Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar ( ur, احمد مختار) (22 June 1946 – 25 November 2020) was a
Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the
Defence Minister of Pakistan in the PM
Yousaf Raza Gillani
Yusuf Raza Gilani ( Urdu: ; born 9 June 1952), is a Pakistani politician who served as 18th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 25 March 2008, until his retroactive disqualification and ouster by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 26 April 2012. ...
-led cabinet. He also owned
Servis Group and founded
Shalimar Hospital
Shalamar Hospital, established in 1982 and named after the historical Shalimar Gardens, Lahore, is a non-profit hospital located on Shalimar Link Road, Lahore in Shalimar Town
Shalimar (Punjabi, ur, ) is an administrative town ( tehsil) in ...
.
He was a central leader of the
Pakistan Peoples Party
The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...
from
Gujrat District and he defeated
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain ( pa, ; ur, ; (born 27 January 1940) is a senior Pakistani politician from a Punjabi Jat family of Gujrat who previously served as 16th prime minister of Pakistan. Hussain is the party president of the Pakistan ...
from Gujrat NA-105 in 1993 & 2008, the leader of
PML-Q
The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid e Azam Group) ur, ; ''Pākistān Muslim Līg (Qāf)'', Acronym and initialism, Acronyms: PML(Q), PML-Q, PMLQ, "Q League") is a Conservative Nationalism in Pakistan, nationalist political party in Pakistan. A ...
party, who was allied with President
Pervez Musharraf
General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the ...
, in
Pakistan's 2008 elections.
Early life and career
Born in Lahore, Ahmad Mukhtar did his Operational Management from California, United States and a Diploma in Plastic Technology from
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
. Mukhtar was also a graduate of
Forman Christian College University
Forman Christian College is an private liberal arts university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was founded in 1864 and is administered by the Presbyterian Church. The university follows an American-style curriculum.
Founded in 1864 by Ameri ...
. He was a businessman who started his political career in 1990 on PPP platform. His brother
Ahmad Saeed
Chaudhry Ahmad Saeed (11 January 1941 – 28 September 2018) was the former chairman of the Pakistan's national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines. He resigned that position in 2005. He was also the former Chairman of Zarai Taraqiati B ...
served as
PIA Managing director (from April 2001) and PIA chairman (from April 2003, both until April 2005) during the General
Pervez Musharraf
General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the ...
era. Ahmad Mukhtar himself took the role of chairman PIA from May 2008.
He was an industrialist and served as Commerce Minister in the 1993–1996
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...
government. He was considered the most likely candidate to be the next
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Paki ...
, along with
Ameen Faheem,
Yousaf Raza Gillani
Yusuf Raza Gilani ( Urdu: ; born 9 June 1952), is a Pakistani politician who served as 18th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 25 March 2008, until his retroactive disqualification and ouster by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 26 April 2012. ...
and
Shah Mehmood Qureshi
Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi ( ur, ; born 22 June 1956) is a Pakistani politician who served as the 29th Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2018 to 2022. He previously held the post from 2008 to 2011. He has been a member of the Nationa ...
, but was later denied, when Yousaf Raza Gillani was announced as the new PM on 22 March 2008. He became the Defence Minister in the coalition government of
PPP,
PML-N
The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) ( ur, , translit=Pākistān Muslim Līg (Nūn) PML(N) or PML-N) is a centre-right and liberal conservative political party in Pakistan. Alongside the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Peoples Part ...
,
ANP and
JUI-F
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan (Fazl) also Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) or simply as Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Urdu: ; ; JUI-F) is a Deobandi Sunni political party in Pakistan. Established as the ''Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam'' in 1945, it is the result o ...
formed after 2008 elections on 31 March 2008. He was also the brother-in-law of former
Pakistan Cricket Board
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan national cricket team. A member of the International Cricket Coun ...
(PCB) chairman,
Ijaz Butt
Mohammed Ijaz Butt (born 10 March 1938) is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in eight Test matches from 1959 to 1962. A wicket keeper and right-handed opening batsman, he scored 279 runs from his brief Test career at a modest batting av ...
. He belonged to a
Jat
The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and su ...
family of Gujrat.
Death
Ahmad Mukhtar died after prolonged illness on 25 November 2020, aged 74.
Former Defense Minister Ahmad Mukhtar Passes Away
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References
External links
Minister of Textile Industry profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukhtar, Ahmad
Pakistan People's Party politicians
Defence Ministers of Pakistan
People from Gujrat District
Pakistani industrialists
2020 deaths
Punjabi people
1946 births
Water and Power Ministers of Pakistan
Pakistan International Airlines people
Politicians from Lahore
Commerce Ministers of Pakistan
St. Anthony's High School, Lahore alumni
Service Industries Limited
Forman Christian College alumni
Pakistani MNAs 1993–1996