JHANG, Sept 30 Muhammad Arif Khan Rajbana Sial, a veteran politician and a close associate of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, died here on Wednesday night. He was 97.

He was buried in his ancestral graveyard in Badh Rajbna village near Shorkot on Thursday afternoon.

Mr Rajbna had started his political carrier along with Col Syed Abid Husain as a worker of the Muslim League during the independence movement.

He was elected to the All-India Constituent Assembly in 1946 on a Muslim League ticket.

After the partition, he was elected member of national and provincial assemblies several times.

He was last elected MNA in 1985 from Shorkot in the partyless elections as a nominee of the Shah Jewna Group, headed by Syeda Abida Husain.

He played a pivotal role in the creation of an independent Parliamentary Group in the national assembly and the subsequent election of Syed Fakhr Imam as National Assembly speaker, defeating Khwaja Muhammad Safdar, who was the nominee of Gen Ziaul Haq.

Opinion

The Dar story continues

The Dar story continues

One wonders what the rationale was for the foreign minister — a highly demanding, full-time job — being assigned various other political responsibilities.

Editorial

Wheat protests
Updated 01 May, 2024

Wheat protests

The government should withdraw from the wheat trade gradually, replacing the existing market support mechanism with an effective new one over the next several years.
Polio drive
01 May, 2024

Polio drive

THE year’s fourth polio drive has kicked off across Pakistan, with the aim to immunise more than 24m children ...
Workers’ struggle
Updated 01 May, 2024

Workers’ struggle

Yet the struggle to secure a living wage — and decent working conditions — for the toiling masses must continue.
All this talk
Updated 30 Apr, 2024

All this talk

The other parties are equally legitimate stakeholders in the country’s political future, and it must give them due consideration.
Monetary policy
30 Apr, 2024

Monetary policy

ALIGNING its decision with the trend in developed economies, the State Bank has acted wisely by holding its key...
Meaningless appointment
30 Apr, 2024

Meaningless appointment

THE PML-N’s policy of ‘family first’ has once again triggered criticism. The party’s latest move in this...