Lieutenant General Fazle Haq (Late) was born on 10 September, 1928 at Mohallah Piran of District Mardan, NWFP (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). His father Pir Fazle Khaliq a military man turned civil servant and  retired as Secretary and Representative of the Government of Pakistan to the State of Swat.
His initial schooling was in Mardan than in Kohat, from 1939 to 1946 he was sent to the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College (RIMC), Dehradun India. On graduation in 1948 from Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) he was commissioned in the Guides Cavalry (FF) as Lieutenant. As a young Captain he had studied at the US Army Armour Center at Fort Knox, Kentucky gaining an Associate Diploma.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL FAZLE HAQ
Born on 10 Sep 1928
Died on 3 Oct 1991
GOVERNOR OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA
As an army officer, Fazle Haq was commissioned in the Guides Cavalry (Frontier Force) regiment of the Armoured Corps. He was instructor at Pakistan Military Academy in 1953–54 at the rank of captain. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, then Major Fazle Haq was part of the Guides Cavalry in the 6th Armoured Division, when the regiment launched a two-squadron attack at Phillaurah on 11th September. The attack was targeted against the Indian 1st Armoured Division, and as a result both sides faced heavy casualties. This was presumed a Pakistani victory, as the fighting did not resume until 13 September, as the enemy was more cautious. However, it was a Pyrrhic victory.
As major, he served as the Commandant, Presidential Bodyguards with late General Muhammad Ayub Khan. As a Lieutenant Colonel, he commanded his own regiment, the Guides Cavalry during 1968 & 1969. He was also posted as Instructor at the Command and Staff College, Quetta. As a Brigadier, he commanded 3rd Armoured Brigade. In 1975, he was promoted to the rank of Major General and took over the 6th Armoured Division stationed at Kharian. He also served as Corps Commander of 11 Corps at Peshawar, after being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General from January 1978 until March, 1980. He also remained Governor of the NWFP Province from 11th October, 1978 to 12th December, 1985.
During his time as Governor and Corps Commander, he was considered one of President Zia-ul Haq’s closest confidantes and a key architect of the Afghan Mujahidin Groups. He was actively involved with Afghan Mujahidin Groups, including Gulbuddin Hekmatyar until the end of the Soviet-Afghan war and often met with high-ranking CIA and Government officials, including Attorney General of the United States William F. Smith and other political key figures for funding and support for the Afghan Jihad. He remains well respected and well known among the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa for services rendered by him during his tenure as Governor.
He was a Graduate of the Command and Staff College, Quetta and the National Defence College, Rawalpindi possessing a Masters of Arts degree in Strategic Studies. During the 1965 war for his gallant and meritorious services his name was mentioned in Despatches (MID) and was awarded the Imtiazi-Sanad.
He was the Honorary Colonel Commandant of Pakistan Army Remount, Visionary & Farms Corps (RVFC) and the 1st Armoured Regiment, Australian Army. He was decorated by other countries in recognition of services which included Romania, Saudi Arabia and the United States of America.
He was also elected as a Senator in 1988, later on to become the Caretaker Chief Minister of NWFP on 31st May, 1988. The same year he resigned from his position as a Senator and was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan. He contested and lost the 1988 General Elections from his home town of Mardan, however, he won from Kohistan. In the next Elections, he won from Malakand with an overwhelming majority and remained a member of the NWFP Provincial Assembly until his assassination. He was also the Provincial President of Pakistan Muslim League.
Lieutenant General Fazle Haq was par excellence and is reminisced as a strong man, respected for his vision, acumen and performance. He is considered as the most dynamic Governor of the Province, his leadership brought efficiency in the governance. He concentrated his considerable energies on promoting economic development, at times working against the wishes of the Central Government. He is mostly remembered for development of infrastructure making NWFP an envy of other Provinces but he actually has done more for Education and service delivery than infrastructure.
Despite being a General and Administrator he developed a political constituency of his own through his performance, and in the words of fellow politician ‘He was the only General that turned into a successful Politician in Pakistan’. He set the bar high for performance and delivery in the province which is what the people of KPK expect from its leadership hence probably why different governments have been rejected one after the other as they failed to deliver.
He was admired and respected by many as a man, as a soldier and as a leader even in death his posthumous gift of two corneas enabled two blind persons to see the world again.
Lieutenant General Fazle Haq (R) was killed on 3rd October, 1991 in an attack by unknown armed persons when he was on way home from the Provincial Assembly session leaving behind a widow, a daughter, three sons and grandchildren. Later, he was buried in Cantonment Board Graveyard at Warsak Road in Peshawar.
Two of his sons are doctors, Dr. Arshad Khan, a Dermatologist and Dr. Adnan Khan, a Professor of Neurology while the youngest son, Asif Khan is a Civil Engineer. He also had three brothers and two sisters. His eldest brother was Major General Fazle Raziq from Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers who was also Chairman, WAPDA and Ambassador of Pakistan to several countries. His other two other brothers were Pir Fazle Hussain and Pir Fazle Rehman.
