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Politics has been defined in many ways; as the art of the possible, the
pursuit of power or the seeking of compromise. For me, the only true definition
of politics is that it means service to the people. Unfortunately, none of the
leaders that our country has had and none of the political Parties they
represent have ever seen politics in this light. I know, however, of two men who
practised politics as a service to the people in its true sense. One was Baacha
Khan and the other, his son, Wali Khan. I see the Awami National Party as the
heirs to the great legacy these two Pakhtun leaders have left. There have been
fears in the recent past that the Party was straying from the path charted out
by Baacha Khan, but now, with Asfandyar Wali at the helm, I see it reverting to
its historic role. I am not a politician and I bring to the Party no tangible
assets in the form of votes or increased popular support. But I do have
extensive experience of governance and of diplomacy. I can only hope that this
experience will benefit the Party as it formulates its position on important
national and international issues. Pakistan is once again in the throes of a
crisis. Law and order has broken down, violence and extremism are out of
control, the poor man's burden gets heavier by the day as the cost of living
rises and democracy continues to be repressed by military rule. In these
circumstances. I consider it the sacred duty of every responsible citizen to
play his part in trying to put things right. I have discussed the basic issues
with Asfandyar Wali and Afrasiab Khattak and I have found that their approach to
the major problems facing the country is the correct one. We have to restore a
sense of security for every citizen; we have to fight the forces of extremism;
we have to oppose the use of religion as a political weapon; we have to put a
stop to violence and terrorism; we have to give primary importance to poverty
reduction, particularly in the rural areas; we have to introduce permanent and
impartial mechanisms to wipe out corruption; we have to find a durable solution
to the recurring problem of military intervention into politics and we have to
live in peace and friendship with our neighbours. Our own province continues to
be backward and under-developed so we have to work relentlessly to secure its
due rights. I believe the ANP is the one Party which is committed to these
goals. I am proud to be asked to join it and make my humble contribution towards
making Pakistan a progressive, tolerant, truly moral society and of finding for
the Pakhtuns a place of honour and dignity in such a society.
BIODATA OF DR. HUMAYUN KHAN
Dr. Humayun Khan hails from Mardan district. He is the son of the late K.B. Mohd.
Safdar Khan of Amazo Garhi, former Distt.& Sessions Judge, Peshawar and Begum
Mumtaz Safdar, former Member of the West Pakistan Assembly. He is married to the
grand daughter of the late Qazi Ataullah, former Minister in the Cabinets of Dr.
Khan Sahib before partition. One of her aunts was married to Abdul Ali Khan,
youngest son of Baacha Khan. Dr Humayun Khan was educated at Edwarde's College
Peshawar and at Trinity College, Cambridge.He holds an honours degree and an MA
from Cambridge University. He was called to the Bar from Lincoln's Inn, London
in 1954. Later, he earned another MA and a Doctorate from the University of
Southern California, Los Angeles. He joined the then Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP)
in 1955 and served as Assistant Commissioner, Tank; Assistant Commissioner,
Nowshera; Deputy Commissioner, Bannu; Political Agent, North Waziristan and
Political Agent, Malakand. He was Home Secretary, NWFP in the NAP-JUI
Government in 1972-73, after which he moved to the Pakistan Foreign Service. He
served in the country's missions in Moscow and the UNO at Geneva before he was
appointed Ambassador to Bangladesh in 1979. In 1984 he became Ambassador to
India and served there for four and a half years. He returned as Foreign
Secretary of Pakistan in 1988 and held the post till 1989, when Benazir Bhuto
made him an OSD. On the dismissal of her first Government in 1990, he was
appointed High Commissioner in London. He retired from government service in
1992 but was immediately selected as Head of the Commonwealth Foundation, an
inter-governmental international organisation with its headquarters in London.
He held this postion from 1993 to 2000, when he returned to Peshawar. He has
since seved on the National Finance Commission and on the Board of the National
Rural Support Programme. He also works with the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy
and on a number of committees dealing with relations between the countries of
South Asia. He has written extensively on Indo-Pak relations and is co-author of
DIPLOMATIC DIVIDE published in India.
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