Agha Hilaly
Agha Hilaly | |
|---|---|
 Ambassador Hilaly receiving US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Rawalpindi on 8 July 1971 secretly en route to China | |
| Born | 20 May 1911 |
| Died | 6 February 2001 (aged 89) Karachi, Pakistan |
| Spouse | Malik Taj Mirza née Tyabji |
| Children | 3, including Zafar Hilaly |
| Relatives | Agha Shahi (brother) Shamim Hilaly (daughter-in-law) |
| Family | Tyabji family (through wife) |
Agha Hilaly (20 May 1911 – 6 February 2001) (Urdu: آغا هلالی) was one of Pakistan's senior most diplomats who held several high offices in the Government of Pakistan, including Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States from 21 October 1966 to 20 October 1971.[1]
Career and family background
[edit]Hilaly was born in 1911 in Bangalore. He joined the Indian Civil Service in 1936 at the age of 25,[2] and opted for Pakistan during the independence of Pakistan in 1947 and settled in Pakistan along with his family in 1947.[2] As the Government of Pakistan was in the process of establishing its foreign service cadre, all officers of the Civil Service of Pakistan that succeeded the Indian Civil Service were encouraged to join the new cadre. Hilaly was one of the first to do so and played an important role in shaping the strategic dimensions of Pakistan's foreign policy.[3]
He was Pakistani Ambassador to the Scandinavian countries with residence in Stockholm from 1956 to 1959.[2] In 1959 he was appointed Ambassador to Moscow and concurrently to Prague, until 1961, when he was assigned to India.[2]
Hilay, while representing Pakistan at the United Nations and serving as Ambassador to the United States,[2] played an important role in the US rapprochement with China, as he did in 1969 when he met with highest representatives of the US State Department, like Secretary Kissinger.[4][5] This way he facilitated the secret visit of Henry Kissinger to China, a fact acknowledged by President Richard Nixon[6] and a symbol of a bold reversal of US policy towards an avowed enemy state.[7]
His younger brother Agha Shahi also an ICS officer followed in his footsteps and rose to be Foreign Minister of Pakistan. One of their uncles Sir Mirza Ismail served as Diwan Prime Minister of the princely state of Mysore, Jaipur and Hyderabad, India from 1926 to 1947. His nephew Akbar Mirza Khaleeli was a prominent Indian Diplomat and served as Indian Ambassador to Iran, Italy and Australia and was Advisor to the Indian Government on Middle Eastern Affairs. His son Zafar Hilaly is also a former ambassador of Pakistan.[8]
Death
[edit]Agha Hilaly died in Karachi on 6 February 2001, at the age of 89.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ Sabir Shah (9 March 2018). "(Pakistani) Ambassadors to the US: who's who". The News International (newspaper). Retrieved 14 November 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "Agha Hilaly". www.npg.org.uk. National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
- ^ Raja, Asif Jehangir (August 2014). "Interview Mr. Zafar Hilaly". Hilal Magazine. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ Saunders, Harold H. (28 August 1969). "Memorandum Of Conversation" (Memorandum). National Security Archive. Pakistan Embassy, Washington. p. 2. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ Saunders, Harold H. (19 December 1969). "Memorandum Of Conversation" (Memorandum). U.S. State Department, Archive. Dr. Kissinger's Office: The White House, Washington. p. 3. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ Kissinger, Henry A. "Chinese Communist Initiative" (PDF). The White House. Retrieved 24 August 2018 – via gwu.edu.
- ^ Aijazuddin, F. S. (2001). From a head, through a head to a head: the secret channel between the US and China through Pakistan (2nd impr ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195794494. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- ^ From Persia to Pakistan, via Mysore Raza Rumi's website (archived), Published 20 September 2008, Retrieved 14 November 2018
- ^ "Obituaries : Agha Hilaly". Impact International. 31–32: 47. 2001.
- 1911 births
- 2001 deaths
- Politicians from Bengaluru
- Muhajir people
- Pakistani Shia Muslims
- Ambassadors of Pakistan to the United States
- Ambassadors of Pakistan to the Soviet Union
- Indian Civil Service (British India) officers
- People from Karachi
- Ambassadors of Pakistan to Sweden
- High commissioners of Pakistan to India
- High commissioners of Pakistan to the United Kingdom
- Ambassadors of Pakistan to Czechoslovakia
- Ambassadors of Pakistan to Russia
- Tyabji family