Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan: #Kashmir

Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan was the first President of Azad Kashmir (the area of Kashmir which is administered by Pakistan). Khan was also the President of the All-Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference. He was born in 1915 in the Poonch District of Kashmir. He went to Poonch High School and, in 1936, to Islamia College, Lahore (then a part of British India). After graduation he studied law in Britain. In 1943 he obtained the LLB from the University of London. After the independence of Pakistan from Britain, Khan became the special representative of Kashmir to the United Nations.

He was elected President of Azad Kashmir on five separate occasions. Sardar Ibrahim Khan is member of the Sudhan tribe of Kashmir. He died during 2003 at his son's home in Islamabad, Pakistan.Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan (April 10, 1915 – July 31, 2003) also known as Bani-e-Kashmir "Father of Kashmir" and Ghazi-e-Millat, is the founder of Azad Kashmir. Born in Horna Mirah, 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 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.Sardar Khan was born in the Sadozai family of Azad Kashmir in Hornah Mirah, district Poonch. He was raised as a normal Kashmiri child with a simple rural lifestyle. Sardar's father was a landlord and a hard working man and his mother was a pious and humble lady. Sardar was the second last child of his parents amongst the siblings of eight (three brothers and five sisters). Sardar was very much inspired by the Armed Forces. As a young boy he wanted to join the Army and become a soldier, but fate had different plans for him. As a child, he always took interest in house duties and was very energetic. Like every other child, Sardar was very much inspired by his parents and because of that he developed a dominant personality with a touch of love and affection for poor and needy.Sardar was very fond of learning new things about the world. As a child he always took interest in house duties. He acquired his religious education from his elder brother but didn't attend any school up to the age of 10. Sardar quotes this matter in his book, Mata-e-Zindagi, as:

"As a child I was always interested in the house duties. It didn't occur to anyone in my family that I should be attending a school. When the other boys of my village started going to the school, nobody thought that I should go too. I was 10 years old when I started going to a school...."

Sardar was an intelligent young man. Where other students finished their primary education in 5 years, Sardar completed his in 3. He passed his Matric exams in 1933 from a school in District Poonch. After matriculation he went to Lahore and joined Islamia College Lahore for his Intermediate and Bachelors studies. In 1935 he passed his Intermediate (F.A.) exams and in 1937, he attained his Bachelors degree (B.A.). After graduation he decided to become a lawyer and left for Britain in 1940. In 1943 he obtained the LLB Degree from the University of London.

 

 

 

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