(22 February 1923 – 15 December 2011)
Air Marshal Nur Khan was the former chief of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and chairman of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). Nur Khan was known for his numerous achievements in the PAF and the PIA but it was in the realm of sports he created a name for Pakistan. In fact he was the man who changed the face of Pakistan sports. He gave the world its first squash complex in mid-seventies and brought cricket World Cup out of England and made it truly a world event. Some of the foreign squash teams that came to Karachi to appear in inaugural ZA Bhutto Squash Team Trophy had rightly nicked named the complex as Taj Mahal of squash. The complex was first named as PIA Squash Complex but later name of squash great Jahangir Khan was added and it was renamed as PIA Jahangir Khan Squash Complex.
Nur Khan was a man born to lead and a name associated with heroic tales. Many people rise to the top in their chosen field after decades of hard work; Nur Khan succeeded no matter how foreign the field. An air force man, he rose to become commander-in-chief, a position he held for four years from 1965-1969. But that was hardly the start of his myriad accomplishments. In fact, even before he was commander-in-chief of the air force, Nur Khan served as managing director of PIA. The position is now associated with nepotism, corruption and inefficiency, all in the service of one the largest-loss making state corporations. It can be hard, then, to remember that back in the 1960s, thanks to the efforts of Nur Khan and other dedicated professionals, PIA was one of the most respected – and profitable – names in aviation. Civilians and the military alike respected and utilised the talents of Nur Khan. Ayub Khan appointed him governor of West Punjab after his term as commander-in-chief ended. And so successful was Nur Khan in running PIA from 1959 to 1965, that in 1973 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto personally requested that he take over the airline, then facing financial difficulties. Once again he was able to turn around the fortunes of the national carrier.
Later in life, Nur Khan took a completely different tack in his career, bringing all his skills as an administrator to Pakistan sports. He left a distinct impact on two of the major sports in the country: hockey and cricket. He was instrumental in establishing the Champions Trophy competition during his tenure as president of the Pakistan Hockey Federation. As head of the cricket board from 1980-1984, he was responsible for improving cricket ties with India. He was also part of the organising committee for the 1987 World Cup with India, a tournament that went off without a hitch and was a great commercial success too. After becoming the president of the now defunct Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP) with the assistance of his able secretary Arif Ali Khan Abbasi, Nur Khan stunned the white members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) when at the annual meeting of the cricket body he proposed that Pakistan with India should be given the right to host the World Cup. When representatives of Australia, England and New Zealand asked the BCCP head whether Pakistan had enough funds to host the event, a well prepared Nur Khan asked them how much money was needed and said give him the amount and Pakistan had it.
Nur Khan also shared the honour of bringing revolutionary changes in cricket by introducing the concept of neutral umpires and match referee by inviting Indian and umpires some other countries to officiate in Test matches in Pakistan. He also initiated the moves to launch Asian Cricket Council which has carried the game almost in every Asian country. His contribution to world of hockey is also unparallel. As president of the Pakistan Hockey Federation he gave the Junior World Cup and Champions Trophy to the world of hockey. He headed the PHF when Pakistan regained the Olympic title in 1968 in Mexico. Pakistan also won the 1978 World Cup in Buenos Aires and retained it in 1982 in Bombay and the inaugural Junior World Cup in Versailles (France) in 1979. Pakistan also won three Champions Trophies in a row under his presidency. PIA supported development of squash in the world and what squash is today it was because of the efforts of the national airline under Nur Khan.
It is unlikely that Pakistan will ever see a person with the diverse resume of Nur Khan ever again. In this age of specialisation, such all-rounders can be hard to find. Few will approach his brilliance but this country would be in much better shape if more, at least, shared his honesty and patriotism.