The 25th death anniversary of former governor Lieutenant General Fazle Haq (R) is being observed today. In this connection, his death anniversary function will be observed at his residence wherein his family members and friends will participate in Quran khwani for the departed soul.
Lieutenant General Fazle Haq (R) was killed on October 3, 1991 in an attack by unknown armed persons when he was on way home from the provincial assembly session leaving behind a widow, a daughter, three sons and grandchildren.
Lieutenant General Fazle Haq (the late) was born on September 10, 1928 at Mohallah Piraan, District Mardan. His father Pir Fazle Khaliq a military man turned civil servant retired as Secretary and Representative of the Government of Pakistan to the State of Swat.
He had three brothers and two sisters. His eldest brother was Major General Fazle Raziq, Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers who was also Chairman WAPDA and Ambassador of Pakistan to several countries. His other two other brothers were Pir Fazle Hussain and Pir Fazle Rehman.
His initial schooling was in Mardan than in Kohat, from 1939 to 1946 he was sent to the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College (RIMC), Dehradun India. On graduation in 1948 from Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) he was commissioned in the Guides Cavalry (FF) as lieutenant.
As major he served as the commandant presidential bodyguards with late General Muhammad Ayub Khan. As a lieutenant colonel, he commanded his own regiment, the Guides Cavalry. He was also posted as instructor at the Command and Staff College, Quetta. As a brigadier, he commanded 3rd Armoured Brigade. In 1975, he was promoted to the rank of major general and took over the 6th Armoured Division. He also served as corps commander of 11 Corps Peshawar after being promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. He was governor of the province from October 1978 to December 1985. As a young Captain he had studied at the US Army Armour Center at Fort Knox, Kentucky gaining an Associate Diploma.
He was a graduate of the Command and Staff College, Quetta and the National Defence College, Rawalpindi possessing a Masters of Arts degree in Strategic Studies. During the 1965 war for his gallant and meritorious services his name was mentioned in Despatches (MID) and was awarded the Imtiazi-Sanad.
He was the Honorary Colonel Commandant of Pakistan Army Remount, Visionary & Farms Corps and the 1st Armoured Regiment, Australian Army. He was decorated by other countries in recognition of services which included Romania, Saudi Arabia and the United States of America.
He was elected as a Senator in 1988 later on to become the 15th Chief Minister of N-WFP on May 29, 1988. The same year he resigned from his position as a Senator and was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan. He remained as an MNA winning from Kohistan before contesting for Malakand during the 1990 elections consequently winning the seat and being elected to the NWFP Provincial Assembly as an MPA.
Lieutenant General Fazle Haq was par excellence and is reminisced as a strong man, respected for his vision, acumen and performance. He is considered as the most dynamic governor of the province, his leadership brought efficiency in the governance. He concentrated his considerable energies on promoting economic development, at times working against the wishes of the central government. He is mostly remembered for development of infrastructure making NWFP an envy of other provinces but he actually has done more for education and service delivery than infrastructure.
Despite being a general and administrator he developed a political constituency of his own through his performance, and in the words of fellow politician "he was the only general that turned into a successful politician in Pakistan". He set the bar high for performance and delivery in the province which is what the people of KP expect from its leadership hence probably why different governments have been rejected one after the other as they failed to deliver.
He is admired and respected by many as a man, as a soldier and as a leader even in death his posthumous gift of two corneas enabled two blind persons to see the world again.