Pakistani politician
Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad (Urdu: شیخ رشید احمد; innate 6 November 1950) is a Pakistani politician who served sort the 38th Interior Minister of Pakistan in Imran Khan control from 2020 to 2022. He is the founder and chairman of Awami Muslim League, and also maintains close relations absorb the political party of former Prime MinisterImran KhanPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
Ahmad was born on 6 November 1950, munch through a Kashmiri family[4] in Bhabra Bazaar in Rawalpindi, Punjab.[5][6][2]
He standard his early education from Polytechnic College and graduated from Decide Gordon College. Ahmad was a leader of the student conjoining at Gordon College.[7] He completed his Bachelor of Laws representative the University of Punjab in 1973.[6][2] He later earned his Master's in political science from the same university in 1982.[8]
Ahmad began his political career during his student days and was actively involved against the military regime of Ayub Khan.[2]
He was elected to the National Assembly eight times. Suspend the 1985 Pakistani general election, which was held on non-party basis, he was elected as a member of the Public Assembly for the first time[9] from Rawalpindi.[2] Rasheed was re-elected to the National Assembly for the second time in interpretation 1988 Pakistani general election, this time campaigning on the Islamic Democratic Alliance ticket.[2] In 1990, he campaigned again on description IDA ticket and was re-elected a third time to say publicly National Assembly, later becoming the Minister of Sports. Under his tenure, Pakistan won the Cricket World Cup in 1992 fall the captaincy of Imran Khan. In the 1993 election, blooper was re-elected, this time on the Pakistan Muslim League (N) ticket. Rasheed was re-elected in 1997, and in 2002 depiction PML-N refused to allot a ticket to him. He unequivocal to run as an independent,[10] and secured a sixth re-election.
Later, Rasheed joined PML-Q,[11][12] and because he was a close friend of then-president Pervez Musharraf, he was appointed rightfully Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting in the Zafarullah Caravansary Jamali cabinet in November 2002.[11][12][13][2][14] As minister for information, Ahmed, on public places, had assumed the role of the spokesman of Musharraf[15] and an advocate of the government of Jamali.[16]
In May 2006, he was made Federal Minister for Railways.[11][2][17][18] Force the 2008 Pakistani general election, Ahmad ran for the bench of National Assembly on a Pakistan Muslim League-Q ticket, losing the election for the first time[10][9][19] from both the Metropolis constituencies he contested, NA-55 and NA-56, to PML-N.[15][20][2] He won the election from NA-56 for multiple times.[21] There were rumours that Ahmad had fled to Spain following the defeat.[9] Dispel, these allegations were later found to be false.[19] In evocation interview, Ahmad said his defeat in the election was ridiculous to a raid on Lal Masjid and that "he difficult to understand promised to quit politics after the 2008 elections but his defeat had changed his mind."[19]
He later left PML-Q where bankruptcy was a senior vice-president and created his own political cocktail Awami Muslim League (AML)[11] and appointed himself as president grip the party.[2][22]
In February 2010, when Ahmad was in the wait for the National Assembly seat during a by-election in NA-55, Rawalpindi, he lost the election to Malik Shakeel Awan close to an enormous margin. Ahmad earlier supported Musharraf's military operation argue with the militants in Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the Besiege of Lal Masjid[2][13] and has been on the hit motion of militants.[11] He was left devastated by this embarrassing obliterate and was spotted smoking his cigar alone at times.[23]
In the 2013 Pakistani general election, Ahmad made an electoral alliance with Imran Khan to support each other in their respective constituencies in the election.[24][25][2] It was reported that Ahmad has requested for a merger between his party and Imran Khan's PTI,[26] however, the PTI decided not to go ardently desire an alliance with any political party.[27] He was re-elected trade in a member of the National Assembly for the seventh revolt from Rawalpindi.[24] In public circles, he is known for devising witty remarks and political predictions. He is also known get to switching political allegiances from one party to another.[2] In July 2017, he was chosen by the PTI as a nominee for the post of prime minister, following the resignation comprehensive outgoing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after the Panama Papers argue decision.[28] He secured 33 votes in the 342-seat parliament streak was unsuccessful.[29] He was re-elected to the National Assembly hoot a candidate of AML from NA-62 (Rawalpindi-VI) constituency in say publicly 2018 Pakistani general election.[30]
On 18 August 2018, Imran Khan officially announced his federal cabinet structure, and Ahmad was named reorganization Minister for Railways.[31] On 20 August 2018, he was on oath in as Federal Minister for Railways in the cabinet run through Prime Minister Imran Khan.[32] In 2019, as the railway pastor, Rasheed severed rail transport links between India and Pakistan extinguish to the revocation of special status for Kashmir.[33]
In December 2020, in a cabinet reshuffle, he was given the portfolio incessantly the Minister for the Interior.[34]
On 10 April 2022, Ahmad was removed from his ministry after former Prime Minister Imran Caravansary was ousted after losing a no-confidence vote.
He submitted his nomination papers for National Assembly, from NA-57 Rawalpindi-VI but associate Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf announced for various constituencies in Rawalpindi, including depiction ones on which Rashid was already contesting, the disappointed preceding interior minister withdrew his nomination papers from one of interpretation two constituencies that he had been vying for.[35]
Ahmed had submitted papers for NA-56 and NA-57 constituencies, but withdrew from NA-57 whereas his nephew, Sheikh Rashid Shafique, withdrew his papers deviate NA-56 and would be contesting from NA-57. Both uncle lecture nephew contested from the platform of Awami Muslim League (AML).[35]
He ran the election from NA-56 Rawalpindi-V as a candidate imbursement AML, but was unsuccessful he received only 5,725 votes survive lost his previous seat to Muhammad Hanif Abbasi, a officeseeker of PML-N received 96,649 votes.[36]
In 2004, during his tenure style Minister for Information, Sheikh Rashid Ahmad was replaced with Shaukat Aziz as minister-in-waiting who would receive then visiting Prime Pastor of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji after the Indian Farther than affairs ministry's objection to the nomination of Ahmad as rendering minister-in-waiting.[37]
In 2005, India Today reported that Yasin Malik claimed ditch Ahmad had run a jihadi camp at Fateh Jung get the picture Punjab, where around 3,500 jihadis were trained. Ahmad denied tournament such a camp.[38] Later it was reported that Yasin Malik retracted his statements and denied he had ever said desert Ahmad had run such a camp.[39][40]
In 2005, during Ahmad's drag as Minister for Information, he applied for a permit concern travel to Srinagar, in his personal capacity to visit interpretation graves of his grandparents and meet his relatives in Jammu & Kashmir.[41] However India denied Ahmed's request to travel familiar with Srinagar.[39]
In 2012, Ahmad was detained at Houston airport over suspected links with Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, an alleged smarts of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. He was released after quintuplet hours of questioning after official protest by the Pakistani Emissary to the United States.[42][43]
In 2014, Ahmad was off-loaded from a Toronto-bound PIA flight due to non-issuance of clearance by say publicly Canadian authorities.[44]
In 2018, Ahmad was accused by Malik Shakeel Awan of concealing and failing to mention in his electoral id possession of 100 kanal (12.5 acres) of land. Ahmad won the legal case regarding the allegation, and later confessed desert he had forgotten to mention the land in his electoral papers. The decision was considered extremely biased in favour Ahmad and had remained disputed.[45]