Mohammed Ayub Khan (1907-1974) was a president of Pakistan. Also, as commander in chief of the army and martial-law administrator, he molded the domestic and foreign policy of Pakistan.

Mohammed Ayub Khan was born on May 14, 1907, in the village of Rehanna in what is now Pakistan. His ancestors were Pathans, and his father had served as a rissaldar, or a noncommissioned officer, in a cavalry unit in the Indian army. Ayub attended village schools, then went to the Moslem college at Aligarh in 1922. He seems to have been an indifferent student, but his family background, ability at sports, and general intelligence led to his selection to attend Sandhurst, the officers' training school in England. He was among the first group of Indians to receive this training, and his accent, idiom, dress, and bearing always reflected his British army background.

Ayub was commissioned in 1927. He fought in Burma during...