Mehtab 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.

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 (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, 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 the 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.

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)