Col (R) Mamtaz Ali Khan

Colonel(R) Mumtaz Ali Khan was born in Kot Chaundhariyan, District Chakwal on November 10, 1932. His father Chaudhry Noor Khan was one of the great estate owners of the area. Mumtaz Ali Khan had three elder sisters and two brothers, Raja Aurangzeb and Raja Iftikhar junior to him. As he got admitted into the school, his paternal aunt, who was mother of Nawab of Kala Bagh, took him alongwith her to KalaBagh. He passed his matriculation examination with distinction from Government High School Kala Bagh. For further education, he was got admissive in Government College, Lahore. Those were the days, when Lahore and even the entire sub-continent of India was inspired by the struggle of Muslims for the realization of a separate homeland and the atmosphere was were resounded with slogans of “We will get Pakistan, “Pakistan will come into existence”. He, too, began to participate in the meetings and rallies of the Muslim League at his father’s behest. By nature, he could be counted among the people who have aspiration tremendous and spirit for freedom. Im that period he passed his F.A. examination. After establishement of Pakistan, his father desired to recall him to the village and hand over to him the management of the estate and other matters, but he showed no inclination to that. The inherent passion for freedom in his nature at length overcame and Mumtaz Ali Khan decided to join Pakistan Army. Consequently, he applied for the PMA long course. On August 23, 1952, he graduated from Pakistan Military Academy in pre- cadet under PMA 6th long course and was commissioned as Second Lieutenant. He thus, realized another step of his success. After joining Pakistan Army, his father fixed his marriage on March 4, 1958 with the young daughter of Sardar Sir Muhammad Nawaz Khan, the most eminent Sardar of the Gheba family. But Chaudhry Noor Khan could not live to see the festivity of his promising son’s wedding and expired. In the first year of his marriage, by the grace of Allah Almighty a loving son was born whom he named Haider Ali out of his sheer love and reverence for the Ahl-e-Bait, the descendents of the Prophet (Peace be upon Him). When Haider Ali was three years old, another off-spring was born who was named Sher Ali, thereafter Allah Almighty blessed him with a daughter and thus his family was completed. In view of his responsible behavior and unblemished service record, he got an opportunity to serve in the President’s Body Guard under the Command of General Fazal Haq in 1961. Col (R) Mumtaz Ali Khan was very fond of horse- riding. His friends used to say that this was difficult and rather impossible for any one to be compatible with him in Polo. In the matches held in Germany in 1962, he had the honor to represent Pakistan on behalf of the Pakistan Army. In 1965, when India attacked Pakistan during night hours, he was performing his duties on Cholistan Border (Sindh) under the leadership of General Gilani. After the war, he also had the honor to command the 19th Lenses of the President’s Body Guard (PBG). Besides, he achieved more success and had also the task of raising 39th Cavalry which added yet another honor to his brilliant military career. In 1971 War, he was posted on Kasur Border (Lahore). Thus, he got two opportunities to defend this sacred country and he returned ‘Ghazi’ on both the occasions. He belonged to an agriculture family. Moreover, devotion to the religion also formed a distinguished virtue of his family. Except Raja Sarfraz Khan, who was the Colonel’s maternal uncle, and was an eminent member of the legislative assembly in 1927 no other member of this family was associated with politics. He resigned from the Pakistan Army in 1974 and he began to take interest in politics. Mumtaz Ali Khan was of the view that the people could not have political awareness without education. As such if the politics in the country has to be promoted, he held the view, the people must be educated. His friends and companions though agreed to his views yet they stressed on Mumtaz that realization of the objective was difficult and rather impossible. While responding them, Mumtaz Ali Khan quoted a famous proverb that “the word “ impossible “ did not exist in his life”. When he made his plan for the promotion of education ,known people were stunned to see that a Jagirdar had earmarked a piece of plot from his Jagir for the construction of the school building . Soon he also stated construction work of the school. The matter did not stop here, and rather it turned into a mission of his life. He used to select a village and had the school building constructed and endowed it to the Education Department so that government teachers could start their teaching there. Even today the school building in the area with boys and girl of nation getting education therein, stand out prominently to pay homage to this great man for his sincerity and love for the people. Not only that, these buildings and resounding laughters of the innocent students seemingly pose a question to the wealthy people, Jagirdar and Waderas of today whether the people could achieve prosperity by raising empty slogans and showing them dreams of a golden future. Is there no second Mumtaz Ali Khan in the area who could advance this cause so that the dreadful signs of ignorance and humiliation could be removed from the area. Col (R) Mumtaz Ali Khan had made it clear from his action that mere plan did not work to bring prosperity to the people, and for that practical measures have to be adopted. His voluntary services were not restricted to the field of education alone, but he had also constructed several medical dispensaries and veterinary hospitals so that the poor people could avail facilities of their own medical treatment and for their precious animals as well at their door step. That is the reason that today friends as well as opponents are seemed paying salute to the nobility of Col (R) Mumtaz. His close associates said that his military colleagues who included General Zia ul Haq, General Sawar Khan, General Hamid Gul and General Aslam Baig, used to describe him as an odd person because of his actions. In response, Mumtaz Ali only moved a smile on his lips. One morning in July 1990, he breathed his last and thus a star which emerged with aspiration for development and prosperity, eclipsed in the vastnesses of the heavens but left behind his social works and deed’s to serve as a beacon. Col (R) Mumtaz Ali Khan was buried in the ancestral graveyard in Chakwal .