LAHORE – The 65th death anniversary of Shaheed-i-Millat Khan Liaquat Ali Khan is being observed on Sunday (Sunday).
The death anniversary of the first Prime Minister of Pakistan and a close aide of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah is observed on October 16 in the country with great reverence.
He was assassinated in 1951 during a public meeting of the Muslim City League at the Company Bagh, later named as the Liaquat Bagh, in Rawalpindi.
To mark the day, seminars and references are held across the country where speakers pay rich tributes to Khan Liaquat Ali Khan, who struggled with Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah to get a separate homeland for Muslims of the subcontinent and later served as first Prime Minister at a critical juncture.
Quran Khawani and Fateha Khawani will be offered at his grave in the premises of the Mazar-Quaid. A large number of people visit his grave and offer Fateha on his death anniversary.
Liaquat Ali Khan was shot dead under a conspiracy almost six decades ago while addressing a public meeting. He was one of the most important leaders of the Muslim League and most trusted and close associate of Quaid-e-Azam.
Liaquat Ali Khan wanted to shape Pakistan according to the vision of the founder of the country so that it could be brought into the group of developed countries. However, he was murdered through a conspiracy.
Born and hail from Karnal East Punjab, Liaquat Ali Khan Khan was educated at the Aligarh Muslim University in India and then the Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
Liaquat Ali Khan was invited by the Indian Congress Party to join his party, but he opted for the Muslim League led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who was advocating and determining to eradicate the injustices and ill-treatment meted out to the Indian Muslims by the British government.
He played an important role in the independence movement of Pakistan while serving as the first finance minister in the interim government of British Indian Empire prior to partition.
Khan assisted Muhammad Ali Jinnah in campaigning for the creation of a separate state for Indian Muslims. Upon his death, he was given the title of Shaheed-e-Millat.-APP