Abdul Aleem Khan (born 5 March 1970) is a Pakistani politician and businessman from Lahore. Abdul Aleem Khan currently serves as a member of the National Assembly after being elected from Constituency NA 117, Shahdara Lahore in the general elections held on 8 February 2024.[1] Abdul Aleem Khan owns PEMRA Samaa TV and Vision Group. He was also the Senior Minister of Punjab and Minister of Food from 2020 to 2021. He also served as a member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab from August 2018 to 2021. He announced his separation from politics on Twitter in a tweet.[2] Later in a statement to the media, he said that he had no intentions of joining politics again and that he would focus on the welfare through the Abdul Aleem Khan Foundation. In June 2023 he launched the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party along with Jahangir Khan Tareen. He is a founding member and the incumbent president of the party.[3][4][5]
He held Senior Minister of the Punjab and Minister for Local Government & Community Development portfolios from 2018 to 2019 under the Usman Buzdar government, but stepped down after his arrest in an alleged corruption case involving offshore companies in the Panama Leaks and assets beyond means.[6] He was member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab from 2003 to 2007 and served as Provincial Minister for Information Technology of Punjab during the same period.
Aleem Khan is the owner of Vision Group, a real estate development company in Pakistan owning ventures such as Park View City Lahore and Islamabad, Samaa TV and CineStar Lahore and Multan.
He was elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of PML-Q from Constituency PP-147 (Lahore-XI) in the by-elections held in January 2003[13] He received 18,059 votes and defeated Ameer ul Azim, a candidate of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA).[12] On 15 November 2003, he was inducted into the provincial Punjab cabinet of Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi[14] and was appointed as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Information Technology.[8] He remained as the Provincial Minister for Information Technology of Punjab till 2007.[15][10]
He contested for the seat of the National Assembly as a candidate of PML-Q from Constituency NA-127 (Lahore-X) in 2008 Pakistani general election but was unsuccessful.[11] In the same election, he also contested for the seat of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of PML-Q from Constituency PP-147 (Lahore-XI) but was unsuccessful.[11] He received 9,493 votes and lost the seat to Mohsin Latif.[16]
He contested for the seat of the National Assembly as a candidate of PTI from Constituency NA-122 (Lahore-V) in by-election held in October 2015 but was unsuccessful. He received 72,043 votes and lost the seat to Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.[21] He filed a petition with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to challenge the results of the by-election. He alleged rigging took place in the constituency, claimed to have evidence and submitted a plea to the Supreme Court.[22] but the plea was not accepted.[23] In July 2016, PTI appointed him as the president of the party's Central Punjab Chapter.[24]
He was elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of PTI from Constituency PP-158 (Lahore-XV) in 2018 Pakistani general election.[25]
On 27 August 2018, he was inducted into the provincial Punjab cabinet of Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and was appointed as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Local Government and Community Development. He was given the status of a senior minister in the cabinet.[26][27]
In February 2019, he was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for multiple inquiries, including one involving offshore company Hexam Investment Overseas Ltd, one for owning assets beyond his known sources of income, and inquiries into his questionable business practices related to his housing societies.[28] The same day, he announced his resignation as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Local Government and Community Development.[29] The probe was on his housing societies was later closed.[30][31] In the case of assets beyond means he was given a bail as no evidence proving his guilt was provided.[32] The Lahore High Court granted bail to Aleem Khan on 13 April 2020. After proving his innocence, he was again appointed to the Provincial Cabinet as the Senior Minister of Punjab and Provincial Minister of Punjab for Food but resigned in November 2021.[33][34]
On 20 May 2022, he was de-seated after he voted against his own party chairman, Imran Khan, in a no-confidence motion on 16 April 2022, stating that he would "unconditionally support the opposition".[35] Abdul Aleem Khan announced his resignation from the ministry in a tweet and after a silence of few months he decided to launch his own party Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party in June 2023 amid the worsening economic conditions persisting in Pakistan.[36][37] He is a founding member and was appointed as president of the party.[38]
Criticism
Aleem Khan lost the 2015 by-election for the National Assembly due to alleged rigging. He submitted a petition with the Election Commission of Pakistan with evidence, but it was not accepted.[39]
On 6 February 2019, the National Accountability Bureau arrested Aleem Khan for owning assets beyond known sources of income within Pakistan and abroad.[40][41]
On 6 November 2022, the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) filed an FIR against Aleem Khan, his wife, and his daughter for alleged document forgery in a land sale case.[42][43] The National Accountability Bureau later dropped the charges due to the absence of evidences.[44]
Aleem Khan's societies, Park View City Lahore and Park View City Islamabad were declared illegal in 2020 and 2022 respectively by the Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA) and the Islamabad High Court.[45][43] The National Accountability Bureau later stopped pursuing the case due to a lack of evidence.[30] The Capital Development Authority (CDA) also restored a No Objection Certificate (NOC) with regard to the Parkview City.[31]
Aleem Khan made two financial transactions of Rs 198 million and Rs 140 million during his tenure as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Information Technology between 2002 and 2007. His counsel provided a complete money trail for these transactions.[46] The Lahore High Court in its detailed order in Writ Petition vide order dated 15/5/2019, stated that the allegations leveled by NAB had no basis and the honorable court had taken due notice of the fact that the provisions of S.9 of the NAO did not appear to have any nexus to the applicant. And that the allegations levelled against the applicant had no legal leg to stand on. Hence, he is granted bail and NAB was ordered to consign the file to the record room.[47] According to documents submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan in 2018, Aleem Khan declared his assets worth Rs. 918 million (US$3.2 million),.[48][49]
