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{{Use Pakistani English|date=November 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix =
|name =Agha Shahi
|native_name =آغا شا ﮨی
|native_name_lang =
|honorific-suffix =
|colorcode = 
|image = Agha Shahi.jpg
|imagesize =
|smallimage = 
|alt =
|caption =
|order =[[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Pakistan)#List of Foreign Ministers of Pakistan|13th]] [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Pakistan)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
|office =
|term_start =14 January 1978
|term_end =9 March 1982
|president =General [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq|Zia-ul-Haq]]
|predecessor =[[Aziz Ahmed (civil servant)|Aziz Ahmed]]
|successor =[[Lieutenant-General|Lt Gen]] [[Sahabzada Yaqub Khan|Yaqob Ali Khan]]
|order2 =[[Foreign Secretary (Pakistan)#List of Foreign Secretaries|13th]] [[Foreign Secretary (Pakistan)|Secretary of Foreign Affairs]]
|office2 = 
|term_start2 =6 July 1973
|term_end2 =6 July 1977
|president2 =[[Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry]]
|primeminister2 =[[Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto]]
|predecessor2 = Mumtaz Ali Alvie
|successor2 = Sardar Shah Nawaz
|constituency2 = 
|majority2 = 
|order3 =[[Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations]]
|term_start3 =25 March 1967
|term_end3 =20 January 1972
|vicepresident3 = [[Nurul Amin]]
|viceprimeminister3 = [[Nurul Amin]]
|president3 =[[Field Marshal]] [[Ayub Khan (Field Marshal)|Ayub Khan]] General [[Yahya Khan]] [[Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto]]
|predecessor3 =[[Syed Amjad Ali]]
|successor3 =Iqbal Akhuond
|birth_date =25 August 1920
|birth_place =[[Bangalore]], [[Princely State of Mysore]], [[British India]]
|death_date ={{death date and age|df=yes|2006|09|06|1920|8|25}}
|death_place =[[Islamabad]], Pakistan
|restingplace =
|restingplacecoordinates =
|birthname =Agha Shahi
|citizenship =[[British India]]n (1920–1947) Pakistan (1947–2006)
|nationality =Pakistani
|party =
|otherparty = 
|spouse =
|relations =
|children =
| relatives = [[Agha Hilaly]] (brother) [[Zafar Hilaly]] (nephew)
|residence =
|alma_mater =[[Indian Institute of Science]]
|occupation =[[politician|Statesman]]
|profession =Physicist, mathematician, teacher
|cabinet =[[:Category:Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq|Zia military government]] [[:Category:Government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto|Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Government]]
|committees =
|portfolio =
|signature =
|signature_alt =
|website =
|footnotes =
|blank1 =National Awards
|data1 =[[Nishan-e-Imtiaz|Nishan-e-Imtiaz, 2nd Class]] (Order of Excellence)
}}

'''Agha Shahi''' ({{lang-ur|آغا شا ﮨی}}; 25 August 1920 – 6 September 2006), [[Nishan-e-Imtiaz|''NI'']], was a [[Pakistani people|Pakistani]] career [[Foreign Office of Pakistan|Foreign service officer]] who was the leading civilian figure in the [[Zia regime|military government]] of former [[President of Pakistan|President]] General [[General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq|Zia-ul-Haq]] from 1977 to 1982. A diplomat and [[technocracy|technocrat]] by profession, he joined [[Foreign Office of Pakistan|Foreign Services]] in 1951 and held important diplomatic assignments in the [[United States]], [[People's Republic of China|China]], and the [[United Nations]]. He served as the [[Foreign Secretary (Pakistan)|Foreign secretary]]— the leading bureaucratic position in [[Government of Pakistan|Pakistan Government—]] in 1973 until 1977, after [[Zulfikar Ali Bhutto]]'s government was [[1977 Pakistani coup d'état|dismissed]] (see Codename [[Operation Fair Play|''Fair Play'']]).<ref name=Dawn/>

However, he immediately served as the foreign policy adviser to upcoming [[Chief Martial Law Administrator]] General Zia-ul-Haq who appointed him as the Foreign Minister shortly after assuming the control of the country. In 1982, after losing General Zia's favour when he made an attempt to keep country on [[Non-Aligned Movement]] membership, he lost the foreign affairs ministry to senior military officer [[Lieutenant-General]] [[Sahabzada Yaqub Khan|Yakob Ali Khan]]. His relationship with General Zia-ul-Haq and his military government further deteriorated, with General Zia complaining about Shahi's speech on improving Pakistan's relations with Soviet Union and the Non-Aligned Movement. He departed from country in 1982 to join the [[United Nations General Assembly]] and served as the Chairman of [[UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination|UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination]] until 1990, and served as the Chairman of the Pakistan delegation at [[World Conference on Human Rights]]. During his last years, he associated with the [[Institute of Strategic Studies]] (ISS), Islamabad where he served as its President until his death.<ref name=Dawn/>

==Diplomatic career==
Agha Shahi was born in [[Bangalore]], former [[Mysore]] state and present-day [[Karnataka]], India to the [[Urdu speaking|Urdu-speaking community]], the son of educator who was the local principal of British government-sanctioned school. He was educated in Bangalore, excelling the science courses he took in school. In 1939, Shahi enrolled in [[Indian Institute of Science]] where he joined the Department of Physics, and receiving his BSc in Physics, followed by MSc in [[applied physics]] and MA in Mathematics in 1944. Following his master's degree, he joined the faculty of Mathematics teaching undergraduate calculus courses but his parents were unsatisfied of their son being a scientist; therefore, encouraged by his parents, Shahi soon left his position after applying at the [[Indian Civil Service]] in 1944. He took the advanced exam, "All India Competitive Examinations", where he excelled and was commissioned in the Indian civil service soon after. His first assignment was [[Sindh Province]] as a Commission of Education Department, and the family moved to Karachi, Sindh. In 1947, he opted for [[Pakistani nationality law|Pakistan citizenship]], and served as the constitutional adviser to [[Chief Minister of Sindh|Chief Ministers]] of Sindh Province [[Ghulam Hussain Hidayat Ullah]] from 1947 till 1948, and to [[Muhammad Ayub Khuhro|Ayub Khuhro]] from 1948 until 1949. In 1949, the [[Governor of Sindh|Governor]] [[George Baxandall Constantine]] appointed him as the Commissioner of District Thatta. In 1967, Shahi gained a Master of Science in [[Strategic studies]] from Defence & Strategic Studies (DSS) Department. Shahi had a long career as a Pakistani diplomat, beginning in 1951. He served as Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations, and [[Pakistani Ambassador to China|China]] and also served in many other positions.

==Early career as an ambassador==
He opted for the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1951 and played a prominent role in formulation of foreign policy right from the early years of Pakistan's creation. He was part of various delegations to the United Nations during the 1950s and 1960s and served with A.S. Bokhari (known as [[Patras Bokhari]]), Sir [[Muhammad Zafrulla Khan]] and [[Prince Aly Khan]] (father of [[Aga Khan IV|Prince Karim Aga Khan]] and Pakistan's permanent representative to UN).

Shahi served as Counselor in the Pakistan Embassy in Washington from 1955–58. He was Pakistan's Deputy Permanent Representative to UN from 1958–61 and later served as Permanent Representative to United Nations from 1967–72. During his term as permanent representative to United Nations, he played an important role in enabling China to become a member of the United Nations. He became Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1964 and served in that position till 1967.

==Foreign Minister of Pakistan==
In 1972, he was appointed Pakistan's Ambassador to China. In 1973, Shahi became [[Foreign Secretary of Pakistan|Foreign Secretary]] and served in that position till the fall of Prime Minister [[Zulfikar Ali Bhutto]] in 1977. Shahi was appointed Advisor on foreign affairs/foreign minister in 1977 by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and resigned from the position of foreign minister in 1982, after developing serious differences with General Zia.<ref name=Dawn/>

==Post-resignation activities==
Shahi led various delegations of Pakistan to UN General Assembly, conferences of [[Non-Aligned Movement]] and [[Organization of Islamic Conference]].<ref name=Dawn/> He was a member of various UN commissions and was also elected Chairman of the '''UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination''' (CERD) of which he had been a member since 1982. In 1993, Shahi was Co-Chairman of the Pakistan delegation to the [[World Conference on Human Rights]] held in Vienna. Shahi also served as Chairman of Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad and headed Islamabad Council of World Affairs – a private think tank.

He was the younger brother of [[Agha Hilaly]] who also joined ICS and later opted for Pakistan's foreign service, serving as Pakistan's Ambassador in important capitals such as London, Moscow and Washington (at a time when his younger brother Shahi was Pakistan's permanent representative to UN in New York). Agha Hilaly's son, [[Zafar Hilaly]] (who is also a former diplomat), is Agha Shahi's nephew.<ref>[https://www.dawn.com/news/656476 Hall of fame: The ICS (Indian Civil Service) served Pakistan well] Dawn (newspaper), Published 4 September 2011, Retrieved 24 November 2018</ref>

==Death and legacy==
On 6 September 2006, he died after suffering a heart attack, at the [[Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences]] in [[Islamabad]], aged 86.<ref name=Dawn>[https://www.dawn.com/news/209384/agha-shahi-passes-away Agha Shahi passes away (obituary and profile)] Dawn (newspaper), Published 7 September 2006, Retrieved 24 November 2018</ref>

Pakistan's foreign minister in 2006, [[Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri]], reportedly commented on Agha Shahi's death, "Agha Shahi served in various key positions in the Foreign Ministry with great distinction rising to the position of foreign secretary and foreign minister. A generation of Pakistani diplomats had the fortune to learn from him."<ref>[https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/645401-ex-foreign-minister-agha-shahi-passes-away Ex-foreign minister Agha Shahi passes away] The News International (newspaper), Published 7 September 2006, Retrieved 24 November 2018</ref>

==See also==
*[[Agha Hilaly]]

== Further reading ==
*{{cite news|title=Agha Shahid's India visit|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/agha-shahi-india-visit-pakistan-foreign-minister-indira-gandhi-6505965/|date=15 July 1980|newspaper=[[Indian Express]]}}
*{{cite magazine|title=Pakistan has no security treaty with any major power: Agha Shahi|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/neighbours/story/19810228-pakistan-has-no-security-treaty-with-any-major-power-agha-shahi-772683-2013-11-26 |date=1981-02-28 |author= Bhabani Sen Gupta|magazine=[[India Today]]}}
*{{cite magazine|title=Pakistan: Agha Shahi's last stand|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/neighbours/story/19820715-pakistan-agha-shahis-last-stand-771984-2013-10-09 |author=Qutubuddin|magazine=[[India Today]]|date=1982-07-15}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070928041612/http://www.pakistantimes.net/2006/09/06/top16.htm Pakistan's ex-Foreign Minister Agha Shahi passes away] from the Pakistan Times (newspaper) (archived)
*{{cite web|title=Former Pakistan foreign minister passes away|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/former-pakistan-foreign-minister-passes-away/story-qwj0Lv6aR8MhZD9mRWGheJ.html |via=[[Press Trust of India|PTI]]|date=6 September 2006|website=[[Hindustan Times]]}}

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{{s-bef | before=[[Syed Amjad Ali]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Pakistan Ambassador to the United Nations]]| years=1967–1972}}
{{s-aft | after=Iqbal Akhund}}

{{s-bef | before=[[Aziz Ahmed (civil servant)|Aziz Ahmed]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Foreign Secretary of Pakistan]] | years=1973–1977}}
{{s-aft | after=Sardar Shah Nawaz}}
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{{s-bef | before=[[Aziz Ahmed (civil servant)|Aziz Ahmed]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Foreign Minister of Pakistan]] | years=1978–1982}}
{{s-aft | after=[[Sahabzada Yaqub Khan]]}}
{{end}}

{{Foreign Minister of Pakistan}}
{{Zia-ul-Haq's Government}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shahi, Agha}}
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:Politicians from Bangalore]]
[[Category:Muhajir people]]
[[Category:Foreign Ministers of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Members of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination]]
[[Category:Permanent Representatives of Pakistan to the United Nations]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Pakistan to China]]
[[Category:Indian Civil Service (British India) officers]]
[[Category:Project-706]]
[[Category:Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz]]
[[Category:Pakistani civil servants]]
[[Category:Pakistani scholars]]
[[Category:Military government of Pakistan (1977–1988)]]
[[Category:Pakistani anti-communists]]
[[Category:People from Karachi]]
[[Category:Indian Institute of Science alumni]]
[[Category:Pakistani officials of the United Nations]]

Agha Shahi - Revision history

->BattyBot at 12:54, 12 November 2021