Wajid Ali Khan Burki (28 October 1900 – 17 January 1989) was a Pakistani ophthalmologist, surgeon, agriculturist, diplomat and author. A three-star rank general of the Pakistan Army Medical Corps, he served as the Director General Medical Services of the Armed Forces from 1954 to 1958. He has been described as the "Argyll Robertson of Pakistan". He also served as Pakistan's Ambassador to Scandinavia from 1963 to 1966.
Born in Jullundur, British India, Khan graduated from Government College, Lahore in 1919 and completed his medical studies at the University of St. Andrews. Beginning his career as a junior clinical assistant at the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital, he later advanced to senior assistant and earned his Doctorate of Medicine in 1925.
He joined the Indian Medical Service in 1926, ranking first among the only four officers selected from a pool of over sixty foreign-qualified candidates. After working in military hospitals throughout British India, he earned his Diploma in Ophthalmic Medicine and Surgery at Moorfields Eye Hospital in 1932, having trained under John Herbert Parsons. He then became an eye specialist at a military hospital in Meerut.
As acting assistant director of medical services in the Western Desert Campaign of World War II, he was recognised with the honour of Member of the British Empire (MBE). In the Burma campaign, he played a major role in combating diseases such as malaria among British and Indian troops, as assistant director of the 7th Indian Infantry Division.
He received two Mentions in Despatches, the first during the Abyssinian Campaign, as leader of a field ambulance unit of the Ball of Fire, and the second for his contribution in the Battle of the Admin Box. He also served in the Battles of Imphal and Kohima, earning the Commander of the British Empire (CBE). In 1946, he was appointed to a three-member committee tasked with organising and integrating army medical services into a single corps.
After the Partition of British India in 1947, he opted for Pakistan and became the second most senior officer and first Deputy Director General of Medical Services of the Army Medical Corps. In 1954, he was promoted to Director General and the Surgeon General of the Pakistan Armed Forces. In October 1958, he was tasked with enhancing the efficiency of hospitals across the country; notable improvements were observed within days, particularly in Karachi.
In recognition of his effective leadership, General Ayub Khan appointed him as the health minister following his coup d'état later that month. As health minister, he established hundreds of medical facilities, such as the rural health scheme, and programs for public health which included village dispensaries, the eradication of malaria and smallpox, control of tuberculosis, and the organisation of eye camps. He was also a supporter of rights of workers and members of the press.
During President Ayub Khan's overseas visits, he served as acting President of Pakistan. He also held several ministerial roles and helped facilitate the emigration of Pakistani workers to the United Kingdom and the Middle East in the 1960s. He was instrumental in negotiating with the British Government to establish free immigration rights, which gave the economy of Pakistan a massive boost. He also introduced progressive labor legislation and pioneered Pakistan's second national labor policy.
Following the Bradford smallpox outbreak of 1962, he cracked down on poor vaccination and isolation practices in Karachi. Moreover, he criticised the British government for singling out Pakistani immigrants for the outbreak while ignoring similar conditions among Indian immigrants, questioning the double standard. In meetings with British officials, he condemned the physical violence and abuse directed at Pakistanis in Britain, arguing it stemmed largely from economic fear and resentment.
Between 1958 and 1963, he spearheaded the establishment of several medical organisations, including the Armed Forces Pathological Laboratory, Armed Forces Post Graduate Medical Institute, Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (as Founding Chairman), College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan (as Founding President) and the National Health Laboratories. He was also influential in the founding of Islamabad when the city was being planned in 1959.
He was regarded as a mentor of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto during the early years of Bhutto's political career. Having entered the cabinet in 1958 as a junior minister, Bhutto looked at him for support during cabinet meetings. When Bhutto's position in the cabinet was at risk following President Ayub's introduction of the 1962 Constitution of Pakistan, Khan was credited with helping him retain his position after Bhutto sought his intervention. Khan died of lung cancer in 1989 at the age of 88.
Early life Wajid Ali Khan was born on 28 October 1900 in Jullundur, in a Sunni Muslim Ormur family. His father, Jehan Khan Burki, the Khan of Baba Khel, was a landowner. He had four brothers, the youngest, Abdul Shaafi Khan Burki (1916–1969), was a pole vault champion who led the All India team to the British Empire Games in 1934.
He received his early education at Government School Jullundur and Forman Christian School Jullundur (1906–1916), Government College Lahore (1916–1919) and then went to the United Kingdom to study medicine at the University of St. Andrews (1919–1924). After graduation, he began working as junior clinical assistant at the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital from 1924 to March 1925 and then as a senior clinical assistant. In October 1925, he received his Doctorate of Medicine degree from the University of St Andrews after submitting his thesis titled, "Anophthalmia and Microphthalmia."
Personal life and hobbies He married Iqbal Bano Khanum, a Pashtun, in 1935 and they had five children, three sons Javed Burki, Jamshed Burki, Dr. Nausherwan K. Burki and twin daughters.
In 1961, Barque's Pakistan Trade Directory and Who's who, described him as "an amiable and jovial person, frank, forthright and outspoken. One has to be always alert, always at one's toes, to be popular with him." He enjoyed shooting and fishing, shared fishermen tales, and also contributed to cattle breeding, introducing the Jersey strain to Pakistan. Fond of horses, he held the positions of chairman at the Rawalpindi Race Club and steward at the Jockey Club in Pakistan.
Service years British Indian Army Standing 6 feet tall, he was commissioned into the Indian Medical Service of the British Indian Army on 10 May 1926, ranking as top officer among the only four officers selected from a pool of over sixty foreign qualified candidates. He worked in military hospitals in Jullundur, Bakloh, Quetta, and from 1928 to 1932 in Karachi. After returning to the United Kingdom for further studies in medicine, he obtained his DOMS degree in ophthalmology at Moorfields Eye Hospital in 1932, having trained under John Herbert Parsons and published three papers on exophthalmia and microphthalmia. He was then appointed as an eye specialist at the Indian Military Hospital in Meerut. He was on military leave outside of British India up to 30 September 1933.
During World War II, his career advanced significantly. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and tasked with leading a field ambulance unit in the 5th Infantry Division (India) during the East African/Abyssinian campaign from 1940 to 1941. He served as the acting assistant director of medical services of the division in the Western Desert campaign from 1941 to 1942. In recognition of his services, he was awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire, promoted to full colonel in 1942, and took on the role of assistant director medical services of the 7th Indian Infantry Division in the Burma campaign, where he played a key role in controlling malaria and other diseases among British and Indian soldiers. He was twice mentioned in despatches, for participating in the Abyssinian campaign and Battle of the Admin Box. He also served in the Battle of Imphal and Battle of Kohima and earned the Companion of the Order of the British Empire for distinguished services.
Brigadier Michael Rookherst Roberts, the General Officer Commanding the 7th Indian Infantry Division, in his book, "Golden Arrow: The Story of the 7th Indian Division in the Second World War, 1939-1945," reflected on the importance of the medical staff during the Burma campaign. He mentioned then Colonel Burki, the Assistant Director of Medical Services of the division and described the tremendous problems Burkis' staff faced. The medical staff carried wounded troops through jungles and rough terrain, which would separate the wounded soldier for a considerable amount of time before expert medical clinical opinion could be mobilised. To address these challenges, medical units became front-line troops in a way, moving their mobile operating theatres extremely close to the battlefield. Roberts credited them for saving many lives.
In April 1945, Colonel Burki was appointed as the Commandant of No. 2 Centre (North) of the Army Medical Corps in Lucknow. Indian Army medical officer Daya Ram Thapar recalled that in this role, Burki had "proved most useful in planning the training of the men as he had personal knowledge of the capabilities of our men as well as their shortcomings, under actual field service conditions." He commanded the Centre until the Partition of British India in August 1947.
By 1946, he was also appointed to a three-man committee tasked with organising and integrating army medical services into a single corps.
Pakistan Army Early years
Following the Independence of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, S.M.A. Faruki and Wajid were the two most senior medical officers. They were assigned special numbers, with PA100001 going to Faruki and PA100002 to Wajid.
Subsequently, he was promoted to Brigadier and appointed Deputy Director General of Medical Services. Although approved to be promoted to the rank of Major General before partition, he was officially promoted in 1951. On 27 September 1954, he was promoted to Lieutenant General and succeeded Lieut-Gen S.M.A. Faruki as Director General. He became the Colonel Commandant of Pakistan Army Medical Corps in 1955. Reportedly, fellow Medical Corps General Mohammad Akram and General Wajid shared a hatred for each other.
During the 1956 survey of Pakistan, it was reported that as the Surgeon General of the Pakistan Armed Forces, Wajid was thanked along with the rest of his colleagues for their cooperation by the Nutrition Survey Team who arrived from the United States.
After President Iskandar Ali Mirza's imposition of martial law, General Wajid Ali Khan Burki was appointed Federal Minister for Health and Social Welfare on 12 October 1958 taking oath on 28 October. General Ayub Khan, Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, assigned him the task of improving the efficiency of hospitals and health agencies on 13 October. Within days, hospitals in Karachi showed significant improvement, and medical services took on a new outlook. When questioned by the press about the new look in medical administration, he remarked, "When a doctor becomes greedy, he is no longer a good doctor. I want to eliminate greed in the medical profession and restore it to its former position of respect and honor." He had earlier expressed dissatisfaction with the administration of civil hospitals in Lahore and Karachi, stating, "We must put such institutions under the charge of army officers to clean up the rot."
1958 Coup d'état
Lieutenant Generals Azam Khan, Wajid Ali Khan, and Khalid M. Shaikh were ordered by General Ayub Khan to go to President Iskandar Ali Mirza and tell him to resign, which he did on 27 October 1958. Iskandar sent a secret telegram to the Secretary of State in Washington on 6 November 1958 about the confrontation.