Liaquat Ali Khan’s Assassination: Begum Rana Liaquat Alleges Ghulam Muhammad and Mushtaq Gurmani Were Involved

An interview given by Begum Rana Liaquat Ali Khan, the slain prime minister’s widow and Pakistan’s first woman governor of Sindh, to the respected English-language magazine MAG in February 1982 provides an insight into the matter.

In her interview, Begum Rana Liaquat Ali Khan said that the individuals involved in the assassination of her husband, Pakistan’s first prime minister and the Shaheed-e-Millat, had been identified, but they had never been brought to justice.

She alleged that Ghulam Muhammad and Mushtaq Gurmani had a hand in the assassination.

She said it was the nation’s responsibility to pressure successive governments to uncover the facts behind this national tragedy and demand that the truth be brought to light. Unfortunately, she added, the public had failed to do so.

Begum Rana further revealed that foreign experts had also visited Pakistan to investigate the assassination and had prepared a report on the incident. However, the aircraft carrying the documents crashed, destroying the records. The person who had prepared the report also died in the crash.

Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated while preparing for elections. According to Begum Rana, he was at the height of his popularity at the time of his death, and his policies of honesty and integrity had cost him his life.

In the same interview, she said that when she became Governor of Sindh, she had requested then Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to reopen the investigation into her husband’s assassination. However, she received no response.

She also stated that Liaquat Ali Khan was neither a communist nor pro-American. An invitation from the Soviet Union had arrived at an inappropriate time, which was why he did not visit the country.

Begum Rana maintained that her husband was selfless, honest and highly capable, and that those who considered him a major obstacle had sought to eliminate him.

The roles of Ghulam Muhammad and Mushtaq Gurmani

Ghulam Muhammad was Pakistan’s first finance minister. Following Liaquat Ali Khan’s assassination, he became the country’s third Governor-General, serving from October 17, 1951, until August 1955.

Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani served as federal minister for the interior and Kashmir affairs from 1951 to 1954. Following the introduction of the One Unit scheme, he became the first Governor of West Pakistan, serving in that position until 1957.

The plane crash that reportedly destroyed key evidence

The aircraft crash mentioned by Begum Rana Liaquat Ali Khan occurred on the morning of August 26, 1952. A Pakistan Air Force Bristol transport aircraft crashed near Khewra while travelling from Lahore to Peshawar.

Twenty people, including crew members, were aboard the aircraft. Among those killed was Sahibzada Aitzazuddin, the Inspector General of Special Police who had been assigned to investigate Liaquat Ali Khan’s assassination.

Reports at the time stated that important documents relating to the Liaquat Ali Khan assassination case were also lost in the crash.

Significantly, just two days after the crash, on August 28, the Punjab government initiated disciplinary proceedings against Khan Najaf Khan, a District Superintendent of Police in the Pakistan Police Service, through the Inspector General of Police, Punjab. He faced serious charges of negligence in the performance of his duties.

Although Liaquat Ali Khan is no longer among us, the Pakistani nation will always remember him as one of its national heroes.

Editorial note: The allegations concerning Ghulam Muhammad and Mushtaq Gurmani are attributed to Begum Rana Liaquat Ali Khan’s reported 1982 interview. They should not be presented as conclusively established facts without independent documentary verification.