User:Kautilya3/A S. B. Shah

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Colonel Agha Syed Bad Shah OBE, [1][2] often referred to as A. S. B. Shah, was a Pakistani civil servant and diplomat. After the partition of India, he served as a Deputy Secretary in Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in charge of the princely states of Pakistan. He was instrumental in bringing about the accession of several princely states.[3] Considered a "legendary" official of Pakistan,[4] he later served as the Secretary of States and Frontier Regions and as Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan and Egypt.

Life and early career[edit]

A. S. B. Shah was from a Hindko-speaking Syed family of Peshawar.[1] His father was Agha Syed Fateh Shah.[5]

A. S. B. Shah started his career in the British Indian Army in 1923 as a King's Commissioned Indian Officer. He was placed in the 1/14 Punjab Regiment.[6][1]

Indian Political Service[edit]

In 1930, Shah moved to the Indian Political Service.[6] His military rank at that time was perhaps Major.[7][a]

During 1937–1938, Shah worked on the staff of Sir Olaf Caroe, the Chief Commissioner of the Baluchistan Agency,[9] where he is said to have become one of closest confidants of the latter.[7]

During the World War II, as Caroe was appointed as the Foreign Secretry to the Government of India and a member of the Viceroy's Study Group,[7] Shah served a key member of his staff, along with K. P. S. Menon.[10] Shah proposed 50 percent "Indianization" of the Foreign Department, anticipating that a transfer of power would soon follow the end of the World War. The proposal received the endorsement of Caroe and the Viceroy's Study Group, resulting in an increased participation of Indian officials in the foreign affairs and diplomatic positions, especially in the Dominions.[11][12] Shah was sent on a tour of the United States, serving as Government of India representative in the British embassy, along with Girija Shankar Bajpai. He was also included in the British Legation in Kabul.[13] At this time, Shah was also active in the Indian Institute of International Affairs, serving as its honourary secretary.[14]

Pakistani Foreign Service[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Shah's rank appears to have been upgraded to Lieutenant Colonel when he was appointed to the Pakistan's Foreign Affairs department after the Partition of India.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c The Indian Political Service (Raj era), Brown Pundits web site, retrieved 9 January 2019.
  2. ^ Epstein, M. (2016), The Statesman's Year-Book: Statistical and Historical Annual of the States of the World for the Year 1946, Springer, p. 690, ISBN 978-0-230-27075-6
  3. ^ Ishtiaq Ahmed, Subjects to citizens, The Friday Times, 7 August 2015.
  4. ^ Goodbye, not farewell, The News International, 18 December 2011.
  5. ^ Sind Quarterly, Mazhar Yusuf, 1986, p. 21
  6. ^ a b Ahmed, Syed Giasuddin (1990), Bangladesh Public Service Commission, University of Dhaka, p. 202
  7. ^ a b c Minassian, Most Secret Agent of Empire 2014, pp. 252–253.
  8. ^ Col. Riaz Jafri, Civil & Military in Pakistan, Pakistan News Service, 31 July 2007.
  9. ^ Administration Report of the Baluchistan Agency, New Quetta Book Stall, 1937, p. v
  10. ^ Brobst, The Future of the Great Game 2005, p. 31: "Two of Caroe's officers stood out in particular: K. P S. Menon and Colonel A. S. B. Shah. The former became India's ambassador to China and the Soviet Union as well as the foreign secretary himself. The latter served at high levels in the foreign policy apparatus of Pakistan."
  11. ^ Brobst, The Future of the Great Game 2005, p. 31.
  12. ^ Carnell, Matthew Robert (2012), India from Colony to Nation-State: A Re-Reading of India's Foreign Policy in Southeast Asia, c.1945-1955 (PDF), University of York, footnote 60 (pp. 41–42)
  13. ^ Brobst, The Future of the Great Game 2005, p. 6, 33: "He pointed in particular to the experiences recounted by Sir Girja Bajpai and A. S. B. Shah, both of whom served under Caroe as Government of India representatives in the British embassy in Washington."
  14. ^ K. Sarwar Hasan, The Pakistan Institute of International Affairs: How it was established Pakistan Horizon, Vol. 61, No. 1/2, (January-April 2008), pp. 7-11, JSTOR 23725997

Bibliography[edit]