Hayat Sherpao was born in 1937 to Khan Bahadar Ghulam Haider Khan Sherpao who was a leader in the Pakistan Movement. A Muhammadzai by tribe, he was born in the influential Sherpao family of the North West Frontier Province. He was the fifth son of Khan Bahadar Ghulam Haider Khan Sherpao, a Pakhtun aristocrat who was a key player in the Pakistan movement. Hayat Khan was also the older brother of veteran Pakistani politicianAftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao. Hayat Khan's impressive family tree and cross-marriages in other influential families gave him an edge over others in influence and politics. Hayat Khan's family has for long been a prominent and influential family in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. From his mother's side, Hayat descends from the line of the Khans of Prang. Hayat Sherpao graduated from Islamia College, Peshawar, where he also worked for student rights. He joined the front ranks in Fatima Jinnah's electoral campaign, when she challenged the General Ayub Khan's dictatorship.
Lion of the Frontier
Sherpao was a close ally of the former President and Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and a co-founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party. On 25 December 1971 Sherpao became the 15th Governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa shortly after Bhutto had become President of Pakistan. At the age of 34, Sherpao was the youngest person to have held the office of a Governor of a Province in the history of Pakistan. He continued to hold this office till 30 April 1972. Sherpao also remained a Federal Minister in Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's cabinet and a Senior Minister in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa cabinet. Hayat Khan Sherpao's rise in politics was swift. The surge in his popularity in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as well as the rest of Pakistan is said to have cast many jealous eyes upon him and earned him a number of enemies, quite often in the form of seasoned and already established politicians from other mainstream political parties. This popularity and political success, however, also led to him being dubbed the "Lion of the Frontier" or "Sher-i-Sarhad" by the Pakistan Peoples Party, and more specifically by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
Assassination
He was assassinated on 8 February 1975, in a bomb explosion on the campus of University of Peshawar Abdul Wali Khan, the leader of National Awami Party was named as the primary accused by the Bhutto government. His death led the government to target the National Awami Party of Khan Abdul Wali Khan. This political party was banned and some of the party leaders were arrested on the charge of his murder, a charge they were eventually acquitted off. Hayat Sherpao's assassination was considered a national loss with many still mourning his loss today. To pay tribute to the slain PPP leader many places, roads, and institutions were named after him. The Peshawar suburb of Hayatabad and Hayat Shaheed Hospital in Peshawar District, Sherpao Bridge in Lahore and many Sherpao colonies in different parts of Pakistan are named after him.
Legacy
On the death anniversaries of Hayat Mohammad Khan Sherpao, politicians and other citizens renew their pledge for the establishment of an egalitarian society. Many Pakistani newspapers give it news coverage on his death anniversary day. Hayat Sherpao mantel is now carried by his younger brotherAftab Sherpao, who learned politics and diplomacy form his elder brother. Carrying forward the mission, he then formed his own party named Qaumi Watan Party. The Sherpao faction has raised a voice for the rights of the Pukhtoon people and the province. Hayat Sher Pao Shahid railway station was also named after Hayat Sherpao.
