[4] His tenure saw widespread development, including the opening of Sui gas fields to Quetta,[5] the construction of nuclear test sites in Chaghai, and the halting of the Baloch insurgency.

Rahimuddin Khan was born on 21 July 1926,[8] in Kaimganj, United Provinces, British India, to an ethnic Pashtun (Afridi) family, with roots in Kohat and Tirah.

Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto requested Rahimuddin to head the new Atomic Energy Commission and nuclear programme, but was declined.

Both Rahimuddin and Air Chief Marshal Jamal A. Khan rejected it as untenable, citing the harsh conditions, strategy, and concurrent conflict with the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

A military operation against separatists was commenced in Balochistan by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto led by army chief Tikka Khan in 1973, claiming thousands of lives.

Despite opposition from finance minister Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Rahimuddin heavily promoted large-scale manufacturing and investment in infrastructure, leading to provincial GDP growth rising to the highest in Balochistan's history.

[8] In March 1981, the militant group Al-Zulfikar, led by Murtaza Bhutto, hijacked a Pakistan International Airlines airplane from Karachi to Kabul,[26] and shot and killed passenger Captain Tariq Rahim, mistakenly believing him to be the son of General Rahimuddin Khan.

[32][33] Khan also launched a brutal police crackdown on land mafia, one of the widest ever in Karachi, criticized by both PPP and the Zia regime for its heavy-handed tactics.

He moved to create separate police forces for the city and the rural areas, but this was also resisted after his resignation for fears of complicating the Sindhi-Muhajir relationship.

[35] Ghulam Ishaq Khan became acting President after Zia's death in an aircrash on 17 August, and reintroduced the Chief Minister of Sindh office.