Roedad Khan passes away

Former civil servant Roedad Khan passed away in Islamabad on Sunday. He was 100 years old.

“Mourning passing away of National Icon & Legend, Roedad Khan sahib, 101; he lived a full life of service to Pakistan during our tumultuous periods,” Mushahid Hussain Syed wrote on Twitter/X

“Truly a unique, multifaceted personality of our times! He will be missed by his countless admirers!”

“Roedad Khan was a living walking history of Pakistan, with his departure country has lost its connection with the past – and is hurtling like a spaceship into an uncertain unknown future!” journalist Moeed Pirzada wrote.

Roedad Khan was a Pakistani politician and retired civil servant. He was a leading figure in Pakistan from the start to the end of the Cold War. During his long career, Khan was one of the most senior civil servants of Pakistan.

Since his entry into the Pakistani Civil Services in 1949, Khan has held several positions, including those of Chief Secretary of Sindh, Chief Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Managing Director of PTV, Information Secretary of Pakistan, Secretary of Ministry of Labour, Secretary Ministry of Tourism, Interior Secretary of Pakistan, Secretary General Ministry of Interior, Federal Minister of Accountability, and Advisor to the Pakistani Prime Minister and President.

Khan was born in a small village of Mardan, North-West Frontier Province, British India, to an ethnic Pashtun family of the Yusufzai tribe.

In 1939, he graduated from a local high school and went to attend Forman Christian College, and gained a BA in English Literature in 1942. The atmosphere, in the College was liberal, tolerant, and progressive.
Respecting his father’s wishes, Khan attended the Aligarh Muslim University and gained an MA in English history in 1946.
Upon his return to Mardan, Khan taught history at Islamia College, Peshawar, and opted for Pakistani citizenship in 1947.

He had turned 100 on September 28, 2023.