Turkish Ambassador Meets Former Security Guard of Quaid-e-Azam

Turkey’s Ambassador to Pakistan, İrfan Neziroğlu, has paid a special visit to Haji Kala Khan, one of the last surviving men to have personally guarded Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, at his residence in Rawalpindi.

Now around 98 years old, Haji Kala Khan was barely 20 when he was posted on security duty at the Governor General House in Karachi soon after the creation of Pakistan.

Ambassador İrfan Neziroğlu visited Haji Kala Khan, who served as the security guard of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, at his home in Rawalpindi.

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Büyükelçi Irfan Neziroğlu Quaid e Azam Muhammed Ali Cinnah’ın korumalığını yapan Haji Kala Khan’ı Ravalpindi’deki evinde… pic.twitter.com/Q83VGCgW3r

— Türkiye in Pakistan (@TC_IslamabadBE) January 2, 2026

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Standing about six feet tall, he was selected for the elite guard detail and is among a tiny group of people still alive who both saw Jinnah up close and served in his security team.

Living today with his son, who is in his 70s, Khan recently shared his memories of the founding father on the occasion of Jinnah’s 149th birth anniversary. He recalled the Quaid’s late‑night routine, pacing the veranda of the Governor General House, pausing occasionally in a chair to rest and scribble notes.

Khan described Jinnah as physically frail and thin, yet radiating composure and authority. Before independence, he had served in government in Bombay, later moving to Karachi after Partition, where he was formally assigned to the Governor General’s security.

Although age has dulled parts of his memory, one scene remains vivid: being on duty when Jinnah addressed a packed crowd at a stadium in Karachi. As police tried to control the enthusiastic audience, Khan remembers the Quaid intervening and saying, “Mat maro, mat maro” (“Don’t beat them, don’t beat them”).

Over the course of his career, Haji Kala Khan later served on security details for leaders, including Liaquat Ali Khan and King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. His message for Pakistan’s youth remains rooted in Jinnah’s own credo: he urged them to live by the Quaid’s guiding principles of Unity, Faith, and Discipline.