Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhary (; born 28 March 1959) is a Pakistani
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
Abbasi cabinet
The Abbasi ministry was formed by Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on 4 August 2017 to begin a new government following the disqualification of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif until the end of May 2018 when justice Nasirul Mulk took oath a ...
from 2017 to May 2018. A leader of the
Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)
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 Par ...
Gillani ministry
The Gilani ministry began its operation into office on 31 March 2008 after Yousaf Raza Gillani was elected as Prime minister of Pakistan by the National Assembly on 25 March 2008. The swearing-in of the cabinet was delayed for a few days until M ...
in 2008. He served as the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of Pakistan from 1998 to 1999 during the Sharif's second ministry. He currently serves as federal minister for planning and development since 19 April 2022.
Family and education
According to
PILDAT
Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency, or commonly called Pildat, is a Pakistani think tank which promotes democracy. Pildat is an independent, non-profit oriented think tank that mainly focuses on democracy, governance a ...
, Chaudhary was born on 28 March 1959. According to
the News International
''The News International'', published in broadsheet size, is one of the largest English language newspapers in Pakistan. It is published daily from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad. An overseas edition is published from London that cater ...
, he was born on 28 September 1958.
His mother, Nisar Fatima was the member of the National Assembly of Pakistan on reserved seats for women in
BSc
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...
in 1981.
In 1984, Chaudhary attended the
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...
from where he did
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
in 1986.
Dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's hori ...
reported that he also attended
Government College Lahore
The Government College University, Lahore (colloquially known as GCU), is a public research university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Opened as Government College, Lahore, in 1864, it became a university in 2002.
Overview
In 1864, Gov ...
,
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
and
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
.
Political career
Chaudhary started politics as president of the student union of University of Engineering and Technology. He was then associated with Islami Jamiat Tulaba, student wing of the right wing Jamat-i-Islami.
In 1993 Pakistani general election, he became member of the National Assembly for the first time after winning constituency NA-117 of
Narowal
Narowal ( ur, ) is a city located on the western bank of river Ravi in the northeast of the province Punjab, Pakistan. The city is the capital of district Narowal, and a part of the Gujranwala division. It is the 94th largest city of Pakistan ...
. In 1993, he served as Policy and Public Affairs Assistant to then
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 ...
.
He was re-elected as the member of the National Assembly for the second time in 1997 Pakistani general election. when his party PML-N won clear majority in National Assembly for the first time in the history of Pakistan, Chaudhary played his role in several key government positions. He was appointed as the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of Pakistan with the title of Minister of State, chairman
Pakistan Engineering Council
The Pakistan Engineering Council (Urdu: ; acronym: PEC) is a professional body for accreditation of engineering education and regulation of engineering profession in Pakistan. It was established on 10 January 1976 by the Parliament under th ...
and was also a chairman for the National Steering Committees on Information Technology and IQM and Productivity. Chaudhary continued on the positions allotted to him till the
1999 Pakistani coup d'état
The 1999 military takeover in Pakistan was a bloodless ''coup d'état'' initiated by the military staff at the Joint Staff HQ working under Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Pervez Musharraf. The instigators seized c ...
in which then Chief of Army Staff,
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 t ...
, overthrew elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his existing elected government.
Dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's hori ...
reported that on Chaudhary's initiative Pakistan's first national IT policy was formulated.
In 2002 Pakistani general election, he lost the National Assembly seat. During the Musharraf rule, Chaudhary taught management at the
Mohammad Ali Jinnah University
}
The Mohammad Ali Jinnah University ( ur, ), abbreviated as MAJU) is a private university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
Established in 1998, the university offers undergraduate and post-graduate programs with a strong emphasis on busi ...
in Islamabad from 2000 to 2007. Chaudhary is considered a loyalist of Nawaz Sharif who kept the PML-N alive during the Musharraf rule.
In 2008 Pakistani general election, Chaudhary was re-elected as the member of the National Assembly for the third time. He briefly served as the Minister for Education of Pakistan with an additional portfolio of Minister of Minorities' Affairs in the
Gillani ministry
The Gilani ministry began its operation into office on 31 March 2008 after Yousaf Raza Gillani was elected as Prime minister of Pakistan by the National Assembly on 25 March 2008. The swearing-in of the cabinet was delayed for a few days until M ...
. But after PML-N decided to sit on opposition benches due to a disagreement with PPP related to the reinstatement of the judges dismissed by former President Pervez Musharraf in 2007, he resigned six weeks into the newly formed PPP-led coalition government.
In 2011, Chaudhary was elected as Deputy Secretary General of PML-N.
In 2013 Pakistani general election, Chaudhary was made part of PML-N's central parliamentary board tasked with selecting candidates for the election. Chaudhary was re-elected as the member of the National Assembly for the fourth time in 2013 general election. He was appointed as the Minister of Planning and Development as well the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission of Pakistan.
In February 2016, Chaudhary was appointed as the
United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
's 'champion minister' from the Asia Pacific region in recognition of his efforts to promote the Sustainable Development Goals.
In July 2017, the federal cabinet, which included Chaudhary was disbanded following the resignation of Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime minister of Pak ...
after the
Panama Papers case
The Panama Papers case (officially titled ''Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi v. Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif''), or the Panamagate case, was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of Pakistan that disqualified incumbent Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz ...
decision. Following the election of
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi ( ur, ; born 27 December 1958) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 21st prime minister of Pakistan from August 2017 to May 2018. Abbasi is the senior vice president of the Pakiatan Muslim League ...
as Prime Minister of Pakistan, Chaudhary was inducted into the federal cabinet of Abbasi and was appointed Minister for Interior for the first time. On 16 September 2017, he was given the additional charge of
Ministry of Planning and Development
The Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives ( ur, , abbreviated as MoPD) is headed by the Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives, who must be a member of Parliament of Pakistan. The minister is also deputy chairma ...
. In November 2017, he was criticised by the
Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan
The Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan ( ur, ), is the president-chair of the Senate of Pakistan.Raza Rabbani for not taking Senate in confidence with regards to the crackdown against the
2017 Tehreek-e-Labaik protest
2017 Faizabad sit-in was organized by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). It started a protest on November 8, 2017, and set up camp at the Faizabad Interchange contesting changes in the ''Elections Bill 2017'' in which the word ''oath'' changed to ...
Zahid Hamid
Zahid Hamid (; born 24 October 1947) is a Pakistani politician, and lawyer. A member of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Hamid previously served as the Minister for Law and Justice and Minister of Climate Change in the Third Sharif ministry b ...
. Upon the dissolution of the National Assembly on the expiration of its term on 31 May 2018, Chaudhry ceased to hold the office as Federal Minister for Interior and Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform.
He was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PML-N from Constituency NA-78 (Narowal-II) in 2018 Pakistani general election. He received 159,651 votes and defeated Abrar-ul-Haq.
He was arrested on 23 December 2019 by NAB , over Narowal sports complex corruption charges., Released after 90 days in custody, after NAB failed to come up with a case against him.
Assassination attempt
In May 2018, Chaudhary was shot and wounded at a political rally in his home constituency Narowal in an apparent assassination attempt. He was airlifted from Narowal to Lahore for surgery where he was said to be in stable condition. The attacker, found to be linked with
Tehreek-e-Labaik
Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (; TLP) is a far-right Islamic extremist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Khadim Hussain Rizvi in August 2015. It became the fifth largest party at the 2018 Pakistani general election, but faile ...
, was arrested from the spot who in his police statement confessed that he tried to assassinate Chaudhry