Muhammad Hayat Khan Khattar (author of Hayat-i-Afghani), 1862 (c)

Muhammad Hayat Khan Khattar (author of Hayat-i-Afghani), 1862 (c). Photo by Samuel Bourne.

He was father of Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan (1892-1942), a renowned Punjabi politician who was head of the Unionist Party of Punjab and who held the office of Prime Minister of Punjab.

Muhammad Hayat Khan was born in Wah village (Attock district). In 1862 he was promoted an Extra Assistant Commissioner by British and sent out to Bannu, and served there and in Kohat under Louis Cavagnari, then Assistant Commissioner there. In 1864, he was sent on a mission to Afghanistan and in that same year, wrote his famous Hayat-i-Afghani in Urdu and also translated it himself into Persian, which was published in 1864.

Note: Khattar is a Punjabi tribe and they claim kinship with the Awans.