Mohammad Hanif Khan

Sardar Mohammad Hanif Khan (Kabul, Afghanistan, 20 June 1911 – Alexandria, Virginia, United States, 2 October 1994) was an Afghan aristocrat and provincial governor during the reign of King Mohammad Zahir Shah. A member of the Muhammadzai branch of the Barakzai dynasty, he served as the governor (ālī ḥākim) of Ghorat in the 1950s. At that time, Ghorat was not a separate province but formed part of the administrative territory of Herat Province. The modern Ghor Province was re-established in 1964, incorporating Ghorat and surrounding regions. Hanif Khan subsequently became the first governor of the newly established Samangan Province in 1964. Hanif Khan was part of the Barakzai royal lineage descended from Sardar Payinda Khan Mohammedzai,

Early life and family background Mohammad Hanif Khan was born on 20 June 1911 into the Muhammadzai nobility of Afghanistan. His father was Sardar Asif Khan, a provincial governor, Jan Mahomed Khan served as Lord of the Treasury (chief treasury officer, Khazanadar-e-Kul (خزانه دار کل) under Amir Abdur Rahman Khan.

Hanif Khan’s paternal lineage traces directly to the Barakzai dynasty’s founding generation. He was a direct descendant of Sardar Payinda Muhammad Khan (also known as Sarfraz Khan), the chief of the Barakzai tribe who was killed in 1799. one of the so-called "Peshawar Sardars," a group of brothers who controlled the northwestern frontier regions of Afghanistan during the early 19th century, particularly the areas of Peshawar, Hashtnagar and associated crown lands (khalisajat).

Hanif Khan’s brother, General Mohammed Arif Khan served as Minister of Defence in the first cabinet of Prime Minister Daoud Khan under King Zahir Shah, and later as Afghan ambassador to the Soviet Union.

In 1964, Afghanistan underwent administrative reforms that created new provinces, including Samangan Province in the north. Mohammad Hanif Khan was appointed as the first Governor of Samangan.

Hanif Khan retired from public office by the early 1970s, following the abolition of the monarchy in the 1973 coup by Mohammed Daoud Khan. Like many members of the old aristocracy, he withdrew from public life during the Republic and Communist eras.

Personal life and later years Mohammad Hanif Khan married Saida (Shirin Jan) Bibi Salek in 1938 in Kabul.

After the communist coup d’état (Saur Revolution), Mohammad Hanif Khan and his family lived in exile in United States. He died in 1994 at the age of 83 in Alexandria, Virginia.