Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Ghulam Ishaq Khan (born
January 20,
1915) was
President of Pakistan from
August 17,
1988 until
July 18,
1993.
Khan was born on January 20, 1915 in
Bannu District of
North-West Frontier Province to a
Hindkowan family of
Pashtun orgin. He completed his education in chemistry, and joined the Indian civil service prior to Pakistani independence. Upon independence, he was involved in irrigation projects in
West Pakistan, and later went on to join the
Finance Ministry, eventually becoming the
Finance Minister.
In the 1985 elections, he won a Senate seat, shortly after which he was elected as Chairman of the
Senate of Pakistan. Immediately after the death of
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in
1988, Khan became acting President in accordance with the
Constitutional rules of succession, and was formally elected to the position in December of that year. He held the position of President until 1993.
Khan reportedly vetoed the appointment of former
Inter-Services Intelligence (
ISI) Chief Hamid Gul as Army Chief, appointing the moderately reformist general
Asif Nawaz Khan Janjua instead. Khan's presidency also saw the resignation of General
Rahimuddin Khan from the post of Governor of Sindh, due to differences between the two after Khan started restricting Rahimuddin's vast amount of legislative power. Khan's presidency was also marked by his use of
Eighth Amendment reserve powers to
check the government. While the
Prime Minister is the
Head of Government, Khan was able to dismiss the governments of both
Benazir Bhutto and
Nawaz Sharif on charges of
corruption, mismanagement, and
nepotism, thereby triggering new elections, which the incumbent parties lost. The second dismissal of government exacerbated institutional and political opposition to Khan, leading to his resignation in 1993, and later to a constitutional
amendment that reduced the Presidency to a
figurehead.
Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences was set by him and it is located in
Topi,
North-West Frontier Province.
*
Pakistan*
President of Pakistan*
Finance Minister of Pakistan*
Ghulam Ishaq Khan Profile Story of Pakistan
*
Ghulam Ishaq Khan taking oath as the President of Pakistan*
In depth history of Khan's presidency*
Gulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology 
