Abdul Hafeez Khan Yawar Al-Yousifi, known as the expert Khan, who departed from the world a few days ago, at the age of 83, was the first agricultural adviser to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, when he was the representative of the ruler in Al Ain. Khan was also the first university graduate with a degree in agriculture to set foot in Abu Dhabi, where he came to the region on the seventh of September 1962, at the invitation of Sheikh Zayed, who needed an expert to spread agriculture in Al Ain, and he chose Khan, who was then continuing his studies He graduated from the College of Agricultural Sciences at the American University of Beirut, and Khan spent most of his time with Sheikh Zayed in the 1960s, and he shared his dream of cultivating the desert, and he met him either in his own home, which was the first modern-style house to be built in the region at that time, or In the desert, or wherever Sheikh Zayed was located. Khan expresses his admiration for the personality and thought of Sheikh Zayed, may God bless him, pointing in his book "Fifty Years in Al Ain Oasis", issued by the "National Archives", that he learned many lessons from him, stressing that Sheikh Zayed was the pioneer of city planning in the state, He has an unrelenting will, and he transformed the barren desert into green areas.
In the book in which he recounts many of his memories of Abu Dhabi and the shape of life in old and new, Abdul Hafeez Khan describes an aspect of his life, pointing to his feeling of alienation when he came, as he did not speak Arabic, but Sheikh Zayed was very kind and generous to him, and he was extremely humble, and he was extremely humble, and he was He discusses his projects with him, and, may God rest his soul, find him at the work site, or in his general council, which is frequented by tribal elders, where he, as Khan tells, shows great interest in the needs of people and their concerns; he issues orders to help them, and - may God have mercy on him - when the good of his people Using it, and their expectations from it. Pointing out that Sheikh Zayed, may God have mercy on him, ordered the construction of a suitable house for him, to be the first house to be built in the Abu Dhabi region in the modern way, and the first modern construction built in Al Ain, explaining that the non-proliferation of modern homes was not related to the ability to bear the expenses of these homes, but rather returns To the hatred of people at that time for anything that limits their freedom, "they love to live very close to nature and the middle of the open earth."
Abdul Hafeez Khan actively contributed to achieving Sheikh Zayed’s plans, may God have mercy on him, to advance agriculture. When he arrived in Al Ain, Al Buraimi Oasis had more than 100 farms each with three hectares, and he used to visit one after the other. Sheikh Zayed was keen on planting trees along what he perceived as sites of the roads, there were no roads at that time, as he was asked to plant trees in what looks like an island, because he would like the roads that were later built to be two-way, and that was the road gate , And the beginning of the green belt of trees planted on both sides of Al Ain Road.
Khan also contributed, according to Sheikh Zayed’s desire, to teach peasants how to grow vegetables that did not exist in people's food at that time, and the purchase of vegetable seeds and other plants was done from abroad, and arrived three months after sending the purchase order. At that time, Khan requested the purchase of the plants that Sheikh Zayed wanted to grow from Beirut long before his arrival in Abu Dhabi. Indeed, I arrived on the “Damira” ship in 12 boxes containing plants ready for planting, then he began distributing them to the farmers, explaining how to grow them, And take care of it. This is what he mentioned in his book, explaining: “Then it was necessary to teach the population how to eat and cook it, and convince them of its health benefits, and Sheikh Zayed advised me to use Dr. Pat Kennedy, because they trusted him a lot, so Dr. Kennedy and his assistants described vegetables as a" treatment for diseases. "
He came to the Emirates in the early sixties and is the owner of the first "modern house".
Khan helped teach the peasants how to grow vegetables that had no food in the people.