Abdur Rab Nishtar

Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar (13 June 1899 – 14 February 1958) was a Pakistani independence activist and politician from the North-West Frontier Province (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). He served as the first Minister of Communications of Pakistan from August 1947 to August 1949 and then as the second Governor of West Punjab from August 1949 to November 1951.

Early life and education Abdul Rab Nishtar was born on 13 June 1899 into a religious household in Peshawar, British India. His father, Maulvi Abdul Hannan was a prominent figure from the Pashtun Kakar tribe that had fiercely opposed the British rule in South Asia. Abdul Qayyum Khan was an outcast from the Indian National Congress Party, who then vigorously opposed that political party after his ouster from it, especially he was against the union of the Indian subcontinent in a single country and was working for the creation of an independent Muslim state. Refusing to be involved in what he perceived as an undemocratic act, Nishtar went into opposition. In 1956, when the first Pakistani constitution was adopted, Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar was elected president of the Muslim League against the wishes of President Iskandar Mirza and then prime minister Chaudhry Mohammad Ali who were backing Dr. Khan Sahib from the Republican Party as West Pakistan chief minister while Nishtar wanted a Muslim League man for the office. But a big majority of the League leaders, including Nawab Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani and Mumtaz Daultana, supported Iskander Mirza.

Leader of Muslim League He subsequently took over the leadership of the Muslim League party and the League was expected to do well in West Pakistan in the planned 1959 elections but unfortunately he died before that. He served as president, Pakistan Muslim League from 1956 to 1958.

Death and legacy

Abdur Rab Nishtar died of a heart attack on 14 February 1958 in Karachi. He had been suffering from heart disease and high blood pressure since 1953. Nishtar Medical College, Nishtar Hospital in the city of Multan and Nishtar Hall Peshawar are named in his honor. Nishtar Park and Nishtar Road in Karachi are named after him. He was buried at Mazar-e-Quaid near the Tomb of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan to acknowledge his services in the cause of Pakistan. Abdul Rab Nishtar had a reputation of being a sincere political leader and a man of amicable nature. With his political activities, he contributed greatly to All-India Muslim League and the Muslims living in the Indian subcontinent, creating political consciousness and Islamic spirit among them. Abdur Rab Nishtar's grandson is married to Dr. Sania Nishtar, who was the special assistant on poverty alleviation and social safety to Prime Minister Imran Khan.