Mian Muhammad Azhar

Mian Muhammad Azhar
میاں محمد اظہر
24th Governor of Punjab
In office
6 August 1990 – 25 April 1993
PresidentGhulam Ishaq Khan
Preceded byGeneral (Retd) Tikka Khan
Succeeded byChaudhry Altaf Hussain
President of Pakistan Muslim League (Q)
In office
1999–2003
Succeeded byChaudhry Shujaat Hussain
Mayor of Lahore
In office
1987–1990
Prime MinisterMuhammad Khan Junejo
Benazir Bhutto
Nawaz Sharif
President of Pakistan Football Federation
In office
1990–2003
Succeeded byFaisal Saleh Hayat
Member of National Assembly of Pakistan
Incumbent
Assumed office
29 February 2024
Preceded byHammad Azhar
ConstituencyNA-129 Lahore-XIII
In office
1997–1999
Preceded byNawaz Sharif
Succeeded byMian Jalil Ahmad Sharaqpuri
ConstituencyNA-92 (Lahore-I)
In office
1988–1991
Preceded byNawaz Sharif
Succeeded byNawaz Sharif
ConstituencyNA-95 (Lahore-IV)
Personal details
Born1942 (age 82)
Political partyPTI (2011-present)
Other political
affiliations		PML-Q (2002-2011)
ChildrenHammad Azhar (son)
EducationHailey College of Commerce

Mian Muhammad Azhar (Urdu: میاں محمد اظہر) is a Pakistani politician and a businessman representing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. He is currently a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, serving since February 2024.He is from an Arain family of Lahore,[1][2] He is a former governor of Punjab[3] (1990-1993) and the founder of PML-Q,[4][5] of which he was also president. He is one of the largest steel manufacturers of Pakistan and is the CEO of Afco Steel Industries. He was also the mayor of Lahore between 1987 and 1991.[6]

He is the father of former Federal Minister Hammad Azhar.[7]

Education

Azhar studied at the Hailey College of Commerce in Lahore.[8]

Political career

Being a close aide of Nawaz Sharif in the past, he was also awarded the National Assembly ticket from NA-95 Lahore-IV, the seat vacated by Nawaz Sharif after the 1988 general elections. Azhar won his seat as a candidate of Islami Jamhoori Ittehad. In 1990, after the dismissal of Benazir Bhutto's first government, he replaced Gen (Rtd.) Tikka Khan as the Governor of Punjab and held the office till 25 April 1993.[9] He, however, left the office, which Muslim League insiders said, was due to differences with Sharif.

In the 1997 general elections, he was elected as MNA on PML-N ticket from NA-92 (Lahore-I).[10][11] His relations with Sharif got bitter gradually and finally with the dismissal of Nawaz Sharif's government, he became the head of a new faction of Muslim League called PML-Q. He met President Pervez Musharraf on 25 June 2001, thus becoming the first Pakistani politician to do so.[12]

In the 2002 general elections, while he was a strong candidate for the slot of prime minister. However, in a dramatic way, he lost the National Assembly elections from both seats of Lahore and Sheikhupura. In NA-118 (Lahore-I), he was defeated by independent candidate, Hafiz Salman Butt,[13][14] who was supported by PML-N and Jamaat-e-Islami, whereas in NA-132 (Sheikhupura-II), he was beaten by PML-N's Mian Jalil Ahmad Sharaqpuri.[15]

Meanwhile, his party managed to form the national government as well as ruling in two provinces amid charges of massive rigging. Without a parliamentary seat, he was replaced by Shujaat Hussain as head of PLM-Q.[16] He also failed to win a seat in the 2008 elections.[17][18][19]

He joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in October 2011.[6][20]

He was re-elected to the National Assembly from NA-129 Lahore-XIII as an independent candidate supported by PTI in the 2024 Pakistani general election. He received 103,739 votes and defeated Muhammad Numan, a candidate of PML(N).[21]

Pakistan Football Federation

Pakistani football became a hot bed for politics in the early 1990s. In 1990, Pakistan Football Federation held its general elections in which Azhar won the presidency by a margin of one vote, beating the Pakistan Peoples Party leader Faisal Saleh Hayat. Azhar was instrumental in ousting PFF General Secretary Hafiz Salman Butt (a Member of National Assembly of Jamaat-e-Islami) due to political rifts and alleged abuse of power.

Azhar governed the federation till the 2003 elections, when he was beaten by Hayat, who was supported by Butt. By that time, Azhar had fallen out of favour from the pro-Musharraf PML-Q while Hayat’s own pro-Musharraf PPP faction had been growing in power in the run-up to the 2002 General Elections after which he became the Interior Minister of Pakistan.[22]

References

  1. ^ "FAMOUS ARAIN's | Arain Society Islamabad". arainsociety.com. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  2. ^ Bashir, Itrat (2022-01-28). "PTI finalises Hammad's name as candidate for Lahore mayorship". Brecorder. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  3. ^ "Pakistan Movement Leadership Was Honest: Mian Azhar". UrduPoint. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  4. ^ Jaffrelot, Christophe (2004). A history of Pakistan and its origins. Anthem Press. p. 279. ISBN 978-1-84331-149-2.
  5. ^ "Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam) PML(Q)". PakVoter. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  6. ^ a b "Breaking ties: Former Punjab Governor Mian Azhar joins PTI - The Express Tribune". 5 October 2011.
  7. ^ "National Assembly of Pakistan". na.gov.pk. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  8. ^ "Old Hailians – Hailey College of Commerce". Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  9. ^ "Our Governors | Punjab Portal". punjab.gov.pk. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  10. ^ "NA-92 Lahore Detail Election Result 1997 Full Information". www.electionpakistani.com. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  11. ^ "National Assembly of Pakistan". na.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 2022-02-14. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  12. ^ "Azhar meets Musharraf". Arab News. 2001-06-25. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  13. ^ "NA 118 Election Result 2002 | Nankana Sahib-II Election 2002 | PakElection". pakelection.pk. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  14. ^ "NA 118 Lahore I Detail Election Result 2002". www.electionpakistani.com. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  15. ^ "Imran to face another defeat from Lahore or change history?". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  16. ^ "Chaudhry brothers own assets beyond means; how did they launder money?". Global Village Space. 2020-07-25. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  17. ^ "The News International: Latest News Breaking, Pakistan News". www.thenews.com.pk.
  18. ^ Newspaper, the (6 October 2011). "Mian Azhar joins PTI".
  19. ^ "PTI to set up boards for awarding tickets". Archived from the original on 2013-03-19. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  20. ^ Newspaper, the (2011-10-06). "Mian Azhar joins PTI". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  21. ^ "Election Commission of Pakistan". ecp.gov.pk. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  22. ^ Ahsan, Ali (2010-12-23). "A history of football in Pakistan — Part III". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Punjab
1990 - 1993 		Succeeded by