Addie15A4298 at 13:01, 17 November 2025

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{{Short description|Pashtun activist against British Raj and Pakistani politician (1883–1958)}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=April 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Dr. Khan Sahib
| office = Chief Minister of West Pakistan
| order = 1st
| honorific-prefix =
| honorific-suffix =
| image = Drkhansahib.jpg
| caption =
| governor-general = [[Iskander Mirza]]
| monarch = [[Elizabeth II]]
| predecessor = ''Position established''
| president = [[Iskander Mirza]]
| successor = [[Sardar Abdur Rashid Khan]]
| governor = [[Mushtaq Ahmed Gurmani]]
| office2 = 2nd and 4th [[List of Chief Ministers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|Chief Minister of the North-West Frontier Province]]
| term_start2 = 7 September 1937
| term_end2 = 10 November 1939
| monarch2 =
| president2 =
| governor_general2 =
| governor2 = [[George Cunningham (civil servant)|George Cunningham]]
| majority2 =
| predecessor2 = [[Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum]]
| successor2 = ''Governor rule''
| term_start3 = 16 March 1945
| term_end3 = 22 August 1947
| governor3 = [[George Cunningham (civil servant)|George Cunningham]] [[Olaf Caroe]]
| predecessor3 = Sardar Aurangzeb Khan
| successor3 = [[Abdul Qayyum Khan]]
| birth_date = 1883<ref name=storyofpakistan/>
| birth_place = [[Utmanzai, Charsadda|Utmanzai]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British Raj|British India]] {{small| (Now, [[Utmanzai, Charsadda|Utmanzai]], [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]], [[Pakistan]])}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1958|5|9|1883}}<ref name=storyofpakistan/>
| death_place = [[Lahore]], [[West Pakistan]], [[Pakistan]] {{small| (Now, [[Lahore]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Pakistan]])}}
| term_start = 14 October 1955
| term_end = 27 August 1957
| parents = [[Khan Abdul Bahram Khan]]
| relations = [[Abdul Ghaffar Khan]] (brother) Mariam Khan (daughter) [[Kanwar Jaswant Singh|Jaswant Singh]] (son-in-law)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gandhi |first=Rajmohan |author-link=Rajmohan Gandhi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xnTtQrRVNKAC&pg=PA133&dq=&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjB8fvEnvmQAxVBNvsDHdFyBFAQ6AF6BAgIEAM#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Ghaffar Khan, Nonviolent Badshah of the Pakhtuns |date=2008 |publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-14-306519-7 |pages=133 |language=en}}</ref>
| partner = Mary Khan
| party = [[Republican Party (Pakistan)|Republican Party]]
}}

'''Abdul Jabbar Khan''' ({{langx|ps|خان عبدالجبار خان}}) (born 1883, [[Utmanzai, Charsadda]] – 9 May 1958, [[Lahore]]), popularly known as '''Dr. Khan Sahib''' ({{lang|ps|ډاکټر خان صاحب}}), was a pioneer in the [[Indian Independence Movement]] and later, a [[Pakistani]] politician.<ref name="Larres2021">{{cite book |last1=Larres |first1=Klaus |title=Dictators and Autocrats: Securing Power across Global Politics |date=31 October 2021 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-000-46760-4 |language=en |quote=Founded in 1951, the Khan Market was named after Muslim Indian independence activist Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan.}}</ref> He was the elder brother of the Pashtun activist [[Abdul Ghaffar Khan]], both of whom [[opposition to the partition of India|opposed the partition of India]].<ref name="Hamdani2011">{{cite web |last1=Hamdani |first1=Yasser Latif |title=Mr Jinnah's Muslim opponents |url=https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013/12/21/mr-jinnahs-muslim-opponents/ |publisher=Pakistan Today (newspaper)|access-date=14 April 2023 |language=English |date=21 December 2013}}</ref> Upon independence, he pledged his allegiance to [[Pakistan]] and later served as the First [[West Pakistan|Chief Minister of West Pakistan]].

As the [[List of Chief Ministers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|Chief Minister of the North-West Frontier Province]], Dr Khan Sahib along with his brother Abdul Ghaffar Khan and the [[Khudai Khidmatgar]]s boycotted the [[1947 North-West Frontier Province referendum|July 1947 NWFP referendum]] about the province joining India or Pakistan after the [[partition of India]], citing that the referendum did not have the options of the NWFP becoming [[Pashtunistan|independent]] or joining Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M9iwFmvKTwcC |title=The Dust of Empire: The Race For Mastery In The Asian Heartland – Karl E. Meyer – Google Boeken |date= 5 August 2008|isbn=9780786724819 |accessdate=14 April 2023|last1=Meyer |first1=Karl E. |publisher=PublicAffairs }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/110699/was-jinnah-democratic-ii/|title=Was Jinnah democratic? — II|newspaper=Daily Times (newspaper)|date=25 December 2011|author=Yasser Latif Hamdani|access-date=14 April 2023}}</ref>

Upon independence and establishment of Pakistan, Khan Sahib joined the national politics and was later elected the first Chief Minister of West Pakistan.

==Early life==
He was born in the village of [[Utmanzai, Charsadda]], in the [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–55)|North West Frontier Province]] (NWFP) of [[British India]] (now in [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa]], Pakistan) to a [[Muhammadzai (Hashtnagar)|Muhammadzai]] [[Pashtuns|Pashtun]] family. His father, Bahram Khan was a local landlord. He was eight years older than his brother, [[Abdul Ghaffar Khan]] (Bacha Khan).<ref name=storyofpakistan/>

After matriculating from the Edwards Mission High School in Peshawar, Khan Sahib studied at [[Grant Medical College]], [[Bombay]]. He subsequently completed his training from [[St Thomas' Hospital]] in London. During the [[First World War]], he served in France. During his stay in France, he met a Scottish girl Mary. They fell in love and soon they got married, though his younger brother Bacha Khan was against this marriage. After the war, he joined the [[Indian Medical Service]] and was posted in [[Mardan]] with the ''Guides regiment''. He resigned his commission in 1921, after refusing to be posted in [[Waziristan]], where the [[British Indian Army]] was launching [[Waziristan campaign (1919–1920)|operations]] against his fellow [[Pashtun tribes]] (1919–20).<ref name=storyofpakistan/>

==Contribution to the Indian independence movement==
In 1935, Khan Sahib was elected alongside Peer Shahenshah of Jungle Khel Kohat as representatives of the North-West Frontier Province to the [[Central Legislative Assembly]] in New Delhi.

Along with his brother [[Abdul Ghaffar Khan]] and the [[Khudai Khidmatgar]], Jabbar Khan strongly [[opposition to the partition of India|opposed the partition of India]], favouring a united country.<ref name="Hamdani2011"/>

With the grant of limited self-government and announcement of [[1937 Indian provincial elections]], Dr. Khan Sahib led his party to a comprehensive victory. The Frontier National Congress, an affiliate of the [[Indian National Congress]] emerged as the single largest party in the Provincial Assembly.

In the 1940s, a Sikh family was killed in the [[Hazara District]] of colonial India, with their daughter Basanti being married off to a Muslim man.<ref name="Ashraf2018"/> Basanti asked to be sent to her Sikh relatives and Jabbar Khan agreed with this.<ref name="Ashraf2018"/> The All India Muslim League, however, agitated against Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan's decision, "and made the woman’s return to Islam the principal demand of its civil disobedience movement in the Frontier Province."<ref name="Ashraf2018">{{cite web |last1=Ashraf |first1=Ajaz |title=On Frontier Gandhi's death anniversary, a reminder of how the Indian subcontinent has lost its way |url=https://scroll.in/article/865696/on-frontier-gandhis-death-anniversary-a-reminder-of-how-the-indian-subcontinent-has-lost-its-way |publisher=[[Scroll.in]] |language=English |date=20 January 2018}}</ref>

In the same district, Jabbar Khan fined the villages of the Hazara District for riots that targeted Hindus and Sikhs.<ref name="Ashraf2018"/> When a crowd of pro-separatist Muslim League supporters arrived at his residence, Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan stated that he did what he considered his rightful duty.<ref name="Ashraf2018"/>

==Politics in Pakistan 1947 – 1954==
At the time of the [[creation of Pakistan]] in 1947, he was appointed the Chief Executive of the province in [[British India]].<ref name="Dawn">[https://www.dawn.com/news/62608 Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan on Dawn newspaper website], Published 20 October 2002, Retrieved 14 April 2023</ref> Later he was jailed by [[Abdul Qayyum Khan|Abdul Qayyum Khan Kashmiri]]'s government. After Abdul Qayyum Khan Kashmiri's appointment to the central government and the personal efforts of the Chief Minister of the NWFP [[Sardar Bahadur Khan]], he along with his brother [[Bacha Khan]] and many other activists were released.

==Back in government==
He joined the Central Cabinet of [[Muhammad Ali Bogra]] as Minister for Communications in 1954. This decision to join the government led to his split with his brother [[Bacha Khan]].<ref>Victoria Schofield
Afghan (2004) Frontier: Feuding and Fighting in Central Asia. Tauris Parke Paperbacks,</ref>

In October 1955, he became the first [[Chief Minister]] of [[West Pakistan]] following the consolidation of the provinces and princely states under the [[One Unit]] Scheme.<ref name=storyofpakistan/> However, after differences with the ruling [[Muslim League (Pakistan)|Muslim League]] over the issue of Joint versus Separate Electorates, in the same month he created the [[Republican Party (Pakistan)|Republican Party]] with the help of then [[Governor-General of Pakistan]] [[Iskander Mirza]].<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/place/Pakistan/Political-decline-and-bureaucratic-ascendancy#ref990383 Dr Khan Sahib (Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan) on Encyclopedia Britannica website] Retrieved 14 April 2023</ref>

He resigned in March 1957 after the provincial budget was rejected by the assembly. In June, he was elected to the [[National Assembly of Pakistan]] representing the constituency of [[Quetta]], the capital of [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Balochistan]].

==Assassination==
He was assassinated by Atta Mohammad at approximately 8:30 am on 9 May 1958, according to some sources on the orders of [[Allama Mashraqi]], leader of the [[Khaksars]].<ref>Dr Ali Muhammad Khan, 'Allama Mashriqi, Khaksar Tehreek aur uss ki Qatilana Siyasat' (Urdu: Allama Mashriqi, the Khaksars and the Politics of Assassination') pub Lahore: Rang Mahal Publishers, 1978, pp 121-123</ref>

In ''Allama Mashriqi Narrowly Escapes the Gallows: Court Proceedings of an Unpardonable Crime Against the Man Who Led the Freedom of the Indian Subcontinent'', scholar and historian Nasim Yousaf, Mashriqi’s grandson, provides a day-by-day account of the court proceedings.
<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.amazon.com/Allama-Mashriqi-Narrowly-Escapes-Gallows-ebook/dp/B00P6OP0I2/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8|title = Allama Mashriqi Narrowly Escapes the Gallows: Court Proceedings of an Unpardonable Crime Against the Man Who Led the Freedom of the Indian Subcontinent|date = 2 November 2014| publisher=AMZ Publications |access-date=14 April 2023}}</ref>

This tragic incident occurred while Dr. Khan Sahib was sitting in the garden of his son Sadullah Khan's house at 16 Aikman Road, GOR, Lahore.<ref>Khan, p 121</ref> He was waiting for Colonel Syed Abid Hussein of Jhang to accompany him to a meeting organised in connection with the scheduled February 1959 General Elections. The assailant was a "[[Patwari]]" (Land Revenue Clerk) from [[Mianwali]] who had been dismissed from service two years previously. Despite his appeal in court, the assailant had not been reinstated to his position as 'Patwari'.<ref name=storyofpakistan>{{cite web|url=http://storyofpakistan.com/dr-khan-sahib/ |title=Profile of Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan (Dr. Khan Sahib)|date=22 October 2013|access-date=14 April 2023|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702193351/http://storyofpakistan.com/dr-khan-sahib/ |archive-date=2 July 2014|website=Story of Pakistan website}}</ref>
"In his first public address after the assassination of his elder brother in Lahore, Abdul Ghaffar said on May 19 that he felt that Dr. Khan
Sahib had been done to death by those people for whom he had forsaken his own people, discarded his party and thrown to the winds the position he held as a result of a glorious political career."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tendulkar |first1=D. G. |title=Abdul Ghaffar Khan: Faith is a Battle |date=1967 |publisher=Gandhi Peace Foundation |pages=506 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gdLcAQAACAAJ |access-date=14 April 2023}}</ref>

The body of Dr. Khan Sahib was taken to his village [[Utmanzai, Charsadda]] about 30 miles from Peshawar, where he was laid to rest by side of his European wife Mary Khan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/2008/05/10/stories/2008051054290900.htm| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118112208/http://www.hindu.com/2008/05/10/stories/2008051054290900.htm |newspaper=The Hindu (newspaper)|title= Khan Sahib assassinated|date=10 May 1958|archive-date=18 November 2008|access-date=14 April 2023|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Speaking of his passing, Pakistani President [[Iskander Mirza]] said, about him that he was "the greatest Pathan of his times, a great leader and a gallant gentleman whose life-long fight in the cause of freedom, his sufferings and sacrifices for the sake of his convictions and his passion to do good to the common man were the attributes of a really great man."<ref>Frontier Post, 27 May 2004 Dr Khan Sahib Remembered By Syed Afzaal Hussain Zaidi</ref>

== Legacy ==
[[File:New Delhi India ~Khan Market.jpg|thumb|right|[[Khan Market]] is a major high-end shopping district in [[New Delhi]]]]
A major shopping district in [[New Delhi]], India, the [[Khan Market]], is named in his honour. The market was established in 1951 for refugees of the [[Partition of India]] from the [[North West Frontier Province]]. Dr. Khan who was the Chief Minister of NWFP during the partition had helped many families to escape without harm.<ref name=lakhani-indexpress-khan>{{cite web|last=Lakhani|first=Somya|title=Khan Market's humble beginnings: Meant for refugees, 'doomed to fail'|work=Indian Express|date=17 May 2019|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/delhi/khan-markets-humble-beginnings-meant-for-refugees-doomed-to-fail-5732031/|access-date=14 October 2021|quote= “This market was set up for those who had been displaced; refugees who had migrated from the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) ...” said Sanjiv Mehra, president of Khan Market Traders’ Association and owner of Allied Toy Store.It was aptly named after popular NWFP leader Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan or Dr Khan Sahib, the elder brother of Pashtun Independence activist Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan or Frontier Gandhi.}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Bacha Khan]]
* [[Khan Abdul Bahram Khan]]
* [[Abdul Ghani Khan]]
* [[Abdul Wali Khan]]
* [[Nasim Wali Khan]]
* [[Asfandyar Wali Khan]]
* [[Aimal Wali Khan]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Mahmud |first=Syed Hassan |title=A Nation is Born |year=1958 |location=Lahore |publisher=Feroz Printing Works |oclc=3399413}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box |title=[[Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|Chief Minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa]]|
years=1937–1939|
before= [[Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum]]|
after=[[Sardar Aurang Zeb Khan]]}}

{{succession box |title=2nd term|
years=1945–1946|
before=[[Sardar Aurang Zeb Khan]]|
after=3rd term}}

{{succession box |title=3rd term|
years=1946–1947|
before=2nd term|
after=[[Abdul Qayyum Khan]] Kashmiri}}

{{succession box |title=Chief Minister of [[West Pakistan]]|
years=1955–1957|
before=Office created|
after=[[Sardar Abdur Rashid Khan]]}}
{{end}}

{{Chief Minister of West Pakistan}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Khan Abdul Jabbar}}
[[Category:1883 births]]
[[Category:1958 deaths]]
[[Category:Chief ministers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Punjab Province (British India)]]
[[Category:Pashtun people]]
[[Category:Pakistani MNAs 1955–1958]]
[[Category:Pakistani republicans]]
[[Category:People murdered in Lahore]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India]]
[[Category:Indian Medical Service officers]]
[[Category:Edwardes College alumni]]
[[Category:Bahram Khan family]]
[[Category:Chief ministers of West Pakistan]]
[[Category:Members of the Provincial Assembly of West Pakistan]]
[[Category:Politicians assassinated in the 1950s]]
[[Category:Pakistani politicians assassinated in the 20th century]]
[[Category:Pakistani political party founders]]

Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan - Revision history

Addie15A4298 at 13:01, 17 November 2025