Pervez Khan Khattak ( ur, ; ps, پروېز خان خټک; born 1 January 1950) is a Pakistani politician and a member of
PTI who served as the
Defence Minister of Pakistan from 20 August 2018 until
the dissolution of National Assembly on 3 April 2022. Prior to that, he served as the 22nd
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 2013 to 2018.
Khattak has reformist views on Pakistan's political system and he prioritised accountability in his own government, increased education enrollment, instituted reforms in the police and security sector, anti-polio campaign and plans infrastructure projects; such as improving the transportation network. He also planned to revive the local economy by helping to rebuild tourism in the area. While for the long term, he planned industrialisation of the economy and a reduction in red tape.
Early life and education
Pervez Khattak was born on 25 January 1950 in the village of
Manki Sharif
Manki (Urdu: مانکی is a town and Union Council of Nowshera District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is located to the south of Swabi City in Swabi.
Overview
Manki is also the home of one of the most powerful families in Pakistan. Th ...
to government contractor Hastam Khan Khattak, who was considered among the leading builders in the pre-partition subcontinent. He belongs to the
Khattak
The Khattak ( ps, خټک) tribe are a prominent Pashtun tribe located in the Khattak territory, which consists of Karak, Nowshera, Kohat districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
History
Khushal Khan Khattak
A warrior poet by the name of ...
tribe of Pashtuns. Pervez Khattak received his early education at the Manki Sharif Primary School, and later at
Pak-AIMS. He was also a political worker for
PPP in the past.
Pervez Khattak married twice. He is a father to three sons and two daughters. His eldest son Ishaq Khattak, after completing his education, is managing the company that his grandfather had established before the creation of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
. His son
Ibrahim Khan Khattak is a member of the
Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Ismail Khan Khattak is receiving education in
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. His cousin
Nasrullah Khan Khattak was also
Chief Minister of KP during
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 fourt ...
's rule as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Political career
He started his political career in 1983 as a member of the district council. He has served as once the
Irrigation Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 1988 and twice as the
Ministry of Industries and Production (Pakistan) in 1993 and 2010. Khattak relinquished his elected post as the Secretary-General of
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on 25 September 2013 to
Jahangir Tareen.
As Chief Minister, he faced serious issues like terrorism, extremism, economic downfall, social upheaval. But under his leadership, the province embarked upon many ambitious plans that include institutional development, elimination of corruption, energy production, reforming all sectors of the Government with a special focus on Health, Education, Local Government, and Law and order. A number of reforms were introduced in Police, Education, Health, Local Government, and Civil Work Departments.
During his tenure as Chief Minister, he remained committed to establishing good governance in the province through the promotion of transparency, accountability, devolution of power, improving service delivery, entrenching rule of law, empowering citizens with a special focus on women empowerment, strengthening of institutions, etc.
Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
On 13 May 2013, Chairman
PTI 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 ...
nominated Pervez Khattak as the
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 ...
, the top post in the province where
PTI as of 25 July 2018 has 94 out of 145 seats. In 2013, Khattak was elected CM with 4 votes, more than his nearest rival from JUI-F
Maulana Lutfur Rehman who secured 3 votes. He led a coalition government with PTI as the leading party while
Jamaat-e-Islami and
Awami Jamhuri Ittehad Pakistan were also a part of it.
*Implementation of the "Right to Information" bill in KPK.
*Energy Generation.
*De-politicization of police.
*Online Crime's First Information Report (FIR) System.
*People empowerment & developments.
*Mobile Courts.
*Rehabilitation of drug addicts and IDPs.
*Law Enforcement Capability Enhancements.
*Upgradation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa electricity distribution system.
*Working on
Whistleblower
A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
law to be implemented in KPK.
Relations with the federal government
Straight away after assuming office Khattak declared that he will pursue a non-confrontational approach with then Federal Government which was controlled by
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 ...
, he hoped this détente would create a more stable environment for the KPK government to produce results. However confrontation became inevitable with conflict over the direction of the Taliban situation and by October 2013 the provincial government became more independent and assertive from the federal government, threatening to close US Supply lines.
Security and terrorism policy
Khattak favored peace talks with the Taliban. During his tenure an anti-terrorism force was set-up. Khattak's government combated drug smugglers leading to the arrests of many in raids.
Judiciary
Khattak supported the judiciary of his province. The mobile court is used to dispense
justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
and mediate between disputes
Electricity policy
In 2012, Khattak gave a 10-year hydro electric plan which was implemented across the province. He also approved energy conservation plans. He also campaigned to prevent electricity theft in the province of KPK. Pervez Khattak's Government announced to build 350 numbers mini-micro hydel power projects for the small villages and later seeing the success of the project increased the numbers to 1000 mini-micro hydel projects. The electricity price was as less as PKR 2–5 per unit (US$0.02–0.05/kWh).
Healthcare
Aside from anti-polio campaigns, the Khattak administration introduced drives to increase breast cancer awareness. The Pervez Khattak led KP government also launched, the first of its kind public sector facility in the country, a social health insurance programme for the underprivileged of the province. Through these insurance cards, the disadvantaged will be able to receive medical assistance at both private and public hospitals across the province free of cost.
Security policy
During his reign, he took a hardline against drone strikes, viewing them as extending extremism and threatened to block NATO supply lines if drone strikes continued and if the Federal Government refused to prevent them. Following a drone strike on 2 November 2013, a day before peace talks were due to start with the Taliban, Khattak affirmed that he would indeed use his power to push for the blocking of NATO supply lines.
See also
*
Chief Ministership of Pervez Khattak
External links
Facebook Page of Perviaz Khattak
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khattak, Parvez
Living people
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa MPAs 2013–2018
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf politicians
Pashtun people
Chief Ministers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Aitchison College alumni
University of Peshawar alumni
People from Nowshera District
1950 births
Government Gordon College alumni
Pakistani MNAs 2018–2023