Pakistan, Jan. 26 -- In the administrative history of British Balochistan, few figures combined authority, restraint, and local understanding as consistently as Khan Bahadur Murtaza Khan. Serving during a period marked by tribal tension, colonial uncertainty, and natural catastrophe, his career offers a rare example of governance achieved more through persuasion than force.

Murtaza Khan entered public service as a Deputy Range Forest Officer in Ziarat, then a modest patwar circle within Sibi District. His administrative competence soon brought him to the attention of the colonial authorities, and he was inducted into the Civil Service of Balochistan.

Over the following years, he served as Extra Assistant Commissioner in Lower Zhob and S...