Hina Rabbani Khar

Hina Rabbani Khar
حناربانی کھر
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
11 February 2011 – 16 March 2013
Acting: 11 February 2011 – 19 July 2011
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani
Raja Pervez Ashraf
Preceded by Shah Mehmood Qureshi
Succeeded by Mir Hazar Khan Khoso (Acting)
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
In office
11 February 2011 – 20 July 2011
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani
Preceded by Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan
Succeeded by Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan
Minister of State for Finance and Economics Affairs
In office
24 March 2008 – 11 February 2011
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani
Preceded by Ali Nazary
Succeeded by Dost Muhammad Mazari
Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
In office
10 October 2002 – 11 May 2013
Constituency NA-177 Muzaffargarh-II
Personal details
Born (1977-11-19) 19 November 1977
Multan, Punjab, Pakistan
Nationality Pakistani
Political party Pakistan Peoples Party
Spouse(s) Feroze Gulzar
Relations Ghulam Noor Rabbani (father)
Ghulam Mustafa Khar (uncle)
Aaminah Haq (cousin)
Alma mater Lahore University of Management Sciences [1]
University of Massachusetts, Amherst[2]
Religion Islam

Hina Rabbani Khar (Urdu: حنا ربانی کھر; born 19 November 1977)[3] is a Pakistani stateswoman who served as the 26th Foreign Minister of Pakistan between February 2011 till March 2013 – the youngest person and the first woman to hold the position.[4]

Hailing from an influential feudal family, she studied business at LUMS and Amherst before entering politics as a member of national assembly in 2002 and becoming a junior minister responsible for economic policy under the Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. She joined the Pakistan Peoples Party and was re-elected to the national assembly in 2008. In 2009, she became the Minister of State for Finance and Economic Affairs and the same year became the first woman to present the national budget.[5]

She was appointed by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan in July 2011 following the resignation of Mehmood Qureshi, and served until the 2013 election. During her time at the foreign ministry she resumed talks with India, which had derailed since the Mumbai attacks. She also led an unsuccessful move to grant India most favoured nation status.[6] While on a visit to Bangladesh, she issued an unconditional apology from Pakistan for atrocities carried out during the Liberation War of 1971.[7][8]

During her two year long appointment as the country's foreign minister she attracted significant global attention on her appearance and status as Pakistan's first women foreign minister.[9][10] She was interviewed by Charlie Rose,[11] CBS News[12] and Washington Post[13] among others.[14] She served as a high-ranking member of the Central Executive Committee of the Pakistan Peoples Party from 2008 until 2013, when she retired from politics.[15] However, she continues to remain a member of Pakistan People's Party and a public speaker on foreign policy.[16] She has written op-ed's for Newsweek Pakistan[17] and was interviewed by Mehdi Hasan at the Oxford Union in December 2015.[18]

Early life and family

Hina was born into a feudal Muslim Khar-Jatt family in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan.[19][20] Khar is the daughter of powerful oligarch and retired politician Ghulam Noor Rabbani Khar. Her father was a prominent national politician and formerly served as a member of the National Assembly. She is niece of Ghulam Mustafa Khar, former Governor and Chief Minister of Punjab, and the cousin of actress and model Aaminah Haq.

Khar is co-owner of a restaurant chain named the "Polo Lounge". The initial branch opened at the Lahore Polo Ground in 2002. A second Polo Lounge has since opened in Islamabad's Saidpur Village.[21][22]

Education

Khar is a graduate of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) where she holds a BSc (with honors) in Economics conferred in 1999.[3] She subsequently attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in the United States where she earned a MSc in Business Management, attained in 2002.[3]

Khar has retained ties with her alumnus institution, LUMS, long after her graduation. In 2012, she delivered a lecture at LUMS on "Foreign policy and Young Democracy".[23] In 2012, she helped secure funding for the Abdus Salam Institute of Physics and spoke highly of notable theorist Dr. Abdus Salam at LUMS.[24]

Career

Hina Rabbani Khar came to national prominence in the national political arena through Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in 2004, who appointed her to the Finance Ministry. In the 2002 general elections, she successfully contested and secured the parliamentary constituency of her father, veteran politician Ghulam Noor Rabbani Khar, after most members of her family were disqualified.[25] With the financial support of her father, she campaigned on a newly founded PML (Q Group) platform against the Pakistan Muslim League.[25]

Hina Rabbani Khar – World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, 2012

Khar was elected as a member of the National Assembly, representing the NA-177 (Muzaffargarh-II) constituency in Punjab, a constituency her father had represented previously. A new law requiring all parliamentary candidates to hold a university degree had meant he could not run that year.[26][27][28] The Guardian wrote, "In deference to local sensibilities about the place of women, her landlord father Noor addressed rallies and glad-handed voters; Hina stayed largely at home, with not even her photo appearing on the posters."[29] In 2005, she was elevated to the position of deputy minister of economic affairs under Shaukat Aziz. As deputy minister, she dealt extensively with the donor community during the 2005 earthquake that hit Northern Pakistan.[25]

In 2007, she made an unsuccessful attempt to renew her alliance with PML-Q, but the party denied her a ticket platform to campaign for re-election in 2008. She was later invited by the senior members of the Pakistan Peoples Party and successfully campaigned for her constituency for a second time.[26][30] The PPP secured a plurality of the votes and formed a left-wing alliance with the Awami National Party, MQM and PML-Q.[31]

Minister of State for Economic Affairs

Khar came to prominence during the Shaukat Aziz government and was appointed Minister of State for Economic Affairs in 2004, a post she retained until 2007.[32] In 2008, after successfully defending her constituency, she was appointed Minister of State for Finance and Economic Affairs in the cabinet of Yousaf Raza Gillani.[3] She worked on the financial budget and economic policies in the absence of the then Finance Minister and on 13 June 2009 she successfully presented the 2010 federal budget in the Parliament and has the distinction of being the first woman politician to present the Pakistani budget in the National Assembly.[25][33]

Foreign minister

Hina with United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Khar was appointed as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs—the deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—on 11 February 2011, as part of Gillani's cabinet reshuffle.[34] After Shah Mehmood Qureshi's resignation as Foreign Minister, she became acting Minister of Foreign Affairs on 13 February 2011.[35] She was formally appointed as Foreign Minister on 18 July[36] and was sworn in on 19 July, becoming the youngest and first female Minister of Foreign Affairs.[37] President Asif Ali Zardari, who succeeded Pervez Musharraf in 2008, said the appointment was "a demonstration of the government's commitment to bring women into the mainstream of national life".[38] She was appointed foreign minister during a difficult time in Pakistan: when the country's armed forces were confronting extreme elements in Western Pakistan and anti-American emotions ran high over the Raymond Davis incident.[39][40]

Shortly after her appointment, she visited India and held peace talks with her Indian counterpart, S. M. Krishna. Relations between the two countries had been suspended following the 2008 Mumbai attacks, resuming in February 2011.[41] The Indian media reported extensively on her fashion and appearance—the Birkin bag, the sunglasses, the Jimmy Choo stilettos and the pearl necklaces, for example.[42][43][44] She held talks with leaders of the Kashmir independence movement before meeting Indian government representatives, a decision which was criticised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India's main opposition party,[45][46] which said it was a breach of protocol and demanded an inquiry into the matter.[47] In August 2011 she visited China and held talks with Yang Jiechi, the Chinese Foreign Minister.[48] Hindustan Times reported that, in contrast to her reception in India, she was largely ignored by Chinese media.[49]

The NATO strike which killed 24 Pakistani troops was one of the most notable incidents during her tenure and Foreign Minister Khar vigorously stated that the government of Pakistan and defense committees had approved a measure—similar to a parliamentary resolution put forward after bin Laden's May 2011 death—that formally bars NATO and ISAF forces from using Pakistan's supply routes.[50] On 6 June 2012, Pakistan renewed its call for a U.S. apology over the killing of 24 soldiers in U.S. warplane attacks at the Salala checkpost, as Khar argued that "higher principles should take precedence over politically popular considerations". Khar challenged the U.S. to "live up to its democratic ideals by respecting the will of Pakistan’s elected legislature", Foreign Policy magazine said in a Doha-datelined report on its interview with the top Pakistani diplomat.[51] On 15 December 2011, when the United States suspended financial aid to Pakistan, Khar warned her counterpart Hillary Clinton that the United States will be responsible for defeat in the war on terror as Pakistan could not fight the war alone.[52]

Hina Rabbani Khar – Supreme Court of Pakistan Conference in 2013.

On 21 January 2012, Khar secretly left for Moscow with an agenda of strengthening bilateral relations.[53] Khar and her foreign service officers made tremendous efforts to reach out to countries such as Russia in the wake of strained ties with the United States.[53] On this trip she extended an invitation to the Russian leadership to visit Pakistan and to reaffirm cooperation and bilateral commitment and support to promote stability and peace in Afghanistan for "Afghan-led and Afghan-owned" efforts for national reconciliation in the country.[54] On 12 August 2012, while speaking at the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran, Khar maintained that "growing confrontation over Iran’s nuclear program was threatening further instability in the broader region, and a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible on the basis of reciprocal confidence-building measures and security assurances against external threat."[55]

During her short visit to Bangladesh on 9 November 2012, Khar was approached by the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Dipu Moni to settle pending post-independence issues, emphasizing especially an unconditional apology from Pakistan for the genocide it had carried out during the Liberation War of 1971.[56] Khar reiterated that Pakistan had regretted its 1971 actions on different occasions since 1974 and called for the two countries to move ahead together. She urged Moni and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, to bury the past.[56]

Personal life

Khar is married to Feroze Gulzar and has two daughters, Annaya and Dina.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar to Speak at LUMS". LUMS. 30 April 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  2. ↑ "Alumna to be Pakistan's new Foreign Minister". University of Massachusetts Amherst. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Hina Rabbari Khar". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  4. ↑ Dawn.com (2012-06-25). "Hina Rabbani Khar". www.dawn.com. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  5. ↑ "What you need to know about Hina Rabbani Khar – The Express Tribune Blog". blogs.tribune.com.pk. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  6. ↑ "Good work, Minister Khar! - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  7. ↑ "Most Beautiful Female Politician". Dainik Bhaskar. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Celebrate The Style Of These 8 Women For International Women's Day". Bustle. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "Indo-Pak talks: Hina Rabbani to lead delegation to India - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  10. ↑ "Who is Hina Rabbani Khar?". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  11. ↑ Charlie Rose (2013-01-15), Hina Rabbani Khar (01/14/13) | Charlie Rose, retrieved 2016-02-22
  12. ↑ CBS News (2011-09-23), The CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley - Is Pakistan aiding terror attacks on the U.S.?, retrieved 2016-02-22
  13. ↑ "Pakistan foreign minister on U.S. relations". Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  14. ↑ NDTV (2012-09-08), No love lost for Hafiz Saeed: Hina Rabbani Khar to NDTV, retrieved 2016-02-22
  15. ↑ "Hina Rabbani Khar not to run for another stint in National Assembly - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  16. ↑ "Reaffirming loyalties: Hina Rabbani Khar is not joining PTI, says Ghulam Rabbani - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  17. ↑ "If Not Now". Newsweek Pakistan. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  18. ↑ "Who rules Pakistan?". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  19. ↑ "Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar". First Post (India). Retrieved 29 April 2013. Hina Rabbani Khar was born on 19 November 1977 in Multan, Punjab
  20. ↑ http://archives.dailytimes.com.pk/national/25-Feb-2008/electoral-results-by-caste
  21. ↑ Das, Mala (27 September 2012). "Who is Hina Rabbani Khar?". NDV. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  22. ↑ Khan, Omer Farooq (21 February 2013). "Hina Rabbani Khar's 'baby': Tony eatery with an eclectic menu". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  23. ↑ Khar, Her Excellency, Hina. "Foreign Policy and Young Democracy" (PDF). Hina Rabbani Khar presented her paper at LUMS on 30 April 2012. LUMS, Paper. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  24. ↑ LUMS. "Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar Speaks at LUMS". Press Release of LUMS Editorial Newspaper. LUMS Editorial Newspaper. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  25. 1 2 3 4 M Ilyas Khan (21 July 2011). "Will Pakistan's first woman foreign minister make a difference?". BBC News. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  26. 1 2 "District Profile: Southern Punjab- Muzaffargarh". Dawn (Karachi). Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  27. ↑ "Pakistani general election, 2002: constituency-wise detailed results" (PDF). Election Commission of Pakistan. p. 48. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  28. ↑ Khan, Omer Farooq (25 July 2011). "Hina Rabbani Khar a misfit, say most Pakistanis". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  29. ↑ Walsh, Declan (29 July 2011). "Pakistan foreign minister bags attention on India trip". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  30. ↑ "NA-177 (Muzaffargarh-II)". Election Commission of Pakistan. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  31. ↑ Ghumman, Khawar (5 October 2012). "The hunt for electoral alliances". Dawn (Karachi). Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  32. ↑ "CV" (PDF). Competitiveness Support Fund. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  33. ↑ Asghar, Raja (14 June 2009). "Hina Khar first woman to present Pakistan budget". Dawn (Karachi). Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  34. ↑ Hassan, Ahmad (12 February 2011). "Some heavyweights left out of 22-member new cabinet.". Dawn (Karachi). Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  35. ↑ Indo-Asian News Service, ed. (24 June 2011). "Hina Rabbani Khar to be Pakistan foreign minister". MSN India News. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  36. ↑ Buncombe, Andrew (19 July 2011). "Pakistan selects female envoy for India talks". The Independent (London). Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  37. ↑ "Hina Rabbani Khar sworn in as foreign minister". Dawn (Karachi). 19 July 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  38. ↑ Ghosh, Labonita (26 July 2011). "Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan's foreign minister: Just a Greenhorn or Rising star?". The Economic Times (Mumbai). p. 2. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  39. ↑ Chaudhry, Asif (28 January 2011). "US official guns down two motorcyclists in Lahore". Dawn (Karachi). Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  40. ↑ Khan, Omer Farooq (18 July 2011). "Hina Rabbani Khar is Pakistan's new foreign to minister". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  41. ↑ "India and Pakistan relations 'on right track". BBC News. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  42. ↑ Rodriguez, Alex (5 August 2011). "Pakistan's top envoy gets points for style, but at home questions loom". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  43. ↑ "Hina Rabbani Khar: An instant hit with Indian media and masses alike". The Economic Times (Mumbai). 27 July 2011. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  44. ↑ "High on fashion: Birkin, pearls a few of Pakistan foreign minister's favourite things". The Times of India. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  45. ↑ "Pak foreign minister starts India visit by meeting Kashmiri separatists". The Times of India. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  46. ↑ "BJP protests Khar-Hurriyat meet, slow pace of 26/11 trial". Hindustan Times (New Delhi). 28 July 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  47. ↑ "BJP demands inquiry into Khar-Kashmiri separatists meeting". Daily News and Analysis (Mumbai). 27 July 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  48. ↑ "Pakistan, China ties are unique: Hina Rabbani Khar". The Times of India. 24 August 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  49. ↑ "Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar to visit China". The Express Tribune. 22 August 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  50. ↑ Starr, Barbara (2 December 2011). "U.S. talked with Pakistan before fatal airstrike, yet questions remain.". CNN International. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  51. ↑ "Khar renews call for apology over Salala attack". The News International (Karachi). 6 June 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  52. ↑ Staff Reporter (15 December 2011). "US will be responsible for defeat in war on terror: Hina Khar". The Nation (Lahore). Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  53. 1 2 Kamran, Yousaf (21 January 2012). "Khar off to Russia with love". The Express Tribune (Karachi). p. 1. Retrieved 9 September 2012. In a development that signifies a paradigm shift in the country’s decades-old foreign policy, Pakistan is set to formally invite the Russian president to undertake a visit at a time when its relationship with the United States is faltering
  54. ↑ APP (9 February 2012). "Working together: Pakistan, Russia vow to support Afghan peace initiative". The Express Tribune (Karachi). Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  55. ↑ APP (29 August 2012). "NAM summit: Khar fears Iran conflict may fuel instability". The Express Tribune (Karachi). Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  56. 1 2 Karim, Rezaul (10 November 2012). "PM to visit Pakistan to attend D-8 summit". The Daily Star (Dhaka). Retrieved 28 November 2012.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hina Rabbani.
Political offices
Preceded by
Ali Nazary		 Minister of State for Finance and Economic Affairs
2008–2011 		Succeeded by
Dost Muhammad Mazari
Preceded by
Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan		 Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
2011 		Succeeded by
Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan
Preceded by
Shah Mehmood Qureshi		 Minister of Foreign Affairs
2011–2013 		Succeeded by
Mir Hazar Khan Khoso
Acting
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