Khawaja Muhammad Asif
| MP Khawaja Muhammad Asif | |
|---|---|
| Defence Minister of Pakistan | |
|
Assumed office 27 November 2013 | |
| President | Mamnoon Hussain |
| Prime Minister | Nawaz Sharif |
| Preceded by | Naveed Qamar |
| Constituency | NA-110 |
| Minister of Water and power | |
|
Assumed office 7 June 2013 | |
| President | Mamnoon Hussain |
| Prime Minister | Nawaz Sharif |
| Preceded by | Ahmed Mukhtar |
| chairman of the Privatization Commission | |
|
In office 18 February 1997 – 12 October 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Naveed Qamar |
| Succeeded by | Shaukat Aziz |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Khawaja Muhammad Asif 9 August 1949 Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Citizenship | Pakistan |
| Nationality |
 Pakistan |
| Political party | Pakistan Muslim League (N) |
| Spouse(s) | Musarrat Asif |
| Alma mater | Government College University, Lahore (BA), Punjab University, Lahore (LLB) |
| Occupation | Banker, Politician |
| Cabinet | Sharif ministry |
| Religion | Islam |
Khawaja Muhammad Asif (خواجہ محمد آصف; born 9 August 1949 in Sialkot) is the Minister of Defense of Pakistan. A Pakistani politician, banker, and cabinet member, he also serves as the Minister for Water & Power.
A senior parliamentarian from the Pakistan Muslim League, his electoral career started in the Pakistan Senate in 1991.[1] He is noted for initiating the privatization of the banking sector as well as his strong rhetoric against Pervez Musharraf.[2] Asif also held a short-tenure in the Petroleum ministry in the Gillani cabinet.[3]
Biography
Khawaja Muhammad Asif was born in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan, on 9 August 1949. He is of Kashmiri ancestry.[4]
Career in politics
Asif was appointed chairman of the Privatization Commission in 1997.[5] His tenure was terminated by General Pervez Musharraf after the Pakinstani self-coup in 1999.[6] On 12 October 1999, Asif was arrested, imprisoned, and tortured.[6] Despite pressure from Pervez Musharraf to change allegiance, Asif remained loyal to PML(N) and continued to criticize of Pervez Musharraf.[6] In 2002, he again defended the NA-110 constituency in the 2002 general elections.[6] From 2002 to 2007, Asif worked on the PML(N)'s programme's public relations strategy. In 2006, Asif criticised the role of the military.[6] He drew widespread criticism both from Musharraf as well as supporters of the military in national politics. Responding to accusations leveled against him by the military, Asif made a statement that he would sacrifice his life for the military.[6]
In 2008, Asif again stood for the NA-110 constituent during the general elections.[5] He was briefly appointed as the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources, with another leadership position in sports, before his party pulled out of the Pakistan Peoples Party-led coalition government in 2008.[5]
From 2009 to 2012, he filed Public Interest Litigation against the corruption of the then Federal Government, including Rental Power Plants case and LPG quota case.[6][7]
Minister of Water and Defence (from 2013)
In 2013 Asif defended the NA-110 constituency in the general elections against Usman Dar of the PTI and Firdous Ashiq Awan of the PPP.[8] According to polling data, Asif secured 92,848 votes, or 52.45%.[8] On 7 June 2013, he was appointed to the Ministry of Water and Power [9]
After the appointments of the joint chief committee were completed, Asif was appointed Defence Minister. Upon becoming Defence Minister Asif tightened government investigations on Pervez Musharraf. Musharaff is now being tried for treason.[10]
Other issues
Dual nationality proceedings
A petition admitted by the Supreme Court's registrar stated that Asif holds dual nationality, and hence, according to Pakistan's constitution, he is not eligible to hold public office in Pakistan.[11] On 4 June 2012 the FIA and the Supreme Court of Pakistan began an investigation pursuing inquiries of Asif's dual nationality charges.[11] The petition also included names of 13 other current members of National and Provincial assemblies in Pakistan. The court did not find him guilty of the charges petitioned against him;[11] the petitioner who leveled the charges withdrew the accusations and issued a formal apology.[11]
References
- ↑ Govt of Pakistan. "Minister for Water & Power". Govt. of Pakistan. PID. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ↑ Public domain, Govt. publications. "Ministers in Nawaz cabinet". Prime Minister's Secretariat press release. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ↑ Sajjad Malik, "24-member federal cabinet takes oath" Daily Times, 1 April 2008
- ↑ et. al. dawn staff writer and editor (28 April 2013). "Khawaja Muhammad Asif". Dawn Newspapers,2013. Dawn News. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- 1 2 3 Kazmi, Imran; Dawn.com (28 April 2013). "Khawaja Muhammad Asif by Dawn". Dawn Newspaper, 2013. Dawn Newspaper. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Noorani, Ahmad (15 April 2014). "Khawaja Asif — the best choice for defence minister". News International, 15 April 2014. News International. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ↑ Ibrahim, Anjum (13 October 2014). "As opposition good, in government poor!". Business Recorder. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
- 1 2 et. al. "Election results". ECP release to POL. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
- ↑ Hussain, Tayyab (8 June 2013). "25-member cabinet takes oath". Pakistan Today. Pakistan Today. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
- ↑ Yousaf, Kamran (28 April 2014). "Controversial remarks: Khawaja Asif may lose defence portfolio". Express News, 2014. Express News. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 "SC resumes hearing in dual nationality case". Dawn.com. 13 June 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
