Sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar/Sirdar ( fa, سردار, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other aristocrats. It has also been u ...

Mehtab Ahmed Khan Abbasi (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Hindko Hindko (, romanized: , ) is a cover term for a diverse group of Lahnda dialects spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in several areas in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pun ...

: ; born 13 January 1953) is a Pakistani politician from

Abbottabad Abbottabad (; Urdu, Punjabi language(HINDKO dialect) آباد, translit=aibṭabād, ) is the capital city of Abbottabad District in the Hazara region of eastern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in Pakistan and fourth ...

who began his political career as an independent candidate in the 1985 election. He won seats in both the provincial and national assembly. He also won all subsequent elections up to that of 2013. Sardar Mehtab served as

Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa The Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the appointed head of state of the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province), Pakistan. Although the governor is the head of the province on paper, it is largely a ce ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

from 2014 to 2016,

Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ( ur, وزیر اعلیٰ خیبر پختونخوا) is the head of government of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The chief minister leads the legislative branch of the provincial government, ...

from 1997 to 1999, and Federal Minister for Railways in 2008. He is politically affiliated with the

Pakistan Muslim League (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) ( ur, , translit=Pākistān Muslim Līg (Nūn) PML(N) or PML-N) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right and Liberal conservatism, liberal conservative political party in Pakistan. Alongside the Pakistan Teh ...

. He served as a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for five years beginning in March 2003, until he won the NA-17 Abbottabad-I seat for 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 ...

in the 2008 general election.

Early life and education

Born into an

-speaking family in

Malkot Malkot is a village of Abbottabad District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Until the local government reforms of 2000 it was a Union Councils of the district.Abbottabad District Abbottabad District () is a district of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is part of Hazara Division and covers an area of 1,969 km2, with the city of Abbottabad being the principal town. Neighbouring districts are Mansehra to ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

, Sardar Mehtab passed matriculation from Govt High School Murree and graduated from the Sir Syed School in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

. He then did his

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...

and practiced law in

. Abandoning law, he joined his father Sardar Muhammad Nawaz Khan's clothing business in

Saddar, Rawalpindi Saddar, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, is the main commercial hub of Rawalpindi Cantonment. It is located between the Mall road and the main railway lines connecting Rawalpindi with down-country. It has some major business and commercial centres, main br ...

. His uncle Sardar Sarfaraz Khan has also been a politician and encouraged his nephew Sardar Mehtab to get into politics as well. His cousin and brother-in-law Sardar Fareed Ahmed Khan Abbasi is also a politician. His son Sardar Shamoon Yar Khan has been an MPA. Sardar Sheharyar Khan Sardar Ahmedyar

Political career

Provincial Minister for Law

Sardar Mehtab was elected to a provincial seat after winning the 1986 general election. He served as Provincial Minister for Law and Political Affairs from 1986 until 1988, when another general election was called.

Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas (1990–1993)

In 1990, Sardar Mehtab was elected to the National Assembly, for which he abandoned his provincial seat. He was subsequently appointed Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas. He held the post until 1993 when the General Assembly was dissolved and new elections were called.

As Chief Minister of KPK (1997–1999)

Abbasi became the

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

on 21 February 1997, taking over from

Raja Sikander Zaman Raja Sikandar Zaman Khan (Urdu/Pashto: راجہ سکندر زمان ; born 1935 died 16 March 2007) was a Pakistani politician and the former Chief Minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. During a 50-year political career he served as Minister, Senior ...

; he served until 12 October 1999. During his tenure as Chief Minister, Abbasi approved the Chief Minister Development Plan prepared by Professor

Subhan Qureshi Muhammad Subhan Qureshi (Pashto/Urdu: ; born 1959) is a biologist from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, who is the founder and chief patron of Dairy Science Park. He also worked as a dean (education), dean at the University of Agriculture, Peshawa ...

, which was later updated to

Dairy Science Park Dairy Science Park (DSP; ur, ڈیری سائنس پارک; ps, د شيدو پوهنيز پارک) is a scientific organization initiated in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan as a mission for the economic revival of northern Pakistan and th ...

through two international workshops held at the

University of Agriculture This article lists agricultural universities and colleges around the world, by continent and country. Africa Algeria * Higher National Agronomic School (French name: Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique) Benin * Agricultural University of ...

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

in 2011 and 2013 respectively. The Park has given birth to the Peshawar Meat Company, which is to be implemented jointly by the University of Agriculture, Peshawar, the Department of Local Government and Rural Development, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade.

Post-CM political career

Abbasi could not contest the general elections in 2002 for the National Assembly and had to settle for being a senator from March 2003 – March 2008.

As senator (2003–2008)

Abbasi was among the few politicians who remained in Pakistan. He was an integral part of the party during the exile of

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 was elected to the Senate of Pakistan in 2003 holding this office until the 2008 general elections.

Member of National Assembly (2008–2013)

In the 2008 general elections, Mehtab Ahmed Khan won the NA-17 Abbottabad seat. He also won the PF-45 provincial assembly seat and had to vacate both the Senate and the Provincial Assembly seats after the victory since a parliamentarian in Pakistan can only keep one seat. His son Shamoon Yar Khan won this seat. He was elected as the federal Minister for

Railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

on 31 March 2008 in the initial coalition between the PPP and PML(N) after the elections. However, he, along with the other PML(N) ministers, resigned less than two months later after differences regarding the restoration of the judges who were removed during the 2007 Pakistani state of emergency. In the 2013 general elections, Mehtab Ahmad Khan lost to his political rival for a seat in the national assembly.

Post 2013 elections

Abbasi was elected as the Opposition Leader in the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 3 June 2013; he retained the position until 9 April 2014 when he resigned to take the oath as the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of Pakistan,

Mamnoon Hussain Mamnoon Hussain ( ur, ; 22 December 1941 – 14 July 2021) was a Pakistani politician and industrialist who served as the 12th president of Pakistan from 2013 to 2018. He was first appointed Governor of Sindh in June 1999 by President Rafiq ...

, on the advice of then Prime Minister,

, appointed Abbasi as

. Abbasi took the oath of the office on 15 April 2014 in

. On 8 February 2016, Abbasi resigned as Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Head of Aviation Affairs

After resigning as the Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a year-long hiatus, Abbasi took up the role of aviation advisor to the prime minister on 14 February 2017. Abbasi took this position to improve the loss-making Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and turnaround its operations. In this short time, he has made big changes in the PIA, whereby the CEO and CCO were replaced. Furthermore, improvements have been made in aircraft surveillance to curb drug trafficking, which was rampant in the past. The New Islamabad Airport was also completed under his supervision.

Leaving PML-N

He left the PML(N) on 15 December 2023. On 20 January 2024, his party membership was officially terminated after he announced his support for

Ali Khan Jadoon Ali Khan Jadoon is a Pakistani politician who had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from August 2018 till January 2023. Political career He was elected as the nazim of Abbottabad district council in April 2018. He was elected t ...

, the

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI; ur, , ) is a political party in Pakistan. It was founded in 1996 by Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The PTI is one of the thre ...

-backed independent candidate, in the

2024 Pakistani general election General elections are scheduled to be held in Pakistan on 8 February 2024 to elect the members of the 16th National Assembly. The detailed schedule was announced by Election Commission of Pakistan on 15 December 2023. The two major parties ar ...

for NA-17 Abbottabad-II.

References

External links

Minister of Railways ProfileProfile on Senator Mehtab Ahmed KhanPoliticians of PakistanSardar Mehtab as MNAA Pakistani LeaderPolitical History of Circle BakoteSardar Mehtab tribe of Circle Bakote

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbasi, Mehtab 1952 births Living people Hindkowan people North-West Frontier Province MPAs 1997–1999 Pakistan Muslim League (N) politicians People from Abbottabad District Minister of Railways (Pakistan)