Mohammad
Aslam Khan Khattak
M.A.K. Khattak was born in Chitral in 1908. He was the eldest
son of Kuli Khan, a specialist on tribal affairs. In 1928, he
went to England to study at Brasenose College, Oxford and, after
obtaining his BA (Oxon.) Honours degree studied for the Bar and
became a Barrister. Upon returning to the then India, he took over
his father’s law practice and later joined the civil service.
After several postings he returned to Peshawar and became the
first director of the radio station in Peshawar. When Pakistan
became independent, he remained in the civil service and was appointed
ambassador to Afghanistan (twice), Iran, and Iraq. In 1965, he
became a member of the West Pakistan Assembly. In 1971, he was
elected to the NWFP Assembly and founded the ‘United Front’.
He then became speaker of the assembly and eventually governor
of the NWFP until May 1974. In the general election of 1985, he
won a seat representing Karak and Kohat. He subsequently served
in successive governments as minister for interior, communications
and railways. He ended his political career as minister of inter-provincial
co-ordination during the first Nawaz Sharif government.
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