Ghulam ishaq khan: Former president’s death anniversary

ISLAMABAD: Former President Ghulam Ishaq Khan’s 5th death anniversary was observed on Thursday. Ishaq Khan was born on January 20, 1915, in Ismail Khel Bannu district of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. He joined NWFP Civil Service in 1940 and went on to become the Secretary General Defense during Bhutto’s tenure and thereafter, Federal Finance Minister during Zia’s time. After the death of General Zia, he was elected President on December 13, 1988, as the consensus candidate of PPP and IJI. During his tenure, Ishaq Khan dismissed the governments of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif using discretionary powers given to the President under the controversial Eighth Constitutional Amendment. He died on October 27, 2006 after a bout of pneumonia.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2011.