Muhammad Aslam Khan Raisani ( ur, ) (born 5 July 1955 in
Sarawan
Sarawan ( Balochi: سراوان) was a division of the former princely state of Kalat in Baluchistan, Pakistan, with an area . To the north were Quetta, Pishin, Bolan Pass and Sibi District. On the south was the division of Jhalawan. The ...
,
Balochistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
) is a four times elected member of the
Provincial Assembly of Balochistan
The Provincial Assembly of Balochistan is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Balochistan, and is located in Quetta, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of ...
who served as the
Chief Minister of Balochistan
The Chief Minister of Balochistan ( ur, وزیر اعلیٰ بلوچستان) is the head of government of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. The chief minister leads the legislative branch of the provincial government, and is elected by the ...
from 9 April 2008 until 14 January 2013. He is the wealthiest parliamentarian in the Balouchistan assembly.
Family
Raisani is the ''
Nawab
Nawab ( Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب;
bn, নবাব/নওয়াব;
hi, नवाब;
Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ;
Persian,
Punjabi ,
Sindhi,
Urdu: ), also spelled Nawaab, Navaab, Navab, Nowab, Nabob, Nawaabshah, Nawabshah or Nobab, ...
'' of the
Raisani
Raisarri رئیساڑی is one of many tribes that reside in Balochistan-former Brahui Ranges Kalat state. They speak the Brahui language in Mastung and Bolan and Brahui and Pashto language in Ziarat and Thal-Chotiali.
The Raisarri-رئیسا ...
tribe of the
Sarawan
Sarawan ( Balochi: سراوان) was a division of the former princely state of Kalat in Baluchistan, Pakistan, with an area . To the north were Quetta, Pishin, Bolan Pass and Sibi District. On the south was the division of Jhalawan. The ...
area,
succeeding, as eldest son, to the late
Nawab Ghous Baksh Khan Raisani.
Business career
He maintains an interest in developing his own landed estates and is President of the Chamber of Agriculture in Balochistan.
He also has an interest in preserving
wildlife
Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...
and is a lifetime member of the
Wildlife Conservation Society
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a non-governmental organization headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, that aims to conserve the world's largest wild places in 14 priority regions. Founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological ...
.
With assets worth 21 billion rupees, he is the richest parliamentarian of Balouchistan, and among the wealthiest of Pakistanis.
Political career
Raisani began his political career with the
Pakistani National Party. In 1989, he was first elected to the Provincial Assembly of Balochistan. He was a member of the Provincial Assembly until 1990, when the provincial assemblies and
National Assembly of Pakistan were dissolved by then
President of Pakistan Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Ghulam Ishaq Khan ( ur, غلام اسحاق خان; 20 January 1915 – 27 October 2006), was a Pakistani bureaucrat who served as the seventh president of Pakistan, elected in 1988 following Zia's death until his resignation in 1993. He wa ...
.
When elections were held in 1990, Raisani was again elected to the Provincial Assembly, on the National Party ticket. In 1999, he joined the
Pakistan Peoples Party and has remained a member since. In 1999, he was elected for the third time. In the general elections of 2008, he was elected for the fourth time, from the constituency of Mastung/
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of ...
(PB-38) and became the parliamentary leader in the assembly.
On 9 April 2008, Raisani was elected as the Chief Minister of Baluchistan, running unopposed.
On 14 January 2013, upon the imposition of Governor's Rule following the
January 2013 Pakistan bombings
On 10 January 2013, several bombings took place in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, killing a total of 130 people and injuring at least 270. The Quetta bombings led to protests by the city's Shia Muslim ...
, Raisani was dismissed as Chief Minister by the
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 Pa ...
, under Article 234 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
On Thursday 1 November 2012, media reports claimed that Raisani party's membership had been cancelled by the Peoples Party
Kalat Division, for continually violating party policies. However, he denied these reports, and said that his party membership had not been cancelled.
Controversy
In mid-2010, Raisani stated that he holds a master's degree in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
. When questioned by reporters investigating false claims of educational credentials in Pakistani politics, he stated, "A degree is a degree! Whether fake or genuine, it's a degree! It makes no difference!". Subsequently, in the same year, he rejected allegations of corruption against him by asserting that there was "nothing wrong" with corruption.
Since September 2012, there has been an increasing outcry against Raisani, following his government's failure to maintain law and order in Baluchistan, resulting in the mass murder of the
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...
Hazaras
The Hazaras ( fa, , Həzārə; haz, , Āzərə) are an ethnic group and the principal component of the population of Afghanistan, native to, and primarily residing in the Hazaristan (Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan and generally scatt ...
community there
There have been numerous instances of people disappearing in Baluchistan and never returning. Many people have accused the government of doing nothing in missing-persons cases with a majority of cases being left unsolved, and people have accused federal agencies of Pakistan of being involved with the Government of Baluchistan in the abduction of suspected separatist militants.
In January 2013, the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jama’at (former Sipah e Sahaba Pakistan) attacked the Hazara Shia Community in Quetta but Raisani's government did nothing to calm down the protestors.
In September 2014, the
National Accountability Bureau
The National Accountability Bureau ( ur, ; abbreviated NAB) is an autonomous and constitutionally established federal institution responsible to build efforts against corruption and prepare critical national economic intelligence assessments ...
of Pakistan started investigating charges of massive corruption against Raisani.
[Asim Yasin, The News Report]
NAB probe against massive corruption by Raisani
, 16th Sept 2014. Retrieved 18th Sept 2014
References
External links
Government Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raisani, Nawab Aslam
Living people
1955 births
Balochistan MPAs 2008–2013
Brahui people
Chief Ministers of Balochistan, Pakistan
Nawabs of Balochistan, Pakistan
Nawabs of Pakistan
People from Mastung District
Tumandars