1. Hayat Mohammad Khan Sherpao, simply known as Hayat Sherpao, was a left-wing intellectual and socialist, who served as the 15th Governor of North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, as well as vice-chairman of Pakistan People's Party.
18 Facts About Hayat Sherpao
1. 2.
Hayat Sherpao was assassinated in 1975, and his death was blamed on a rival political party in the province - the Awami National Party of Khan Abdul Wali Khan.
3.
Co-founding the Pakistan People's Party with Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1967, Hayat Sherpao took the responsibility to govern the Sarhad Province at a difficult time when the country had lost East-Pakistan as a result of the 1971 war with rival India.
4.
Hayat Sherpao was born in 1937 to Khan Bahadar Ghulam Haider Khan Sherpao, who was an activist of the Pakistan Movement.
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Hayat Sherpao was the fifth son of Khan Bahadar Ghulam Haider Khan Sherpao, a Pakhtun aristocrat who played a role in the Pakistan movement.
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From his mother's side, Hayat Sherpao descends from the line of the Khans of Prang.
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Hayat Sherpao graduated from Islamia College, Peshawar, where he worked for student rights.
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Hayat Sherpao joined the front ranks in Fatima Jinnah's electoral campaign, when she challenged the General Ayub Khan's dictatorship.
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Hayat Sherpao was a close ally of the former president and prime minister of Pakistan Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and a co-founder of the Pakistan People's Party.
10.
On 25 December 1971 Hayat Sherpao became the 15th Governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa shortly after Bhutto had become president of Pakistan.
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At the age of 34, Hayat Sherpao was the youngest person to have held the office of a governor of a province in the history of Pakistan.
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Hayat Sherpao continued to hold this office till 30 April 1972.
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Hayat Sherpao remained a federal minister in Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's cabinet and a senior minister in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa cabinet.
14.
Hayat Sherpao was assassinated on 8 February 1975, in a bomb explosion on the campus of University of Peshawar.
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Hayat Sherpao's death led the government to target the National Awami Party of Khan Abdul Wali Khan.
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Hayat Sherpao's assassination was considered a national loss with many still mourning his loss today.
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Hayat Sherpao legacy is carried by his younger brother Aftab Sherpao, who learned politics and diplomacy form his elder brother.
18.
The Hayat Sherpao faction has raised a voice for the rights of the Pakhtoon people and the province.