Mir Jaffer Khan Jamali

Mir Jaffer Khan Jamali was a prominent leader of the Pakistan movement from the Balochistan chapter. He was born in his village named Rojhan Jamali in 1911. His father’s name was Mir Taj Muhammad Jamali. His father was a landlord and one of the heads of the Jamali tribe at that time. His father was “Sakhi” or generous person by nature and these abilities were later transferred to his son Mir Jaffer Khan Jamali. The Jamali tribe has remained the prevailing class in the politics of Balochistan from the very beginning. Mir Jaffer Khan Jamali was one of the great leaders from that tribe. Moreover, Mir Jaffer Khan Jamali got his early education in his hometown. Later he moved to the Jacobabad District of Sindh for Higher education. He joined politics on the behalf of his father because his father was a great supporter of the All India Muslim League and a diehard opponent of the Congress. His father taught the lesson of Muslim brotherhood, unity, prosperity, and progress to his son Mir Jaffer Khan Jamali. Furthermore, Jaffer Khan Jamali actively participated in the struggle for the creation of Pakistan.

Mir Jaffer Khan was the prominent supporter and leader of the All India Muslim League and Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah from the Balochistan chapter. He worked hard for the uplift of the Muslim League in Balochistan. He gathered some people from his area to join the Muslim League. He was the man who strongly opposed the hegemony of the Congress from his area because the border districts of Balochistan were under the control of the Congress. He eliminated the power of the congress from Jafferabad and Naseerabad by greatly preaching and supporting the doctrine and policies of the Muslim League. These steps of the Mir Jaffer Khan Jamali made him the close associate of the Quaid-e-Azam. At the same time, in 1939, he became fully known and his abilities were recognized on the political setup of Sub-Continent when he organized a high-level meeting in the Jacobabad District of Sindh Which was attended by prominent Muslim League leaders such as Sir Haji Abdullah Ramon, Abdul Waheed Farangi Mahali, and Raja Sahib of Mahmudabad Amir Ahmed Khan. This gathering was also one of the major reasons for the elimination of Congress’s dominant constituencies from Jafferabad and Naseerabad.

In 1939, he presided a delegation consisting of prominent political figures from Balochistan to attend the Annual Session of the Muslim League in Madras. He continuously attended the five Annual Session of the Muslim League in 1940 at Lahore, Karachi in 1941, Allahabad in 1942, and Delhi in 1943. He was also accompanied by a delegation with him in all these Sessions. It was due to these continuous and untiring efforts of Mir Jaffer Khan Jamali that the idea of Pakistan and the manifesto of the Muslim League became popular in Balochistan.

Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1943, visited Quetta on the invitation of the Mir Jaffer Khan Jamali. He warmly welcomed the Quaid in Balochistan and arranged a huge reception for him that Quaid-e-Azam could not help proclaiming Mir Jaffer Khan and the Jamali tribe as the “gateway to Balochistan“. After that Mr. Jinnah started calling Balochistan as My province.  Besides, once there occurred a land dispute of Mir Jaffer Khan with that of Khan of Kalat and the British government. It was because those areas were given to the British government on lease by the Khan of Kalat so that dispute of the land happened. Mir Jaffer Khan hired Mr. Jinnah as a lawyer for that dispute and Mr. Jinnah won the case. This caused the relationship between both as personal friendship.

In the 1940s, Mir Jaffer Khan Jamali established a newspaper “Tanzeem“ to spread the doctrine, policies of the Muslim League and Muslim Ummah. This newspaper played a leading role in the political horizon of Balochistan and upper Sindh. This paper realized the people about the importance of a separate homeland for the Muslims. Besides, Mir Jaffer Khan never accepted any type of grant or stipend from any source and fully financed it by himself.

Mir Jaffer Khan Jamali remained the Member of the Legislative Assembly from Jacobabad and served his countrymen. He was the Vice President of the Muslim League from the Balochistan chapter and a senior leader of the Sindh chapter of the Muslim League. Further, he was the right-hand man of the Qazi Muhammad Essa khan, the man who represented Balochistan in the Lahore Resolution. Furthermore, he was the man who voted for Pakistan in the Shahi Jirga of Balochistan to join Pakistan. It was him due to whom the people from all over Balochistan opted to join Pakistan.

To conclude, Mir Jaffer Khan Jamali was a great leader, social reformer, politician, and one of the strong supporters of All India Muslim League and the Quaid-e-Azam. His name is still famous in his area and the whole of Balochistan. In the history of Balochistan and the history of the Pakistan Movement from Balochistan, his name is written in the Golden words. The district of Jafferabad and the Jaffer express train is named after him. Moreover, his family is still famous and prevailing in the politics of Balochistan and Pakistan. His nephew, Mir Zaffarullah Khan Jamali was the 13^th Prime Minister of Pakistan.

He died on April 7, 1967, in Karachi. His body was laid rest in his ancestral graveyard in his village named Rojhan Jamali. The founder of Pakistan People’s Party, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto wished to his family that his body should be laid rest beside the Quaid’s grave in the Quaid’s mausoleum in Karachi. His death has left a huge gap in the political environment of Balochistan and Pakistan deprived of a great leader who strongly took part in the Pakistan movement. In short, Mir Jaffer Khan Jamali was a sincere, devoted, purposive, supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood and untiring leader in the history of Pakistan.