Khawaja Saad Rafique (; born 4 November 1962) is a Pakistani politician who has been a member of the

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, Romanization, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower house, lower legislative house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which al ...

since October 2018 and the current federal minister for Railways. 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 Party ...

, Rafique previously served as the Minister for Railways in

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 August 2017 to May 2018 and in the Sharif's third ministry from 2013 to 2017 and held the cabinet portfolio of Minister for Culture and the Minister for Youth Affairs briefly during 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 ...

in 2008. Rafique had been a member of the

from 2002 to May 2018 and served as Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Youth Affairs from 1997 to 1999 under Sharif's second ministry.

Early life and education

Rafique was born on 4 November 1962 in Lahore, Pakistan to

Begum Farhat Rafique Begum Farhat Khawaja Rafique is a Pakistani and educationist politician who had been a member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab between 1985 and 1988. Family She is mother of former Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique and Khawa ...

and Khawaja Mohammad Rafiq. His father migrated from

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

and then to Lahore and was a small-time businessman in Lahore who was murdered in the early 1970s. The family blamed the crime on

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth ...

. Rafique enrolled at the M.A.O. College and made a

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies ...

to Punjab University in 1982. He graduated with a BA 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 ...

in 1984, and later attained MA in

in 1986.

Political career

Rafique started his political career as a student leader representing Muslim Student Federation, from MAO College Lahore in early 1980s, and later on joined the PML-N. In

1997 Pakistani general elections General elections were held in Pakistan on 3 February 1997 to elect the members of National Assembly of Pakistan, National Assembly. The elections were a fierce contest between Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led by pre-election Prime minister of P ...

, Rafique participated in the elections on the PML-N's ticket and was elected as the member of

Provincial Assembly of the Punjab The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani provinces, Pakistani province of Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab, which is located in Lahore, the provincial capital. It was established under ...

for the first time. He was appointed Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Youth Affairs by then Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif, but his tenure was terminated by 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 ...

after the latter's

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 con ...

. He was among the PML-N leaders who confronted Musharraf in the absence of Nawaz Sharif. In 2002 Pakistani general elections, Rafique was elected as member of National Assembly from Constituency NA-119 for the first time. During the period, he served as president of PML-N Punjab. In 2008 Pakistani general elections, Rafique was re-elected as the member of the National Assembly for the second time from Constituency NA-125. He was appointed the

Minister for Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizat ...

and Minister for Youth Affairs in the

but he resigned after PML-N's went on to lead the

Lawyer's movement The Lawyers' Movement, also known as the Movement for the Restoration of Judiciary or the Black Coat Protests, was the popular mass protest movement initiated by the lawyers of Pakistan in response to the former president and army chief Pervez Mus ...

to restore the

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

. He was eventually arrested and imprisoned after calling for

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 ...

's removal. He, along with party colleagues and lawyers, took to the streets calling for the resignation of Musharraf and the reinstatement of judges deposed by him. He was also put behind bars for partaking in violent protests for the said purpose. Among

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 Party ...

's leaders, Rafique was one of the activists who kept the PML-N alive during the Musharraf government. In

2013 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on Saturday 11 May 2013 to elect the members of the 14th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. The three major parties were the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) led by Nawaz Sharif, t ...

, Rafique was re-elected as the member of the National Assembly for the third time. His wife, Ghazala Saad, was also allotted PML-N's ticket. In June 2013, Rafique was appointed

Minister of Railways A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructur ...

by the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, 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 ...

and took

oath Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to ...

on 8 June 2013. He had ceased to hold ministerial office in July 2017 when the federal cabinet was disbanded following the resignation of Prime Minister

after

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, Rafique was inducted into the federal cabinet of Abbasi and was appointed Minister for Railways for the second time. Upon the dissolution of the National Assembly on the expiration of its term on 31 May 2018, Rafique ceased to hold the office as Federal Minister for Railways. He was re-elected to Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of PML-N from Constituency PP-168 (Lahore-XXV) in

2018 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on Wednesday, 25 July 2018 to elect the members of 15th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. The three major parties Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led by Imran Khan, the Pakistan Muslim ...

. Rafique also ran for the seat of national assembly from Constituency NA-131 (Lahore-IX) but was unsuccessful as he was defeated by Prime minister Imran Khan along with 4 other seats from which he won in general election of 2018. He was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PML-N from Constituency NA-131 (Lahore-IX) in by-election held on 14 October 2018 after Imran Khan resigned from this seat and kept his home-city seat of Mianwali.

Family

He has married

twice Twice (; Japanese: トゥワイス, Hepburn: ''To~uwaisu''; commonly stylized as TWICE) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaey ...

. His first wife

Ghazala Saad Rafique Ghazala Saad Rafique is a Pakistani politician who served as a member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab. She is the wife of former Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique Khawaja Saad Rafique (; born 4 November 1962) is a Pakista ...

has been a member of

. He has two daughters and one son from his first wife. His brother

Khawaja Salman Rafique Khawaja Salman Rafique ( pa, ) is a Pakistani politician who is a Member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, from 2008 till date. He has served in Shahbaz Sharif cabinet as Minister for specialised health and he also has served as Advis ...

has been a member of

and was Provincial Minister of Punjab for Health. In April 2017, it was reported that Rafique has secretly married a PTV host Shafaq Hira, without the consent of his first wife, Ghazala. In June 2018, Rafique disclosed his second marriage to

Shafaq Hira The HESA Shafaq or Shafagh ( fa, هواپیمای شفق, "Twilight" or "Aurora") is an Iranian subsonic stealth aircraft project being developed by the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA). Development According to reports, ...

in his nomination papers for 2018 general election.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rafique, Khawaja Saad 1962 births Living people Punjabi people Pakistani prisoners and detainees Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent Punjab MPAs 1997–1999 Pakistani MNAs 2002–2007 Pakistani MNAs 2008–2013 Pakistani MNAs 2013–2018 Pakistan Muslim League (N) MPAs (Punjab) Pakistan Muslim League (N) MNAs University of the Punjab alumni Politicians from Lahore Government ministers of Pakistan Punjab MPAs 2018–2023 Central Model School, Lahore alumni Minister of Railways (Pakistan)