ClariceLinderman at 14:32, 6 January 2026

2026-01-06T14:32:46Z

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{{Short description|Indian official (1887–1948)}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=January 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|Khan Bahadur|Sir|KCSI|OBE|size=100%}}
| name = Liaqat Hayat Khan
| image = Sir-Liaqat-Hayat-Khan.jpg
| alt = https://share.icloud.com/photos/013zr8Ec3lJustAyWzftCudGA
| caption = Portrait by Bassano Ltd, 1935
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 1887
| birth_place = [[Wah (cantonment)|Wah]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British Raj]]
| father = [[Muhammad Hayat Khan]]
| relations = [[Sikandar Hayat Khan]] (brother) [[Shaukat Hayat Khan]] (nephew) [[Sadiq Hussain Qureshi]] (son in law)<ref name="thefridaytimes.com">{{cite web | url=https://thefridaytimes.com/31-Oct-2022/last-of-the-giants-nawab-ashiq-hussain-qureshi | title=Last of the Giants: Nawab Ashiq Hussain Qureshi | date=31 October 2022 }}</ref> [[Shahkur Ullah Durrani]] (son in law) [[Tehmina Durrani]] (grand daughter) [[Ashiq Hussain Qureshi]] (grandson) [[Rohail Hayat]] (great grandson)
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1948|1887|}}
}}
[[Khan Bahadur]] [[Nawab]] [[Sir]] '''Liaqat Hayat Khan''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|KCIE|OBE}} (also sometimes 'Liaquat Hayat Khan'), (1887 – 1948) was an Indian official who served for most of his career as a minister and later Prime Minister of [[Patiala State]], in [[British India]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=N. Ramusack |first=Barbara |title=The Indian Princes and their States |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2004 |isbn=9780521267274 |location=New York |pages=249}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Talbot |first=Ian |title=Khizr Tiwana, the Punjab Unionist Party and the partition of India |date=1996 |publisher=Curzon |isbn=0-7007-0427-2 |location=Richmond, Surrey |pages=123 |oclc=35194180}}</ref> After the partition of 1947, he became the ambassador of Pakistan to France until 1948.

==Early life==
[[File:Sir_Liaqat_Hyat_Khan.jpg|thumb|left|Sir Liaqat Hayat Khan as PM Patiala 1933]]
Sir Liaqat was the son of Nawab [[Muhammad Hayat Khan|Muhammad Hyat Khan]], [[Order of the Star of India|CSI]], Khattar, of [[Wah (cantonment)|Wah]] (now in [[Pakistan]] [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]]), and the elder brother of [[Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan|Sir Sikander Hyat Khan]].<ref>Prof. Iftikhar H Malik, ''Sir Sikandar Hayat:A Political Biography'', Islamabad, 1985, p.11 and p. 154 (Appendix 2)</ref> His daughter Haseen Bano was married with Nawab Sadiq Hussain Qureshi of [[Multan]]. His son in law, Nawab [[Sadiq Hussain Qureshi]] served as both [[Governor of Punjab, Pakistan|Governor]] and [[Chief Minister of Punjab (Pakistan)|Chief Minister]] of Punjab during the regime of Bhutto.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Foreign minister's cousin passes away |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/554003-foreign-minister-s-cousin-passes-away |access-date=2022-05-05 |website=www.thenews.com.pk |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Nawab Sadiq Hussain Qureshi {{!}} Chief Minister's Office |url=https://cm.punjab.gov.pk/node/1671 |access-date=2022-05-05 |website=cm.punjab.gov.pk}}</ref> He was educated in [[Col. Brown Cambridge School]], [[Dehradun|Dehra Dun]].

After his early education at Col Brown Cambridge School and [[Aligarh Muslim University]], Sir Liaqat Hayat found employment as a junior police officer in the Patiala princely state, and in due course, rose to be head of the police in this territory. His son-in-law [[Shahkur Ullah Durrani]] was the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, while his granddaughter [[Tehmina Durrani]] is an author. One of his son in law was Nawab Haibat Khan of Tank. His other son in law was Nawab [[Sadiq Hussain Qureshi]] who was Governor and later the Chief Minister of Punjab during the regime of Bhutto.<ref name="thefridaytimes.com">{{cite web | url=https://thefridaytimes.com/31-Oct-2022/last-of-the-giants-nawab-ashiq-hussain-qureshi | title=Last of the Giants: Nawab Ashiq Hussain Qureshi | date=31 October 2022 }}</ref>

Sir Liaqat Hyat was employed as a police officer in the Imperial Police. His excellent performance was noticed by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala at the Imperial Durbar in 1911 at Delhi. His Highness Patiala invited him to take charge as the Home Minister of the State. In due course, he was appointed Prime Minister of the state. His prowess and deft handling of the socio-political and financial affairs of Patiala were highly appreciated by His Highness.

He was knighted by the Imperial government and Maharaja Patiala nominated him as a delegate to represent the Chamber of Princes on behalf of the Patiala State at the Round Table Conferences in London, [England]. Subsequent to his retirement from Patiala in 1938, he was appointed as the Political Advisor to the State of Bhopal. He later opted for Pakistan in 1947 and was also designated as Ambassador to France by the Government of Pakistan. Before he could assume office, he died at Murree. He died in 1948.

==Career==
He began his career as [[Deputy superintendent of police|Deputy Superintendent of Police]], Punjab in 1909.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Aga Khan III |title=Aga Khan III : selected speeches and writings of Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah |date=1998 |publisher=Kegan Paul International |others=Khursheed Kamal Aziz |isbn=0-7103-0427-7 |location=London |oclc=39678354}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=Eminent Indians who was Who, 1900-1980, Also Annual Diary of Events |publisher=Durga Das Pvt. Limited |year=1985}}</ref> In 1919, he became Superintendent in charge of a district.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> In 1923, his services were lent by Patiala as Home Secretary where he later became Home Minister.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> He later became Prime Minister of [[Patiala State|Patiala]] from 1930 to 1940.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Copland |first=Ian |title=The princes of India in the endgame of empire, 1917-1947 |date=1997 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-511-00442-7 |location=Cambridge |pages=xii |oclc=48140080}}</ref> He represented Patiala at the Round Table Conferences in 1931 and 1932.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> He represented Patiala at Joint Committee on Indian Constitutional Reform in 1933.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> His administrative skills were widely hailed and appreciated, so much so that rival princely states would scheme and plan to get him to jump ship but he would remain loyal to Maharaja Bhupinder Singh till he lived, and retired soon after his demise. He served Patiala’s people with utmost honesty and fairness, without any biases on religious or cast grounds. For more on his achievements during his stint as Prime Minister Patiala, please refer to the book written by ex Indian foreign minister, Natwar Singh, The Magnificent Maharaja... https://rupapublications.co.in/books/the-magnificent-maharaja/

He served as political advisor to [[Nawab]] of [[Bhopal State|Bhopal]] from 1943 to 1945.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

== Family==

The famous Pakistani musician [[Rohail Hyatt|Rohail Hayat]] is a great-grandson of Sir Liaqat . {{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

==See also==
* Nawab [[Muhammad Hayat Khan]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Liaqat Hayat}}
[[Category:1887 births]]
[[Category:1948 deaths]]
[[Category:Hayat Khattar family]]
[[Category:Patiala State]]
[[Category:Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire]]

Liaqat Hayat Khan - Revision history

ClariceLinderman at 14:32, 6 January 2026