Remembering late Haji Sarfaraz Khan of Hathyan

PESHAWAR: The setting sun of August 10 this year brought an end to an era of a prominent politician from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Haji Sarfaraz Khan. He was over 97. Hailing from the famous Khattak tribe of Pakhtuns, Sarfaraz Khan earned the titles of Khan of Baiza and Chief of Hathyan. He was born on October 22, 1922 in Lundkhwar town of Mardan district. His father Khan Ridi Khan was a known personality of Baizai area.

Sarfaraz Khan received his early education in a high school at Mardan. On the demise of his father in 1937, he couldn’t continue further education. He then shifted to his village Hathyan to look after his vast agricultural lands.

Khan Faraz, a former secretary of the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB), recalled that Sarfaraz Khan had adopted new approaches towards agriculture and promoted the use of modern technology for obtaining a high yield of crops. “His innovative ideas about agriculture helped greatly in promoting financial and economic conditions of the people of Hathyan and adjoining areas where people mostly depend on farming,” said Khan Faraz. He said that since his childhood Sarfaraz Khan was an activist having a vast group of likeminded people. “He took an active part in the Pakistan Movement along with his elder brothers Muhammad Akbar Khan and Sher Ali Khan. He loved social work as he sought satisfaction from minimising someone’s sufferings,” recalled his old acquaintance. He was elected member of the West Pakistan Assembly in 1963. In 1977, he was elected to the Senate and in 1990 the member of the National Assembly. He remained associated with the PPP, ANP and PTI. He shared this distinction of being a member of all the legislative bodies of Pakistan with late Mir Afzal Khan, a well-known politician and industrialist from Mardan. “Both these personalities will be remembered for their integrity and uprightness in the political arena of Pakistan. Sarfaraz Khan was a man of integrity and was trusted by people from all walks of life,” commented Khan Faraz. Sarfaraz Khan’s sprawling hujra was always welcoming for acquaintances and even strangers. Sarfaraz Khan is survived by six sons including Farman Ali Khan, Liaqat Ali Khan (late), Imtiaz Ali Taj, Riaz Ali Khattak, Sartaj Ali Khan and Tariq Ali Khan. They are actively taking part in the social uplift of the area like their father.