Khwaja Khairuddin


Syed Khwaja Khairuddin was a Bengali Pakistani politician. He was the mayor of Dhaka who opposed the Independence of Bangladesh. He moved to Pakistan after the liberation of Bangladesh.

Early life

Syed Khwaja Khairuddin was born in Dhaka to the Dhaka Nawab family on 4 July 1921. His father was Syed Khwaja Alauddin and mother Shahzadi Begum. He studied at a government Muslim school in Dhaka and graduated from Dhaka University in 1943.

Career

He was the President of East Pakistan Council Muslim League. He served as the mayor of Dhaka. He was accused in Pakistan National Assembly of political bias in appointing personnel during his tenure as mayor. He was the convenor and chairman of East Pakistan Central Peace Committee. The committee faced accusations of war crimes, and one of its founders, Ghulam Azam, was convicted of war crimes. He moved to Pakistan after the liberation of Bangladesh. He was elected MPA in the year 1962–65. He was also elected MNA in the year 1965. He was a polling agent of Fatima Jinnah in Dhaka for the Presidential election which she contested against President Ayub Khan in 1965. After migrating to Pakistan, he served as Secretary General of Movement for Restoration of Democracy which was a component of eight parties against President Zia Ul Haq. He was also a Senior Vice President of Pakistan Muslim League. He was deported by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto for campaigning against Unification of Pakistan. He was awarded Sitare Khidmat by Ayub Khan in 1963 and also awarded a Gold Medal by PM Nawaz Shairf for his role in Pakistan Movement.

Legacy

He died 3 October 1993 in Karachi, Pakistan. His son former vice chancellor of Bahauddin Zakaria University, Multan, Dr. Syed Khawaja Alqama, was nominated to be Pakistan's High Commissioner to Bangladesh. Bangladesh declined to accept his nomination.