Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi and a prominent leader of the Pakistan movement. He was born in Utmanzai in 1890, and received his education from Edwardes College and Aligarh Muslim University. He joined the Khilafat Movement in 1920, and later became a member of the Indian National Congress. He switched to the All-India Muslim League in 1932, and became a member of its Working Committee in 1944. He represented the Muslim League at the Simla Conference in 1945, and the June 3 leaders' conference with the Viceroy on the partition plan in 1947. He was also a member of the Interim Government of India from 1946 to 1947. After the creation of Pakistan, he was appointed as the first Minister of Communications of Pakistan by Jinnah himself. He also served as the Governor of Punjab from 1949 to 1951. He played a key role in the national consolidation and integration of Pakistan, and advocated for the rights of the Pashtuns and the minorities. He was also a candidate for the presidency of Pakistan in 1956, but lost to Iskander Mirza by one vote. He died of natural causes in 1988, at the age of 97, and was buried in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. He is widely respected and admired as one of the founding fathers of Pakistan.