He was a graduate of
Islamia College in Lahore and
Aligarh Muslim University. He served in Sheikh Abdullah's first cabinet from 1947 to 1953. He was the leader of the National Conference party from 1957 to 1961 after which he joined the Indian National Congress. He was elected the
Prime Minister of
Jammu and Kashmir in 1964. He became the first chief minister of the state in 1965, when the J&K Constitution was amended (Sixth Constitution of J&K Amendment Act, 1965) by the then Congress government and the position of Prime Minister was replaced with Chief Minister. He died in office following a heart attack on 12 December 1971. ==References==