19 October 2012, some 70 years later, vindicates his decision.

Political activism During its struggle for democracy, a large number of political leaders joined the Tehrik-e-Istiqlal including Nawaz Sharif, Khurshid Kasur, Aitzaz Ahsan, Rashid Ahmad, Javed Hashmi, Akbar Khan Bugti, Mushahid Hussain, Nadir Parvez, Gohar Ayub Khan, Zafar Ali Shah, Ahmed Raza Kasuri, Sher Afgan Niazi, Manzoor Wattoo, Syeda Abida Hussain, Syed Fakhar Imam. Later General Zia-ul-Haq postponed the elections and placed Asghar Khan under house arrest for five years. He was named a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.

The “Asghar Khan Case”

In 1990 the Tehrik-i-Istiqlal joined the Pakistan Democratic Alliance along with the PPP, Malik Qasim’s Muslim League and Tehrik Fiqa Jafria. Asghar Khan contested from NA-95 (Lahore) against Mian Nawaz Sharif. In a Supreme Court judgment given in October 2012 it was ruled that this Election had been rigged.

Omar Asghar Khan His son Omar Asghar Khan, who had for a while joined the military government of General Pervaiz Musharraf, and became minister of Ministry of Environment (MoE). After his resignation from the cabinet, Umar Asghar Khan rejoined the Tehrik-e-Istiqlal. He was murdered in Karachi on 25 June 2001 prior to the elections. An inquiry into his death was ordered by the Sindh High Court but in spite of repeated requests, it was never started.

Tehrik- i -Insaaf In a historic press conference on 12 December 2011, Asghar Khan announced his support to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Imran Khan. This endorsement came at a crucial time for Imran Khan, when many tainted politicians were joining his party. After announcing his party's support for PTI, Asghar Khan resigned as President of Tehreek-e-Istiqlal and left the future of his party in the hands of his workers. Contrary to many media reports, Asghar Khan himself did not join PTI.

Personal life Asghar Khan has authored 13 books, including “We’ve Learnt Nothing from History”, ‘Pakistan at the Crossroads’ and ‘Generals in Politics’. Asghar Khan married Amina Shamsie in 1946. They had four children, Nasreen, Shereen, Omar (deceased) and Ali Asghar Khan.

Books

	ENGLISH 1.	The First Round—Indo-Pakistan War 1965 2.	Pakistan at the Cross Roads (1969) 3.	Generals in Politics (1983) 4.	The Lighter side of the Power Game(1985) 5.	We've Learnt Nothing from History (2005) 6.	My Political Struggle (2008) 7.	Milestones in a Political Journey (2009)

URDU 1.	Pakistan Ka Mustaqbil (1969) 2.	General Siyasat Mein (1983) 3.	Sada-i-Hosh (1985) 4.	Chehray nahi Nizam ko Badlo (1998) 5.	Islam – Jamhooriat aur Pakistan (1999) 6.	Ye Batain Hakim Logon Ki (199

Sources: 1. My Polictal Struggle (2008): this book has been published by Oxford University Press and most the facts in this write up are contained in that book. 2. We've Learnt Nothing from History (2005) 3. http://tribune.com.pk/story/305443/islamabad-khyber-pakhtunkhwa-pti-members-clash/

Moak2 (talk) 08:20, 20 November 2012 (UTC)


 * Please be precise what edit you want to be done. If there are multiple issues, kindly list them for easy readability or preferably list a single issue at a time along with sources, so your request can be reviewed. This article is currently protected because you were persistently deleting sourced content and adding unsourced, without any explanation. If you want to make an edit request again, either file a new one or put no in the "answered=" field of the above. -- S M S  Talk 08:33, 20 November 2012 (UTC)


 * I too would like to know specific details in the article which you believe are incorrect. --Odie5533 (talk) 14:20, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

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