Muhammad Liaquat Ali Khan was born on 1 October 1895 to father Nawab Rustam Ali Khan and mother Mahmuda Begum of Rajour in Karnal, Punjab. In 1910, he enrolled in the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh, then went on to college, from which he graduated in 1918. Shortly thereafter he returned to Karnal to marry his cousin Jehangira Begum, with whom he had a son, Wilayat, in 1919. Later in September 1919, he sailed for England where he enrolled at St. Catherine's College, Oxford, in January 1920. 

It was in Oxford he started taking an interest in politics, and he participated in the Oxford Union and debated with the Oxford Majlis, of which he was elected treasurer. It was also in Oxford that he came into contact with other people who were to play a role in Indian politics: Shoaib Qureshi, M. C. Chagla and Abdur Rehman Siddiqui, and the future historian brothers, Muhammad Habib and Muhammad Mujib. Other acquaintances included P. N. Sapru, the son of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, and K. P. S. Menon. He moved to Exeter College, Oxford, from where he attained a BA degree in Jurisprudence in June 1921, before he went to London to the Inner Temple and was called to the Bar in January 1922. He then toured several countries on the European continent before returning to India in late 1922.

Liaquat joined the All-India Muslim League in 1923. He was elected for the Legislative Council in 1926 and had a successful career in the next decade. In 1931, Liaquat became the Deputy President of the Legislative Council and gained more power. In 1933 in London, he testified before the Joint Statutory Commission which had come out of the Round Table Conferences. Liaquat had already met Mohammed Ali Jinnah in 1924 but they were to become close friends and political allies in the 1930s. Jinnah had spoken at the Round Table Conference in London and settled there afterwards. When Liaquat visited in 1933, he urged Jinnah to return to India and lead the Muslims there. Jinnah returned in 1935 and asked Liaquat to become the General-Secretary of the Muslim League in April 1936. In 1941 Liaquat was elected to the Legislative Assembly of India. In 1946, Jinnah nominated Liaquat to be the first Indian Finance Member and after independence in 1947, Jinnah appointed Liaquat the first Prime Minister of Pakistan.

On 16 October 1951, Liaquat was scheduled to address the public in the city of Rawalpindi. He said one sentence before he was shot in the chest by Said Akbar. His last words are said to have been: 'May God protect Pakistan'.