17 Facts About Afzal Bangash

Mohammad Afzal Khan Bangash was a Pakistani Marxist politician and activist.

Afzal Bangash was a member of the Communist Party of Pakistan until 1957 and then served as an office-bearer in the National Awami Party, and later, along with his colleague Sher Ali Bacha, as the co-founder and president of the Mazdoor Kisan Party.

Mohammad Afzal Khan Bangash was born on 16 April 1924, in Kohat, British India.

Afzal Bangash's father was Mohammad Akbar Khan Bangash, an advocate.

Afzal Bangash became one of the leading lawyers of NWFP and during Ayub Khan's rule, he was offered the judgeship of the West Pakistan high court.

Afzal Bangash declined the offer, choosing instead to concentrate on pleading cases of peasants who were being evicted by Ayub's land reforms.

Afzal Bangash was responsible for organizing the peasant committee in NWFP.

Afzal Bangash had numerous health problems, including chronic bronchitis, asthma, kidney failure, stroke, near blindness, diabetes, heart disease and hypertension.

Amin wanted Afzal Bangash to turn the MKP into a Pakistani party allied with his Khalq faction thereby extending the revolution into Pakistan.

However, Afzal Bangash refused this and instead admonished Amin advising him to take local culture and norms into consideration.

In 1981 the MKP helped found the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy, and Afzal Bangash worked with Benazir Bhutto during that era.

Afzal Bangash resided at his house at Kohat Road in Peshawar and remained involved with merging leftist parties including supporting the fateful decision to merge the MKP with Khan Abdul Wali Khan's National Democratic Party thus creating the new Awami National Party and ending a nearly two decade-long dispute with Wali Khan.

Afzal Bangash died of kidney failure on 28 October 1986, in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Afzal Bangash was originally buried in his ancestral graveyard in Shadi Khel village, Kohat, but later on his remains were transferred to Hashtnagar.

Afzal Bangash detested the idea of revolutionary theory without practice, and laid great emphasis on revolutionary militant action.

Afzal Bangash did not consider himself a Maoist, and was opposed to the Chinese invasion of Vietnam, in contrast to many of his colleagues who endorsed it.

Afzal Bangash did not believe in importing or exporting revolutions, but instead believed in indigenous struggle, with mass mobilization of oppressed people through an astute leadership.