Ayub Khan

Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani <a href="/facts/Military_dictatorship/HxqRW7Jr">military dictator</a> and statesman who served as the second <a href="/facts/President_of_Pakistan/w1a5GFaj">president of Pakistan</a> from 27 October 1958 until his resignation on 25 March 1969. He was the first native <a href="/facts/Commander-in-Chief_of_the_Pakistan_Army/noqN25An">commander-in-chief</a> of the Pakistan Army, serving from 1951 to 1958. Khan rose to prominence as a statesman after his <a href="/facts/1958_Pakistani_military_coup/IRGslF8c">1958 Pakistani military coup</a> which ousted President <a href="/facts/Iskandar_Ali_Mirza/kG1U1Udm">Iskandar Ali Mirza</a>, who had himself imposed martial law in the country. Ayub Khan's presidency ended in 1969 when he resigned amid the <a href="/facts/1968%25E2%2580%25931969_Pakistani_protests/LKtWCCcI">1968–1969 Pakistan protests</a>.
Born in the <a href="/facts/North-West_Frontier_Province/MgQjwt02">North-West Frontier Province</a>, Ayub Khan was educated from the <a href="/facts/Aligarh_Muslim_University/qFXjvgnS">Aligarh Muslim University</a> and trained at the <a href="/facts/Royal_Military_College%2c_Sandhurst/lKytk4Xf">Royal Military College, Sandhurst</a>. He fought in the <a href="/facts/Second_World_War/2efV5L1U">Second World War</a> on the British side against the <a href="/facts/Imperial_Japanese_Army/11l04P9p">Imperial Japanese Army</a>. After the <a href="/facts/Partition_of_British_India/c8xmUWfG">Partition of British India</a> in August 1947, he joined the <a href="/facts/Pakistan_Army/LonsGhBg">Pakistan Army</a> and was posted in <a href="/facts/East_Bengal/5T4pxqhN">East Bengal</a>. In 1951, he became the first native commander-in-chief, succeeding <a href="/facts/General_Gracey/xw1J5Ik9">General Gracey</a>. From 1953 to 1958, he served in the <a href="/facts/Ministry_of_Talents/ES4rjXdM">civilian government</a> as <a href="/facts/Defence_Minister_of_Pakistan/J7vsYHrY">Defence</a> and <a href="/facts/Interior_Minister_of_Pakistan/RGL8vrxo">Home Minister</a> and supported <a href="/facts/President_Iskandar_Ali_Mirza/kG1U1Udm">President Iskandar Ali Mirza</a>'s decision to impose martial law against prime minister <a href="/facts/Feroze_Khan_administration/ES4rjXdM">Feroze Khan's administration</a> on 7 October 1958. Three weeks later, Ayub Khan seized presidency in a <a href="/facts/1958_Pakistani_military_coup/IRGslF8c">military coup</a>, the <a href="/facts/Military_coups_in_Pakistan/YwG5z7V9">first in the country's history</a>.
As president, Khan controversially appointed <a href="/facts/General_Musa_Khan/q5jWP36A">General Musa Khan</a> to replace him as commander-in-chief, superseding decorated senior officers such as Generals Adam Khan, <a href="/facts/Sher_Ali_Khan_Pataudi/o4REHoIj">Sher Ali Khan Pataudi</a> and M.A. Latif Khan. He <a href="/facts/Baghdad_Pact/0AuQnFBP">aligned</a> <a href="/facts/Pakistan/cbIsvJy1">Pakistan</a> with the United States, and allowed American access to air bases inside Pakistan, most notably the <a href="/facts/Peshawar_Air_Station/9U9uVknS">airbase</a> outside of <a href="/facts/Peshawar/fTlsFmgE">Peshawar</a>, from which <a href="/facts/U-2_incident/7NEdcuAc">spy missions</a> over the <a href="/facts/Soviet_Union/m7wWsPto">Soviet Union</a> were launched. <a href="/facts/China%25E2%2580%2593Pakistan_relations/Jx8FgtGk">Relations with neighboring China</a> were strengthened but his alignment with the US worsened relations with the <a href="/facts/Pakistan-Soviet_Union_relations/xpgG6u2c">Soviet Union</a> in 1962. He launched <a href="/facts/Operation_Gibraltar/vbRehx68">Operation Gibraltar</a> against India in 1965, leading to an <a href="/facts/Indo-Pakistani_War_of_1965/gjVxYNh7">all-out war</a>. It resulted in a stalemate and peace was restored via the <a href="/facts/Tashkent_Declaration/sr9HqTIr">Tashkent Declaration</a>. Domestically, Ayub subscribed to the <a href="/facts/Laissez-faire/euKoqFk7">laissez-faire</a> policy of Western-aligned nations at the time. Khan <a href="/facts/Privatisation_in_Pakistan/KE4UeJu3">privatised</a> state-owned industries, and liberalised the economy generally. Large inflows of <a href="/facts/Foreign_aid/L5WH5WPM">foreign aid</a> and investment led to the fastest-growing economy in South Asia. His tenure was also distinguished by the completion of <a href="/facts/List_of_power_stations_in_Pakistan/2c3Wdgth">hydroelectric stations</a>, <a href="/facts/List_of_dams_and_reservoirs_in_Pakistan/NgHywbM0">dams, and reservoirs</a>. Under General Ayub Khan, Pakistan's <a href="/facts/Space_and_Upper_Atmosphere_Research_Commission/HDpXul84">space program</a> was established, and the country launched its first uncrewed space-mission by 1962. However, the failure of <a href="/facts/Land_reform/EYzj56Ws">land reforms</a> and a weak taxation system meant that most of this growth landed in the hands of the elite. In 1965, General Ayub Khan entered the <a href="/facts/1965_Pakistani_presidential_election/F8zVPIU8">presidential race</a> as the <a href="/facts/Convention_Muslim_League/MldP8jU5">Convention Muslim League</a>'s candidate to counter the opposition candidate <a href="/facts/Fatima_Jinnah/BKHDsIIr">Fatima Jinnah</a>. Ayub Khan won the elections and was re-elected for a second term. In 1967, disapproval of <a href="/facts/Price%2fwage_spiral/Sm7jQtLs">price hikes</a> of food prompted demonstrations across the country led by <a href="/facts/Zulfikar_Ali_Bhutto/nFGDV8hH">Zulfikar Ali Bhutto</a>. Due to the Mass Uprising <a href="/facts/1969_East_Pakistan_mass_uprising/DHvMudX4">protests in East Pakistan</a>, finding no way, frightened General Ayub Khan resigned on 25 March 1969 and appointed <a href="/facts/General_Yahya_Khan/K3L8cajS">General Yahya Khan</a> as his successor. Later, fighting a brief illness, he died in 1974.
Khan remains the country's longest-serving president and second-longest serving <a href="/facts/List_of_heads_of_state_of_Pakistan/rrvmlKVC">head of state</a>. His legacy remains mixed; his era is often dubbed the "Decade of Development." Khan is credited with <a href="/facts/Economic_boom/etH0t44s">economic prosperity</a> and industrialisation. He is denounced by critics for beginning the first of the <a href="/facts/Pakistani_Intelligence_Community/J07l998n">intelligence agencies' incursions</a> into <a href="/facts/Politics_in_Pakistan/sdeVV0vI">national politics</a>, for concentrating wealth in a corrupt <a href="/facts/Oligarchy/1PjREsee">few hands</a>, and for <a href="/facts/Discrimination/B2M2HqxR">geographically discriminatory policies</a> that later led to the <a href="/facts/Bangladesh_Liberation_War/gTshjg0R">Bangladesh Liberation War</a>.

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Ayub Khan