Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao (; born 20 August 1944) is a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

politician who is the current chairman of the centre-left Pashtun nationalist Qaumi Watan Party, after previously being a member of the

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...

. He was a member of the

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...

from November 2002 to May 2018. Sherpao previously served as the Federal Interior Minister of Pakistan. He had earlier been the Federal Minister for Water and Power, Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas and States & Frontier Regions and Minister for Interprovincial Coordination. Sherpao has also served as the 14th and 18th Chief Minister of the

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

province

Early life and education

Sherpao was born on 20 August 1944. He received his early from Lawrence College Murree, and Edwardes College,

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

. He joined Pakistan Military Academy with the 34th Long Course in 1964. After passing out from Pakistan Military Academy in 1965, he joined

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

where he served for 12 years, rising to the rank of Major. While in military, he took part in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. He is brother of Hayat Sherpao, and alter ego of Subhan Ali Khan of Tangi.

Political career

Sherpao started his political career with

in 1975 after taking retirement from Pakistan Army on the advice of then Prime Minister of Pakistan

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

after his elder brother Hayat Sherpao was assassinated in a bomb blast in Peshawar. He was elected to

for the first time in the 1977 Pakistani general election on Pakistan Peoples Party seat from NA-3. He boycotted the 1985 Pakistani general election. He was re-elected to the National Assembly in the 1988 Pakistani general election. He was elected as the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 1988 and remained in the office from 2 December 1988 till 8 August 1990. He became the Leader of the Opposition in the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa following the 1990 Pakistani general election. He was re-elected as the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 1994 following the 1993 Pakistani general election, in which he defeated Afzal Khamosh of the Mazdoor Kisan Party by a narrow margin of 54 votes. He remained Leader of the Opposition in the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 1993 to 1997. He was re-elected to the National Assembly in the 1997 Pakistani general election. He remained senior Vice-Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party from 1997 to 1999 and leader of Pakistan Peoples Party in the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 1997 to 1999. In 1999, he developed differences with

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

. It was reported that differences between Sherpao and Benazir Bhutto were cropped after the defeat of PPP in the 1997 Pakistani general election. Benazir Bhutto suspected that Sherpao played a role over the dismissal of her government. Sherpao denied the claims. After the 1999 Pakistani coup d'état, he went into self-exile in the United Kingdom due to multiple corruption cases. Upon return to Pakistan for the

2002 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 10 October 2002 to elect the 12th National Assembly and four Provincial Assemblies. The elections were held under the military government of Pervez Musharraf. The two mainstream parties, Pakistan ...

, he was jailed on corruption charges. In 2002, he created his own faction, of Pakistan Peoples Party-Sherpao and late 2002, was elected unopposed as the chairman of his own faction, Pakistan Peoples Party-Sherpao. He was re-elected to the National Assembly in Pakistani general election, 2002. In November 2002, he was appointed as the Minister for Water and Power with the additional portfolio of Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination in the federal cabinet. In December 2002, Sherpao was given additional charge of Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas and State of Frontier Region. In 2004, he was appointed as Minister for Interior in the federal cabinet. After getting re-elected to the National Assembly in the 2008 Pakistani general election from his home constituency, NA-8, Charsadda, he formed Qaumi Watan Party. He was re-elected to the National Assembly in the

2013 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on Saturday 11 May 2013 to elect the members of the List of members of the 14th National Assembly of Pakistan, 14th National Assembly of Pakistan, National Assembly and the four Subdivisions of Pakistan, Pr ...

Pakistan Football Federation

Sherpao served as president of the Pakistan Football Federation between 1988 and 1989.

Assassinations attempts

In April 2007, he was injured in a suicide attack in Charsadda after a suicide bomber blew himself in a political rally which killed at least 22 people. It was the first attack on him. In December 2007, second assassination attempt was made when a suicide bomb blast targeted Sherpao which killed at least 57 in a mosque in Charsadda. In April 2015, Sherpao was targeted in a suicide attack in Charsadda for the third time. Sherpao survived the attack.

External links

Official Twitter

Official Facebook

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherpao, Aftab Ahmad Living people 1944 births Pakistani MNAs 1977 Pakistani MNAs 1997–1999 Pakistani MNAs 2002–2007 Pakistani MNAs 2008–2013 Pakistani MNAs 2013–2018 Pakistan Army officers Pakistani prisoners and detainees Pakistani exiles North-West Frontier Province MPAs 1988–1990 North-West Frontier Province MPAs 1993–1996 Government of Shaukat Aziz Qaumi Watan Party politicians Edwardes College alumni Lawrence College Ghora Gali alumni Pashtun politicians Aftab Ahmad Interior ministers of Pakistan Chief ministers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistani political party founders Pakistan People's Party politicians Presidents of the Pakistan Football Federation