Late Saranjam Khan: The grand old Pakhtun who wasn’t a typical politician

PESHAWAR: Saranjam Khan wasn’t a typical politician, but he remained in politics as long as one can remember.

He was more into hunting and travel. On occasions, he violated the law to pursue hunting. His son-in-law Shakil Durrani, who held high positions as a civil servant, recalled that Saranjam Khan refused to talk to him for a year when as commissioner for Kohat he stopped him from hunting.

One of his favourite destinations was Swat where he built a house first in Kalam and then in Madyan. He sold the Kalam house while the one in Madyan was washed away by the 2010 floods. Saranjam Khan occupied high positions as central secretary general and vice-president of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and served as member of the Senate for six years, but there were also times when he took the back seat and faded away from memory.

When Saranjam Khan passed away recently at the age of 88, it brought an end to a very long association with the Pakistan Muslim League.

The landlord from Mardan forever remained a Muslim Leaguer and refused to join any other party. He remained loyal to Nawaz Sharif during the latter’s trials and tribulations when a large number of politicians deserted him.

Earlier, when the Muslim League began to split, he remained associated with the faction that was in the opposition. For long, he was part of the Council Muslim League headed by Mumtaz Daultana, who once asked him why he was sticking with him when all Muslim Leaguers in his province had joined the Convention Muslim League created by military ruler President Ayub Khan to serve his political interests.

Saranjam Khan backed Fatima Jinnah in the presidential election against Ayub Khan and hosted a public meeting for her in Mardan during her campaign. This earned him the ire of Ayub Khan and his powerful Governor of West Pakistan, Nawab Amir Mohammad Khan.

In subsequent years when General Yahya Khan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and General Ziaul Haq ruled Pakistan, Saranjam Khan took a back seat in politics but didn’t support anyone of them. When Nawaz Sharif emerged as a leading politician, Saranjam Khan sided with him whether he was in power or in opposition. Following Nawaz Sharif’s removal from power and arrest by General Pervez Musharraf in the 1999 military coup, Saranjam Khan accompanied Kulsoom Nawaz Sharif to address public meetings and keep the PML-N alive. He resisted pressure to join the PML-Q formed by Musharraf.

Those close to him recalled that Saranjam Khan used to say that he won’t abandon Nawaz Sharif come what may. For him abandoning colleagues amounted to doing something against Pakhtun traditions. He often said the government could arrest him or seize his property, but it won’t be able to force him to change his political loyalties.

He was often called Saranjam Khan Zamindar because he was a landowner. His father, Bahadur Khan of Baghdada, was a well-known person.

His mother belonged to Rajjar village in Charsadda district and her elder sister was the wife of Abdul Wali Khan, one of the top Pakhtun nationalist politicians. This made Saranjam Khan a cousin of Asfandyar Wali Khan, late Wali Khan’s son and presently the ANP central president. However, they had divergent political views. The Bacha Khan and Wali Khan family have been steadfast in promoting Pakhtun nationalism while Saranjam Khan was a staunch Pakistani nationalist. The latter also supported construction of Kalabagh Dam, which the ANP bitterly opposed. They maintained cordial social relations, but never reconciled politically.

Only once Saranjam Khan contested election for a provincial assembly seat in Mardan in the 1990s and lost. That was the end of electoral politics for him.

Saranjam Khan had no brother or sister. One of his sons, Khalid Saranjam Khan died years ago. His second son, Tariq Saranjam Khan, lived in the US for a number of years before returning to Pakistan.

Apart from Shakil Durrani, his other two son-in-laws are Saleem Ataullah and Dr Azam. His daughter Salma Ataullahjan is a senator in Canada.

Sometimes he donated to charity work, but on a limited scale as he wasn’t into philanthropy.

Saranjam Khan was a grand old Pakhtun who kept up the values of his race. He was warmhearted and hospitable and knew how to keep friendships.