Mohammed Yahya was born in Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province in 1901 and was the third son of the sixth wife of Haji Ghulam Samdani, who belonged to Barra Mulla in Kashmir.
After matriculation and a bachelor's degree from Edwardes College Peshawar, Mohammed Yahya went on to Aligarh University, where he completed his MPhil in Philosophy specializing in the works of Nietzsche.
In the 1946 Elections Yahya contested as a Congress Candidate against Sardar Abdul Rab Nishtar and defeated him with a heavy margin of approx 8,000 votes.
During his short stint as Education Minister (Partition of the Sub Continent in 1947 led to the dissolution of the Assembly) he put forward the proposal for Peshawar University to be established.
On 25 November 2011, at a press conference at his residence, Mohammad Saleem Jan announced his joining the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf of Imran Khan.