Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan

Bani-e-Kashmir Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan
Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan as the, 32 years old, first President of Azad Kashmir.
President of Azad Kashmir
In office 1947–1950
In office 1957–1959
In office 1975–1978
In office 1996–2001
Personal details
Born	(1915-04-10)April 10, 1915 Kot Mattay Khan, Poonch district, Kashmir and Jammu, British India
Died	July 31, 2003(2003-07-31) (aged 88) Islamabad, Pakistan
Political party	Muslim Conference, Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party
Spouse(s)	Zaib-un-Nisa Khan
Relations	Sardar Javed Ibrahim Khan Son Sardar Khalid Ibrahim Khan Son Uft-e-Huma Daughter Sardar Farooq Ibrahim Khan Son
Religion	Islam
Signature

Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan (April 10, 1915 – July 31, 2003) also known by some as Bani-e-Kashmir "Father of Kashmir" and Ghazi-e-Millat ("Hero of the Nation"), was the founder and first President of Azad Kashmir. He was the grand-uncle of His Excellency Masood Khan, who is a career diplomat and served as Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations until recently. Previously he has also served as Pakistan's Ambassador to China and Pakistan's permanent representative to United Nations Office at Geneva, in February 2005. Born in Kot Mattay Khan, a village of District Poonch of Kashmir, Sardar Ibrahim obtained his LLB from the University of London in 1943, and began his practice as a prosecutor in 1943 at Mirpur. He completed his BVC from Lincoln's Inn and became the first Barrister of Kashmir. He was appointed as assistant advocate general in 1944 by the then Maharaja of Kashmir. He left the government job in line with the liberation of Kashmir movement, and contested the 1946 elections with a sweeping victory that made him the Member of Rajiha Sabha. He led an army of Kashmiri guerrillas against the Maharaja of Kashmir, Hari Singh, after passing the resolution for Kashmir's accession to Pakistan in 1947, at his residence. Sardar and his army were unable to capture the whole Kashmiri Territory due to the resolution passed by United Nations on August 13, 1948. However, the captured area was named as Azad Kashmir and Khan was elected as its first President at the age of 32. He represented Kashmir in different capacities in the United Nations from 1948 to 1971.

Early life and education

Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan was born on 10 April 1915 in a village called Kot Mattay Khan near Rawalakot. He received his primary education in his native village. He passed his BA in 1935 at Islamia College Lahore and went abroad for higher studies in 1938. After that he obtained a degree of Bar-at-Law from Lincoln's Inn, and started practicing law at Srinagar.

Professional & Political Career

In 1943 he was appointed as a public prosecutor in Mirpur and later joined the office of the State Advocate General in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Sardar Ibrahim resigned from this office and participated in the elections for the State Assembly in 1947. He won the election with an overwhelming majority.

Later, he established the Azad Muslim Conference.

Role in 1947 Independence Struggle

At that time Mahraja Hari Singh had imposed a ban on public meetings and political activities in Jammu and Kashmir. On 19 July 1947 Sardar Ibrahim called the meeting of general assembly at his residence where a resolution was unanimously passed for the accession of the State to Pakistan. He also declared Jihad for the achievement of his goal. Thereupon the Dogra Raja turned against him and therefore he instantly left the state and moved to Murree. In Murree, he strove to gather ammunition from the private individuals and organizations. With the help of fellow Kashmiris he launched ‘Jihad’ against the Maharaja and after a long and vigorous fight, he defeated the forces of Maharaja on 24 October 1947 and laid the foundation of independent state of Azad Kashmir. As first President of Azad Kashmir he was invited by the United Nation to brief the session of the General Assembly on the situation in Kashmir. Under the leadership of Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim the annual session of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference was held at Kotli in 1954, and a resolution was moved for the establishment of a proper Legislative Assembly in Azad Kashmir. From then onwards he and his lieutenants kept trying to achieve their goal. Finally it was during the Yahya Khan’s regime that Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly was formed. Sardar Ibrahim was elected as the president of Azad Kashmir for the second time on April 13, 1957 and for the third time on June 5, 1975. Sardar Ibrahim was very close to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and formed Azad Kashmir as a chapter of Pakistan Peoples Party. In 1977 Zia-ul-Haq dissolved the government of Bhutto and allowed Sardar Ibrahim to continue as president provided he gave up support Bhutto. But Sardar Ibrahim refused to betray his bosom friend Bhutto. The result was the removal of Sardar Ibrahim from the office of the president through a proclamation issued by General Ziaul Haq as Chairman of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council on October 30, 1978. Sardar Ibrahim still retained his reputation and was re-elected for the fourth time as the President of Azad Kashmir in August 1996. He remained in office until August 2001. Sardar Ibrahim, who played a vital role in the politics of Azad Kashmir from the beginning has now restricted his political activities due to his age.

References

• "Sardars of Kashmir". Retrieved 2015-10-19. 

Further reading

• Snedden, Christopher (2013) [first published as The Untold Story of the People of Azad Kashmir, 2012], Kashmir: The Unwritten History, HarperCollins India, ISBN 9350298988 
• Schoefield, Victoria (2003) [First published in 2000], Kashmir in Conflict, London and New York: I. B. Taurus & Co, ISBN 1860648983