He wasn't really secular. I would call him a "Liberal Muslim", a group of British era educated Muslims from the subcontinent who were clever enough to realise that modern education served as a gateway to political freedom in a country dominated by British and Hindu elites. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was perhaps the most iconic of this group, and one that got the ball rolling. They were also vehemently opposed by the orthodox clergy for their openness to new ideas.
Unfortunately, we have seen very few of the same types of Liberal Muslims in Pakistan, otherwise this country would not have slid down the path of religious extremism as it did.