Muhammad Nawaz Khan (writer)

Nawaz had been suffering from Parkinson's disease since the mid 1990s. His health deteriorated significantly though, after he fell down and suffered from a broken elbow, in May 2014. The long drawn out fight with Parkinson's disease had made him weak and this injury proved to be a very serious challenge. Nawaz was bedridden for over a year due to weakness. Finally, after fighting Parkinson's Disease for almost 20 years, Nawaz died in Risalpur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan on 3 October 2015.

He participated in many seminars, workshops, conventions, conferences and meetings about cultural heritage and tourism. He also managed Gandhara Markaz, which publishes books/brochures. He started work on the Major Nawaz Research Trust from 20 December 2003, for the help of researchers and scholars.

From 1992 to 1996, Major Nawaz, as the proprietor and editor, launched the Gandhara Times, a fortnightly newspaper focusing primarily on the preservation of cultural heritage and promotion of tourism in Pakistan. All copies of the newspaper have been preserved for reference purposes.

Muhammad Nawaz joined the Pakistan Military Academy as a cadet in the 2nd War Course, right after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. He graduated from the academy after a year and joined the 5th FF Regiment as a Second Lieutenant. Nawaz served in the Pakistan Army for twenty five years, from 1966 till 1991. He retired as a Major. During his service with Pakistan Army, he served as 2IC (Second in Command) of his unit. Nawaz also joined the Command and Staff College, Quetta, graduating in 1977. He served as the Wing Commander at Balahisar Fort in Peshawar, Pakistan, the Headquarters of Frontier Corps. During this time, he was also the official historian of Frontier Corps. Nawaz also wrote little bits of history about the Balahisar Fort, which have been placed on twelve plaques at different locations in the Fort. The plaques give visitors a brief history as well as provide interesting trivia about early life in and around the Fort.

Major (Retd.) Muhammad Nawaz Khan (Urdu: محمد نواز خان, pronounced /moʊˈhɑːməd ˈnɑːwɑːz ˈkɑːn, ˈnæ-/; 23 November 1943 – 3 October 2015), was a Pakistani writer, historian, columnist, and poet of the English, Pashto and Urdu languages. His work had mostly been focused on history of the Pashtuns, the Gandhara civilization and the British legacy in Pakistan (specifically, the North Western Region).