Owais Ahmed Ghani (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

by profession, is the former

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 the

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, ...

province of

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 ...

, who previously governed southwestern province of

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. ...

for four and a half years. He became active in politics in 1996 being one of the founding members of

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 ...

led by cricketing hero

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

. Following the party's rout in the 1997 general elections he subsequently left the party in protest against the joining of several controversial figures into the party. In 1999, he joined the

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

provincial cabinet serving as provincial minister for Industry from 1999 to 2002, He was in 2002 appointed as Federal Minister for environment following the resignation of

Omer Asghar Khan Omar Asghar Khan (3 July 1953 – 25 June 2002) was a Pakistani economist, social, political scientist. A professor of Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the Quaid-i-Azam University, he was the founder of Qaumi Jamhoori Party (National Dem ...

. Following the 2002 general elections he was appointed Governor of Balochistan. His period as Balochistan governor was controversial, especially following the murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti and Baloch protests against Federal rule. Ghani admitted there were problems with the law and order situation and drugs in

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

, the capital of Balochistan, due to instability in neighboring Afghanistan. He became governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in January 2008 after the former governor,

Ali Jan Aurakzai Lieutenant-General Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai (Urdu language: على محمدجان اوركزى Pashto language: علي محمد جان یاکزی ), is a retired three-star rank general officer in the Pakistan Army who served as the Corps Co ...

, stepped down. Ghani gained a reputation for being tough with militants during his tenure as governor of Balochistan, He is the third man (the first being

Rahimuddin Khan Rahimuddin Khan (21 July 1926 – 22 August 2022) was a general of the Pakistan Army who served as the 4th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1984 to 1987, after serving as the 7th governor of Balochistan from 1978 to 1984. He als ...

and the second being

Miangul Aurangzeb Miangul Aurangzeb (Urdu/Pashto: میاں گل اورنگزیب‎ 28 May 1928 – 3 August 2014) was the last Wali Ahad (Crown Prince) of the former Swat State, the son of the last Wali of Swat, Miangul Jahan Zeb and the son -in-law of the ...

) in the

history of Pakistan The history of preceding the country's independence in 1947 is shared with that of Afghanistan, India, and Iran. Spanning the western expanse of the Indian subcontinent and the eastern borderlands of the Iranian plateau, the region of prese ...

to have held the governorship of two provinces.7

Family

Belonging to the

Kakar The Kakar (Pashto: کاکړ) is a Gharghashti Pashtun tribe, based mostly in Northern Balochistan, Pakistan and Loy Kandahar in Afghanistan. Legendary origin Kakars are sons of Gharghashti who was the son of Qais Abdul Rashid. In Herat, the Ka ...

Pashtun tribe of Zhob, Baluchistan, Owais Ahmed Ghani is the nephew of

Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar (13 June 1899 – 14 February 1958) was a Pakistani Muslim League politician from North-West Frontier Province.Abdul Waheed Kakar General Abdul Waheed Kakar ( ur, ; born 23 March 1937), was a senior officer of the Pakistan Army who served as the 5th Chief of Army Staff, appointed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on 12 January 1993 upon death of his predecessor Asif Nawaz ...

Ex-Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan. The martyred and highly celebrated Commandant of the Frontier Constabulary,

Safwat Ghayur Additional Inspector General of Police Safwat Ghayur (14 July 1959 – 4 August 2010) was a senior two-star police officer serving in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan as commandant of the Frontier Constabulary. He was a respected po ...

, was his first cousin.

Achievements

As Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (January 2008 - February 2011)

* Design, implementation and execution of a comprehensive Counter-Insurgency Campaign against Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants in Province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa & FATA involving close coordination between Political, Military & Administrative organs of government which achieved outstanding success within 30 months. * Development & implementation of a Reformed Government Administration set-up in the northern districts of KPK based on Magistracy, Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) systems. * Conceiving & developing a social uplift development project TARUCCI (Tribal Areas Rural to Urban Centres Conversion Initiative) for bringing social change via Urbanisation by developing Urban Centres in core areas of FATA and successfully obtaining World Bank Funding for the project.

As Governor Baluchistan(August 2003 - January 2008)

*Negotiated with Baluch Militancy Leadership & successfully launched special Parliamentary Committee in 2005 involving all political parties of Pakistan for dialogue & reconciliation. (dialogue process was derailed in the last stages due to violent attacks by diehard Baluch militant elements) *Designed & conducted an Amnesty Program for Baluch Insurgents in 2005-07 which succeeded in cessation of violence. *Conceived & successfully completed the following Education Sector projects: * Women University in Quetta-Baluchistan * Baluchistan University for IT, Management & Emerging Sciences in Quetta * Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water & Marine Sciences in Baluchistan * University of Science & Technology in Khuzdar-Balochistan *3 Cadet Colleges at Killa Saifullah, Pishin & Jafarabad * Al-Hijra School & College at Ziarat; a public-private partnership for a Multi-Lingual System of Education *English, Urdu, Arabic) for students from low income groups only with free tuition, boarding & lodging from 7th to 12th) * 22 million World Bank funded project for 600 Community Schools in remote rural areas implement in partnership with selected NGOs. *Chamalang Coal Mines & Social Uplift Project: a first ever type of self-contained & self-sustaining project involving: * Reconciliation & Resolution of a 35-year-old tribal conflict over the coal deposits in which over 500 lives were lost in tribal infighting * Settlement of appropriate shares in mining between the warring tribes to promote joint ownership of the project * Creation of a Reconciliation Fund raised by charge on the mined coal for payment of compensation to the families of those killed in the 35 years of tribal conflict *Creation of a Perpetual Social Development Fund raised by a cess on the mined coal for socio-economic development of the area of the two tribes whereby the following have been achieved to date and more development work continues: * 100+ KM metalled road from the main highway to Chamalang valley * 100+ KM Electricity Transmission Line to Chamalang Valley * Drinking Water Supply System for the area * Construction of 3 nos: Housing Towns for Miners & their Families * Elementary Schools for Boys & Girls * Dispensaries & Hospital for Miners & Families * Raising a 1500 tribal Police Force for ensuring security, law & order *Commercial/Shopping centres & Truck Parking Areas *Populating the remote Chamalang Valley with almost 150,000 souls involved in mining, trucking & related activities.

Books

*''Pakistan, 2013 : views on statecraft, politics and governance'', Lahore :

Sang-e-Meel Publications Sang-e-Meel Publications is a Lahore-based publishing house that was established in 1962 in Pakistan. It has to its credit of being the foremost publisher of Urdu books after the partition of India in 1947. Apart from publishing numerous new titl ...

, 2013, 239 p. *''Where the Hunting Eagles Soar'', Rawalpindi : Brass Tacks Publishing, 2015, 90 p. English translation of selected poems from

Allama Iqbal Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...

.Prof Dr Mansoor Akbar Kundi (16 January 2016)
"The wisdom and vision of Iqbal in English"
''The News on Sunday''. Retrieved 28 January 2020. *''Constitutional Framework For An Islamic Welfare State In Pakistan'', Rawalpindi : Brass Tacks Publishing, 2015, 173 p.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghani, Owais Ahmed Living people Pakistani mechanical engineers Pashtun people Governors of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governors of Balochistan, Pakistan Edwardes College alumni Year of birth missing (living people)