Ghulam Ishaq Khan (abbreviated as GIK) (Pashto: غلام اسحاق خان, Urdu: غلام اسحاق خان; January 20, 1915 – October 27, 2006) was the 7th President of Pakistan from August 17, 1988 until July 18, 1993. A bureaucrat, Khan started his career under the Ayub Khan's military regime, and was the chairman of Water and Power Development Authority from 1961 till 1966; and Finance Secretary from 1966–1970.
Under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's elected government, Khan served as Governor of State Bank of Pakistan from 1971-1975, and Defence Secretary from 1975 till 1977. Khan led Ministry of Finance, under the military government of General Zia, from 5 July 1977 – 21 March 1985. Before becoming President, Khan was the Chairman of the Senate which he was elected in 21 March 1985. Under his presidency, Pakistan's economy faced a major currency crises, and repeatedly dismissed democratically elected governments of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif on charges of corruption, mismanagement, and nepotism. In 1993, Khan, along with Nawaz Sharif, was forced to resigned from his presidency by the Chief of Army Staff General Abdul Waheed Kakar. In 1993, new parliamentary elections were held and Khan was succeeded by Farooq Leghari of Pakistan Peoples Party.
Early life
Khan was born on January 20, 1915 in a small village - Ismail Khel - in the suburbs of Bannu District located in the now Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region. In 1933, he attended Peshawar University where he received his double B.S. in Chemistry and Botany, followed by his M.S. in Nuclear chemistry in 1940. Despite of his educational field, Khan joined the Indian Civil Service and became a career bureaucrat in the Government of British Indian Empire. He was appointed to the prestigious Civil Service of Pakistan after independence in 1947.
His son-in-law is senior politician Anwar Saifullah Khan. A grand-daughter of his is married to Omar Ayub Khan, who is the grandson of former Pakistani President Ayub Khan and son of Gohar Ayub Khan.
Chairman of Water and Power Development Authority
After holding various regional posts, including being chairman of the West Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (1961–66), he was appointed to several positions in the central government—first as secretary, Ministry of Finance (1966–70) and later as governor of State Bank of Pakistan (1971–75). In the latter position, he questioned the wisdom of a number of the economic policies of then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
Tenure as Secretary of Defence
He was subsequently moved from the bank and made secretary general at the Ministry of Defence. Although an unusual post for a senior economics expert, it proved to be fortuitous in that it brought him into close contact with the senior officers of the armed forces. Among them was General Zia, who later ousted Bhutto and turned the management of the economy over to Ishaq Khan. During the martial law period (1977–85), Ishaq Khan's titles changed, but he was responsible for all important economic decisions. Among other things, he supported the Zia government's efforts to Islamize the economy by changes in the fiscal and banking systems.
President of Pakistan
In the 1985 elections, he won a Senate seat, shortly after which he was elected as Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan. Immediately after the death of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in 1988, Khan became acting President in accordance with the Constitutional rules of succession, and was formally elected to the position in December of that year. He held the position of President until 1993.
Appointment of Chief of Armed Forces
Khan reportedly vetoed the appointment of Lieutenant-General Hamid Gull, a former Director-General of Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), as Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army, appointing the moderately reformist General Asif Nawaz Khan Janjua instead. Khan's presidency also saw the resignation of General Rahimuddin Khan from the post of Governor of Sindh, due to differences between the two after Khan started restricting Rahimuddin's vast amount of legislative power.
Khan appointed Air Chief Marshal Farooq Feroze Khan as Chief of Air Staff of Pakistan Air Force on the advice of Bhutto. Khan later promoted Vice-Admiral Yastur-ul-Haq Malik as 4-star Admiral, and appointed him as Chief of Naval Staff of Pakistan Navy. On Prime minister Benazir Bhutto's recommendation and advice, Khan approved Admiral Iftikhar Ahmed Sirohey, former Chief of Naval Staff, as Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Dismissing the Governments of Bhutto and Sharif
Khan's presidency was also marked by his use of Eighth Amendment reserve powers to check the government. While the Prime Minister is the Head of Government, Khan, as President of Pakistan, was able to dismiss the governments of both prime ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif on charges of corruption, mismanagement, and nepotism, thereby triggering new elections, which the incumbent parties lost. The second dismissal of government exacerbated institutional and political opposition to Khan, leading to his resignation in 1993.
Currency crisis
During the early 1990s, Khan's administration failed to arrest the 30 per cent fall in the value of the Pakistani Rupee from 21 to 30 to the US Dollar.
Atomic weapons programme
Khan was a staunch supporter of nuclear detterent programme and played a major role in the development of nuclear weapons as his role as Chairman of Senate. Zahid Ali Akbar, Brigadier at that time, submitted a survey and map of Kahuta City and the Engineering Research Laboratories (ERL) to Khan as he was Defence Secretary to Bhutto's premiership cabinet. As the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers, under Zahid Ali Akbar, supervised the Project-706, Khan had maintained extremely closed relationship with dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, and remained his staunch loyal. Ghulam Ishaq Khan, as President of Pakistan, established Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (GIKI) that offers world-class programmes in nuclear science and technology in the country. In 1990, he invited dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan to become institute's executive member, and with his support, Abdul Qadeer Khan became the Chairman of Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering. Khan also inivited Asghar Qadir, a PAEC mathematician, to become a head of Department of Mathematics. However, Khan did not become the head of the nuclear weapons programme until Munir Ahmad Khan retired. After Munir Ahmad Khan took retirement from Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), President Ghulam Ishaq Khan eventually become the administrative head of Nuclear weapons programme. Under his presidency, the nuclear weapons program periodically progressed.
In 1972, when Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto started the nuclear weapons research program; Khan, as then-Defence Minister, played an important and central role in the programme as he also served as an administrator. And, he also provided funds for the construction of the nuclear test laboratories where weapons made and tested. In 1983, as Chairman of Senate, he was one of the invited high civil officials who reported to be present at the cold test, along with Lieutenant-General Zahid Ali Akbar — E-in-C of Corps of Engineers— General Khalid Mehmud Arif — Vice Chief of Army Staff — Air Vice-Marshal Michael John O'Brian— AOC of Sargodha Air Force Base— and Chairman of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Munir Ahmad Khan.[1]
Retirement and death
Despite coming to an arrangement with the PPP government to be re-elected to the presidency after the 1993 elections, he was eventually dropped as a candidate in favour of Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari. He subsequently retired from politics and avoided contact with the international and national media. He died on 27 October 2006 after a bout of pneumonia.
Trivia
"He would never hesitate to accept that he has served on minor posts as well before assuming key offices through sheer hard work," said his brother-in-law Shakatullah Khan.[2]
"Having remained close to former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, military dictator Ziaul Haq and serving as the president of Pakistan, he is considered to have played a pivotal role in implementing the country’s nuclear programme, prompting a US diplomat to call him Mr Nuke, his long-time associate and aide, Roedad Khan said."[2]
He has to his credit the establishment of Rs 2.2 billion Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology in Swabi, Topi, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[2]
