Time Line

Timeline

    * 1877: Born at Sialkot (present-day Pakistan) on Friday, November 9, 1877. Kashmiri origin.
    * 1893–1895: High School and Intermediate – Scotch Mission College, Sialkot.
    * 1897: B.A. (Arabic and Philosophy) – Government College, Lahore. Awarded Jamaluddin Gold Medal for securing highest marks in Arabic, and another Gold Medal in English.
    * 1899: M.A. (Philosophy) – Government College, Lahore. Secured first rank in Punjab state and awarded Gold Medal. Reader in Arabic, Oriental College, Lahore.
    * 1900: Read his poem "Nala-e-Yateem" (Wails of an Orphan) at the annual function of Anjuman-e-Himayat-e-Islam at Lahore.
    * 1901: Poem "Himala" published in Makhzan. Assistant Commissioner's Examination (didn't qualify for medical reasons).
    * 1903: Assistant Professor, Government College, Lahore. Published his first book, Ilm Al-Iqtisad (Study of Economics), Lahore.
    * 1905: Traveled to England for higher studies.
    * 1907: Ph.D., Munich University, Germany (Thesis: The Development of Metaphysics in Persia).
    * 1907–1908: Professor of Arabic, University of London.
    * 1908: Bar-at-Law, London. Returned to India. Started law practice on October 22, 1908. Part-time Professor of Philosophy and English Literature.
    * 1911: Wrote and read famous poem "Shikwa" (Complaint) at Lahore. Professor of Philosophy, Government College, Lahore.
    * 1912: Wrote the epoch-making "Jawab-e-Shikwa" (Reply to Complaint).
    * 1913: Wrote History of India for middle school students, Lahore.
    * 1915: Published a long Persian poem "Asrar-e-Khudi" ("Secrets of Self"). Resigned from professorship to spread the message of Islam.
    * 1918: In counterpart to Asrar-e-Khudi, published Rumuz-e-Bekhudi (Mysteries of Selflessness) in Persian.
    * 1920: English translation of Asrar-e-Khudi by R.A. Nicholson, entitled Secrets of Self. Visited Kashmir and presented his famous poem "Saqi Nama" at Srinagar.
    * 1923: Awarded knighthood at Lahore on January 1, 1923. Published Payam-i-Mashriq (The Message of the East) in Persian. It was written in response to Goethe's West-Ostlicher Divan.
    * 1924: Prepared Urdu course material for Grade 6–7 students at Lahore. Published "Bang-e-Dara" ("Call of the Caravan") in Urdu in March 1924.
    * 1926: Elected to Punjab Legislative Council, Lahore (1926–1929).
    * 1927: Published Zabur-i-Ajam in Persian.He was elected to the Punjab provincial legislature.
    * 1929: Delivered six lectures at Madras, Osmania University at Hyderabad, and Aligarh. He commented on the latest scientific and philosophical developments of the 1920s in the light of Islamic teachings.
    * 1930: President, All-India Muslim League. Elaborated on the idea of an independent Muslim state in his presidential speech at Allahabad. [Refer to 1924–1928 events in particular and 1912–1929 in general in the Muslims in the Indian Subcontinent - V 1800 - 1950 CE].
    * 1931: Published Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, a collection of six lectures, Lahore; also published by Oxford University Press. Participated in Mo'tamar-A'lam-e-Islami (World Muslim Conference) in Palestine. Participated in the Second Round Table Conference, London, September 7–December 31, 1931.
    * 1932: Visited Paris and met French philosophers Bergson and Massignon. Bergson was astonished to hear his remark on the Islamic concept of time. Published Javid Nama in Persian. It was a reply to Dante's Divine Comedy. Participated in the Third Round Table Conference, London, November 17–December 24, 1932.
    * 1933: Iqbal met Mussolini in Rome after Mussolini expressed his interest to meet him. Visited Cordoba, Spain and wrote the poems "Dua" ("Supplication") and "Masjid-e-Qurtuba" ("The Mosque of Cordoba"). Served as Advisor to the Government of Afghanistan on higher education (October 1933). Awarded Honorary D. Litt degree by Punjab University on December 4, 1933.
    * 1934: "Musafir" ("Traveller") in Persian.
    * 1935: Published Bal-e-Jibril in Urdu.
    * 1936: Published Zarb-i-Kalim in April 1936, "Pas Che Bayad Kard" in Persian, and "Payam-e-Mashriq" in September 1936.
    * 1937: Ulema from Al-Azhar University visited Iqbal at Lahore.
    * 1938: Jawahar Lal Nehru visited Iqbal at Lahore in January 1938. Iqbal died at Lahore on April 21, 1938. Armaghan-i-Hijaz, a collection of Urdu and Persian poems, published posthumously.

Pre-Islamic Civilizations and the Advent of Islam[Prehistoric-1206]

The Delhi Sultanate[1206-1526]

The Mughal Empire[1526-1857]

British Colonization and Muslim Reform Movements[1857-1905]

The Struggle for Independence [1905-1940]

The Pakistan Movement[1940-1947]

The Teething Years[1947-1958]

Building a Nation[1958-1969]

Martial Law and the Restoration of Democracy[1969-1977]

The Rules of Democracy[1077-1988]

Hopes and Fears[1988-1098]

Search for a Political System

Asif Ali Zardari

Mr, Zardari was nicknamed 
Mr, 10%.

Asif Ali Zardari has always been one of Pakistan's most controversial political figures and yet he has risen to its most powerful office - the presidency.
Since becoming Pakistan's president in September 2008, Mr Zardari has presided over an increasingly fragile country, a growing militant threat, possible economic meltdown and mounting political instability.
Among the many opponents ranged against him are a number of estranged former allies, who include one of the country's most popular politicians, Nawaz Sharif.
Mr Zardari has negotiated many a dramatic turn since his marriage 20 years ago to the charismatic former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
He was thrust into centre stage of current political developments when Ms Bhutto was assassinated in December 2007.
Since then he has led her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) through successful general elections and worked with former political enemies to force President Pervez Musharraf to resign.
Prison sentences
And yet, before Ms Bhutto's death, Mr Zardari's public image was so bad that the PPP kept him out of the public eye as much as possible during the campaigning for national elections in February 2008. Mr Zardari was seen as a political liability.
He spent several years in jail on charges of corruption. He was labelled "Mr 10%".
Benazir Bhutto's death propelled
Mr Zardari on to center stage.

He found himself in major trouble in 1990 when he was accused, among other things, of tying a remote-controlled bomb to the leg of a businessman and sending him into a bank to withdraw money from his account as a pay-off.
Those charges were never proved. The PPP had then accused the country's powerful intelligence apparatus of maligning Mr Zardari to damage Ms Bhutto's image.
In 1993, when then President Ghulam Ishaq Khan sacked the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Mr Zardari was escorted from the prison straight to the presidency where he was sworn in as a minister in the interim government.
Later, the PPP won the 1993 elections, and Mr Zardari moved with his wife to the Prime Minister House in Islamabad where he lived for the next three years.
In 1996, when another president sacked the PPP government, he was arrested and charged with a number of offences including the murder of Mir Murtaza Bhutto, his wife's brother.
He was later charged, along with his wife, and convicted in a kickbacks scam involving a Swiss company, SGS.
But a mistrial was declared by Pakistan's Supreme Court following a major scandal involving the accountability bureau and the judge who had issued the verdict.
Pakistan's judiciary has not had a reputation for acting independently of the government when it comes to high-profile cases, especially of a political nature.
His last prison sentence lasted eight years until 2004, during which time he says he was tortured.
It ended as the then General Musharraf was engaged in protracted negotiations with Benazir Bhutto, then in self-imposed exile, for some form of political reconciliation.

Personal bravery'Mr Zardari resolutely stood by his party as well as his wife - although at times he disagreed with the politics of both.
His friends say this was entirely in character and that no-one can deny his personal courage.
A close friend recounts an incident in the 1980s when he was still a polo-playing and horse-riding bachelor.
"We were on a cross-country ride in Karachi when one of our company, the daughter of a German diplomat, fell into a bog with her horse.
"There were 40 of us. We all stood around stunned except for this one man, Asif Ali Zardari, who jumped in and pulled out the girl and then the horse as well.
"During all this time, he could have drowned at any time himself."
Fall guy'

Asif Ali Khan Zardari was born in Karachi to Hakim Ali Zardari, head of one of the "lesser" Sindhi tribes, who chose the urban life over rustic surroundings.
Asif grew up in Karachi and was educated at St Patrick's School - ironically also the alma mater of Pervez Musharraf.











Pakistani lowyers have led protest
against President Zardari.

His father did relatively well - the young Zardari's main claim to fame was that he had a private disco at home, helping him gain the reputation as a "playboy".
When he married Benazir, the icon of the anti-establishment cause in Pakistan, he became "the designated fall guy", a close familysays. "Zardari knew this and accepted it. He walked into the marriage knowing it would always be about her, and never about him."
After his release from prison in 2004, Mr Zardari kept a low profile, undergoing medical treatment in the US.
He suffers from diabetes and a spinal ailment which prevents him from moving around without the help of a walking stick.
He also worked to re-establish his relationship with his children after years of separation.
Benazir appreciated her husband's loyalty, knowing that "despite his failings, he always stood by his family no matter what", one of her confidants says.
This was on display following Ms Bhutto's assassination, when he kept the family together.
He forcefully rejected demands for a rebellion against the government, saying the integrity of Pakistan was sacred to the PPP.
But in recent months he has been accused both from within and outside the PPP of promoting his own cronies at the expense of party veterans who had stood by Mrs Bhutto through thick and thin.

Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani [born 1952]

With the PPP leadership having endorsed him and his nomination papers having been accepted, unless something dramatic happens - and in Pakistan, it always can - Sayed Yousaf Raza Gelani will soon be elected as the next Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Whether Mr. Gillani will become the person to harken meaningful democratics changes in the country or yet another in a string of powerless President and Prime Minister who held ceremonial office while others wielded real power remains to be seen. But right now, today is his day. We wish him well and wish that he will make it memorable and prove our inherent cynicism wrong.
                                                                                                               Yousaf Raza Gillani with Zardari

For someone who has been in politics as long as he has it is rather amazing that so many know so little about him. The question that one keeps being asked is not “how he will do?” but “who is he?” (You may not have recognized him 2 days ago, but after the dose of portraits above, this should be a face you won’t soon forget!).
Of course, the second question impacts the first. So, here is a complilation of interesting facts about Syed Yusuf eza Gillani’s profile. These have been compiled from a variety of sources, including the BBC,, Dawn, and Daily Times.

Sayed Yousaf Raza Gillani.

• Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani was born on 9 June 1952 in Karachi but his family hails from the Punjab. The Gillanis are among the most prominent of landowners and spiritual leaders in the south of the province. Their home town is the ancient Punjabi city of Multan..
• Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani is a member of an influential political family of Multan, started his political career in 1978 after the death of father Makhdoom Alamdar Hussain Gilani, who was a signatory to the Pakistan Resolution. Mr Gilani’s grandfather, Makhdoom Ghulam Mustafa Shah Gilani, and paternal uncle Makhdoom Raza Shah Gilani had been elected members of the legislative assembly after defeating the Unionists in the 1946 elections. Mr Gilani’s great grandfather,  Makhdoom Raja Bakhsh Gilani, was both mayor of Multan in 1921 and member of the Central Legislative Assembly of India. He served as a member of the assembly from 1921 till his death in 1936 and was known as the father of the Indian Assembly.
• Yousaf Raza Gillani Family Photo.
  

• His larger family has always played a key role in Pakistan politics. His great grandfather Syed Sadruddin Shah’s brother Syed Rajan Bux Shah was the first Gillani to be elected to Indian Legislative Council in 1921. He remained its member till his death in 1936. Gillanis joined the All India Muslim League in 1940s. Rajan’s nephew Syed Mohammad Raza Shah defeated Unionist party candidate and PPP’s another contender for premiership Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s grandfather Makhdum Murid Hussain Qureshi in 1946 elections. Raza Shah was the only non-official president of the Multan District Board before Partition, defeating British Depty Commissioner EP Moon in the elections. He was brother of Yousaf Raza’s grandfather Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah. Raza’s son Hamid Raza Gillani won National Assembly seats in 1962, 1965, 1977 and 1985. He served as parliamentary secretary in 1960s and as a federal miniuster in Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s 1977 cabinet. He was elected to Senate of Pakistan in 1991. Mustafa Shah’s son and Yousaf’s father Makhdum Alamdar Gillani was elected to Punjab Assembly in 1951 alongwith his brother Syed Walayat Hussain Shah. Alamdar Gillani was elevated to provincial health minister in 1953. He joined newly born Republican Party in 1956 and was disqualified by Ayub government from electoral politics. His brother and Yousaf’s uncle Rehmat Shah filled the vaccum by joining Ayub’s Conventional Muslim League and winning a provincial seat along with Hamid Raza who kept on leading the family on the electoral scene till the time Yousaf ousted him in 1990. Another cousin of Yousaf Raza Gillani, Syed Tanvirul Hasan Gillani, also won a national seat in 1990 but from the platform of Islami Jamhuri Ittehad (IJI).
  

• Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani holds an MA in journalism at the University of the Punjab. He also studied at the Forman Christain (FC) College in Lahore and at La Salle High School at Multan.
• Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani is a tall, softly-spoken man with an air of authority, supporters say he is known for doing the right thing.
• Mr Gilani was the first elected chairman of the District Council, Multan. He defeated the local government minister Syed Fakhar Imam, some 25 years ago. In 1988 elections, he defeated the then Punjab chief minister Nawaz Sharif on PPP ticket. In 1990, again on a PPP ticket, he was elected an MNA after defeating Makhdoom Hamid Raza Gilani, a former federal minister. In 1993, he defeated Malik Sikander Hayat Bosan and later became Speaker of the National Assembly. Mr Gilani contested the election in 1997 on a PPP ticket and lost the party did not win a single seat in Punjab. He could not contest elections in 2002. In 2008 he defeated PML-Q’s Sikander Hayat Bosan.
  

• Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani’s first term as a public servant was as a nominee of General Zia-ul-Haq. This means that he was not part of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s original PPP team. Mr Gillani was elected as the chairman of the Multan union council in 1983. Two years later he was elected to the federal parliamentand made Minister of Housing and Railways. It was during this stint that circumstances arose which led to his leaving the League. While serving as a minister he fell out with then Prime Minister Mohammad Ali Junejo. This led to him being replaced as minister and sidelined in the party.

• Yousuf Raza Gillani served as the Speaker of Pakistan National Assembly between 1993-96.
• In 1995, Mr Gillani issued instructions for the release of parliamentarians detained by his own PPP government. When the interior ministry refused to oblige, he had the matter brought on record - a quite unprecedented action.
• Yousuf Raza Gillani refused to join the renegade PPP enticed by the Musharraf regime. Because he refused to do a deal with Gen. Musharraf his loyalty is much admired within his party.
• He was sent to jail by Gen. Musharraf in 2001, serving five years following a conviction over illegal government appointments.After being sentences by the Musharraf regime in 2001 he told reporters that the charges were “concocted and were fabricated to pressurise him to leave the PPP… Since I am unable to oblige them, they decided to convict me so that I could be disqualified and an example set for other political leaders who may learn to behave as good boys.” Reportedly, his stance and defiance won him many admirers, even among the government. He was finally released on 7 October 2006 from Adiala Jail, after spending more than five years in prison.

• yed Yousuf Raza Gillani spent six years in jail and could not contest the 2002 elections. While in jail wrote a book Chah-e-Yusuf ki Sada (Reflections from Yusuf’s Well) while in jail. In the book he describes his decision to leave the Muslim League and join the PPP: “I was furious, and helpless at the same time, I knew I could not continue… and then I made up my mind.”Bhutto loyalist. Mr Gillani says he went to Karachi to meet Benazir Bhutto, Zulfiqar Bhutto’s daughter, then very much in the political wilderness. Mr Gillani says he presented his offer to immediately join the PPP. “Ms Bhutto said to me, ‘There is nothing I can offer you, why have you come?’” Mr Gillani said his reply was what sealed his relationship with the PPP and the Bhuttos. “I said to her, there are three types of people in this world. “Lovers of honour, of wisdom and of wealth. I am of the first type, and that is all I want.” Soon afterward, General Zia dismissed Mr Junejo’s government. Mr Gillani then joined the PPP, months before the General’s death bought an end to its political exile.
• Yousuf Raza Gilani has four sons and a daughter.
• He is also related to Pir Pagara, the head of PML-Functional. Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani is a descendent of moosa park shaheed, a great saint of Multan, Yousaf’s mother was a sister of Makhdum Hasan Mahmood of Jamaldinwali, Rahimyar Khan. Makhdum Hasan’s other sister was married to Pir of Pagaro. Yousaf’s first maternal cousin Makhdum Ahmad Mahmood is provincial president of Pir Pagara’s Functional League. Ahmad Mahmood’s sister is married to General Musharraf’s former loyalist Jehangir Tareen.
• Makhdoom Syed Abdul Qadir Gillani, Yousaf Raza Gillani’s eledest son, will marry the grand-daughter of Pir Pagara on March 24, 2008 in Karachi. The same day that he is likely to be elected Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Shaukat Aziz [Born 1949]

Shaukat Aziz.

Shaukat Aziz was born on March 6, 1949 and brought up in the southern city of Karachi. He received his early education from St. Patrick’s School at Karachi and Public School at Abbottabad, graduated from Gordon College, Rawalpindi in 1967 and achieved MBA in 1969 from the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi in 1969. The same year, he started his career from Citibank as credit officer in Karachi and served in various countries including Greece, the United States, the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Singapore. After being promoted to many positions, as Citibank's head of Corporate and Investment Banking for various regions, Corporate Planning Officer, Citicorp, country Manager for Citibank in Malaysia and in Jordan, a board member of Citibank subsidiaries and of several non-profit organizations, he was appointed Executive Vice President of Citibank in 1992. Before taking leave from Citigroup, he was the head of its global Private Banking division and progressed to a senior post with the bank in New York at the height of a 30-year career in global finance. He was appointed as Finance Minister by the Government of Pakistan in November 1999 shortly after the army chief's 1999 military coup with the task of revitalizing the sagging economy. As the finance minister, Shaukat’s familiarity with a global banking came as an advantage. He was given the responsibility for managing country’s Finance, Economic Affairs, Statistics, Planning and Development and Revenue Divisions. He is also Chairman of Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet; Chairman, Executive Committee of National Economic Council and Chairman, Cabinet Committee on Privatization. He became a Senator in 2002.
Shaukat Aziz was criticized for his policy of downsizing in the public sector but he asserts that he made these institutions viable while they were on the verge of collapse. Another allegation against Shaukat Aziz is that as a Finance Minister his policies were not aimed at alleviating poverty as he seldom offered relief to the poor sections of the society. But it is claimed by many analysts that he achieved his target and strengthened the country's economic base; the recent economic figures prove his policies have worked. He improved the country's growth rate by 6.4% a year. For the first time in Pakistan's history revenue collection targets have been met in his tenure and allocation for development has increased by about 40 per cent though this success is attributed largely to debt reduction and securing of hundreds of millions of dollars in loans and aid in return for support in the US-led war on terror. Moreover, despite a series of internal and external distresses, economic situation of Pakistan improved significantly and reserves increased to US$ 10.56 billion on June 30, 2004 as compared to US$ 1.2 billion Oct 1999. Exchange Rate became stable and predictable. Inflation rate dropped to 3.5 % in last 3 years as against 11-12% in 1990’s.
He is appreciated by members of his personal staff as a hard worker who always maintained a strong financial discipline. He gave special attention to the development work at Gwadar Port and played an important part in developing other parts of Gwadar and making it an important city in the future. He was promptly nominated by the ruling party for the position of Prime Minister after Zafarullah Khan Jamali resigned. As he had to secure a seat in parliament - a requirement to take up the top post – Shaukat Aziz easily won two seats with a great margin from Attock and Tharparkar in the by-elections.
Mr Aziz is a soft-spoken, smartly dressed and married with three children.

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain [Born 1946]

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.

Chaudhry Shujaat was born on January 27, 1946 in Gujrat and graduated from Forman Christian College, University of Punjab in 1967. His father, Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi, was a seasoned parliamentarian who played an important role in restoring democracy and human rights in Pakistan and was duly honored as the “Prisoner of Conscience” by Amnesty International. Chaudhry Shujaat entered politics after his father was assassinated on September 25, 1981.
Chaudhry Shujaat became member of the federal parliament (Majlis-e-Shoora) in 1981 and worked till 1985. Chaudhry Shujaat for the first time contested in the general election from Gujrat on both the National and Punjab Assemblies seats in 1985 but had to vacate his Punjab Assembly seat and become a member of the then Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo’s cabinet as the Industries Minister. He also acted as the parliamentary party leader of the PML in the National Assembly. He was appointed the Information and Broadcasting Minister in the Junejo cabinet in 1986 and was appointed the Industries and Production Minister in 1987-88.
Chaudhry Shujaat was the interior minister in Nawaz Sharif’s first tenure. After losing the election from Gujrat in 1993, Chaudhry Shujaat became a member of Senate and the Chairman of the Senate’s standing committee on defence, production and aviation from 1993 to 1997. He won the general election again in 1997 by defeating PPP candidate Ahmad Mukhtar. Nawaz Sharif appointed him the interior minister in his cabinet and was elected the Punjab PML-Nawaz president in 1997.
After the Nawaz Sharif government was sacked on October 12, 1999, several PML-N dissidents formed a group under Mian Muhammad Azhar’s leadership. Earlier, Chaudhry Shujaat did not join any group but after Nawaz Sharif’s exile, he also joined Mian Azhar and formed the PML (QA) in March 2001. In the general election of October 2002, Chaudhry Shujaat was elected the National Assembly member from Bhakkar and Gujrat but later vacated his Bhakkar seat and acted as the PML-QA parliamentary party leader in the National Assembly. After Mian Azhar’s resignation, Chaudhry Shujaat was elected the president of PML (QA) on January 2003. He was elected as Prime Minister on June 30, 2004, four days after Zafarullah Khan Jamali tendered his resignation from the premiership.

Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali [Born 1944]

Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali in his office.

Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, the 21st Prime Minister of Pakistan, was born on January 1, 1944, at Dera Murad Jamali in Baluchistan. After getting his primary education in Baluchistan, he went to Lawrence College, Murree, for his O-levels. He did his A-levels from Aitchison College and graduation from Government College Lahore. He obtained his Masters Degree in History from Government College, Lahore. Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali began his political career as a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party, which he joined in the 1970's. He was elected member of the Baluchistan Provincial Assembly in 1977 and served as Minister of Food, Information and Parliamentary Affairs in the Baluchistan Cabinet. He also served in the national Cabinet of General Zia-ul-Haq in the 1980's, where he first served as the Provincial Minister for Information, Law and Parliamentary Affairs, and later as Minister of State for Local Government.
Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali was one of the contenders for premiership after the 1985 elections. Other contenders for the seat of Prime Minister were Muhammad Khan Junejo and Ilahi Bux Soomro. It was, however, Junejo who was selected from among the three by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Jamali served as Minister for Water and Power in the Government of Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo. He also served once as caretaker Chief Minister and thrice as the Chief Minister of Balochistan, most recently in 1996.
Prime Minister Mir Zafaeullah Khan Jamaliwith      
the visiting Iranian President Muhammad Khatami. 

Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has traveled widely to Europe, U. S., Australia, Africa, Far East and Middle East, from 1975 to 2000. He represented Pakistan in the United Nations session in 1980 and 1991, and led Pakistan's delegation to the F.A.O. Conference in Rome, in 1981. He led Pakistan's delegation to the Islamic Agricultural Ministers Conference in Ankara, Turkey, and also led a 21-member delegation of the Majlis-i-Shoora to the United States in 1982. He represented Pakistan's delegation to the 17th F.A.O. Conference for Near East Region in Aden, in 1984. Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali comes from a family with a rich political background. His father Mir Shah Nawaz Khan Jamali was a known politician of Baluchistan. The Jamali tribe's faithfulness to Pakistan, both during the freedom struggle and after, is exemplary and proves that Mir Zafarullah's credentials as a true Pakistani are impeccable. His uncle, Mir Jafar Khan Jamali was one of the stalwarts of the Pakistan movement and a very close associate of the Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Together with Nawab Mohammad Khan Jogezai, who was Chief of the Balochistan Shahi Jirga, he played a pivotal role in the decision of the Jirga to join Pakistan. The former Chief Ministers of Baluchistan, Taj Mohammad Jamali and Jan Mohammad Jamali are his cousins. His son Farid Jamali was also elected as Member National Assembly in 1997.
                                                                                                   The young Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali

Mir Zafarullah Jamali was among several senior members of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League party who defected after General Pervez Musharraf took over in 1999 and formed their own faction, the PML (Q). Mir Zafarullah Jamali being the Secretary General of the PML (Q) was a strong candidate for premiership; he was elected Prime Minister on November 21, 2002, by securing 172 votes out of 329 votes. Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and Shah Mahmud Qureshi of the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians were the other main contenders.
Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali is the first ever Prime Minister of Pakistan to come from Balochistan Province. He has four sons and a daughter. Two of his sons, Shah Nawaz Jamali and Javed Jamali are serving in the Army as Captains. Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali can speak multiple languages including English, Urdu, Baluchi, Brohi, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pushtu and Saraiki. He is a middle-of-the-road leader and a soft-spoken person. His love of sports has made a lot of contribution to his well-rounded personality. His main passion was hockey though he also played tennis and football. He was 'Blue' holder of Punjab University in hockey in 1961-65 and also captained its team. He represented Pakistan as a hockey player at international level. He was Chief-de-Mission of the Pakistan Olympic contingent to the Los Angeles games in 1984, where the Pakistan Hockey team won the Gold Medal. For almost two decades, he has been the Chief Selector of the Pakistan Hockey team. Due to his love of sports and a spirit of sportsmanship, he has imbued with tolerance and poise that leads to his successful political career.
Despite his submissive manner Jamali could not share power with President Pervez Musharraf more than 581 days (from 23-11-2002 to 26-06-2004) and was obliged to resign from his office of premiership on June 26, 2004.

General Pervez Musharraf [Born 1943]

President Musharraf addressing the nation.

General Pervez Musharraf, the second of three brothers, was born in Delhi on August 11, 1943. His parents chose to settle in Karachi after the creation of Pakistan. He comes from a middle class family, his father having worked for the foreign ministry. He spent his early years in Turkey, from 1949 to 1956, owing to his father, the late Syed Musharrafu-ud-din’s deputation in Ankara. Fluently he can converse in Turkish language and claims that Kamal Ataturk is his hero. On return to Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf received his education from Saint Patrick's High School, Karachi, and then from F. C. College, Lahore. In 1961, he joined the Pakistan Military Academy and was commissioned in Artillery Regiment in 1964. He fought in the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 as a young officer, and was awarded Imtiazi Sanad for gallantry. He also achieved the Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Military) and the Tamgha-i-Basalat. He has been also on the faculty of the Command and Staff College, Quetta and the war wing of (the) National Defence College. He volunteered to be a commando, and remained in the Special Services Group for seven years. He also participated in the Indo-Pak War of 1971 as a Company Commander in the Commando Battalion.
                                                                                     Talking oath from the Chief Justice of Pakistan

 A graduate of Command and Staff College, Quetta, General Musharraf also distinguished himself at the Royal College of Defense Studies, United Kingdom. During his military career, General Musharraf acquired varied experience in different command and instructional appointments. He also served as Director General Military Operations at the General Headquarters from 1993 to 1995.




Pervaiz Musharraf with his wife Sehba Musharraf

General Musharraf rose to the rank of General and was appointed as the Chief of Army Staff on October 7, 1998 when Pakistan's army chief, General Jehangir Karamat, resigned two days after calling for the army to be given a key role in the country's decision-making process. General Musharraf was given additional charge of Chairman Joint Chiefs Staff Committee on April 9, 1999. On October 12, 1999, when through a bloodless coup the military took over the government in Pakistan, he became the head of the state designated as Chief Executive. He assumed the office of President of Pakistan on June 20, 2001. In order to legitimize and legalize his rule, General Pervez Musharraf held a referendum on April 30, 2002 thereby elected as President of Pakistan for duration of five years. In accordance with the deal with MMA (Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal), he agrees to leave the army on 31st December, 2004 but will continue to serve five-year term as President as he got vote of confidence on January 1, 2004, from the parliament and the four provincial assemblies under the provision of the 17th Amendment duly passed by the National Assembly and the Senate. General Musharraf got married in 1968 and has two children, a son and a daughter. He is a natural sportsman, who loves to spend most of his leisure time playing Squash, Badminton or Golf. He also takes keen interest in water sports and has been an enthusiastic canoeist. Being an avid reader, he is well versed in Military History, his favorite subject.

Muhammad Rafiq Tarar [Born 1929]

Muhammad Rafiq Tarar.

On January 1, 1998, Muhammad Rafiq Tarar took the oath as the ninth President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. He secured an all-time high number of votes from an electoral college, consisting of a total membership of two Houses of Parliament and four Provincial Legislatures. No one before him had ever received such overwhelming support from the elected representatives of the people of Pakistan.
Muhammad Rafiq Tarar was born on November 2, 1929, in a middle-class family of the village Pirkot in District Gujranwala, near Lahore. After graduating from Islamia College, Gujranwala, in 1949, Mr. Tarar secured his Law Degree from Law College, Lahore, in the year 1951. The same year he was enrolled as a Pleader. In October 1955, he was enrolled as an Advocate in the Lahore High Court. He established a practice in Gujranwala before rising to the position of Chairman, Punjab Labor Court in 1970. Four years later he entered the High Court and was appointed as the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court. Earlier, during his days as Judge of the Lahore High Court, he also served as member of the Pakistan Election Commission. Justice Muhammad Rafiq Tarar was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court in 1991, from which he retired in November 1994 on attaining the age of 65 years.
Following his retirement from the Judiciary in March 1997, Mr. Tarar moved from a legal to a political career. He was elected as member of Senate on P. M. L. (N) ticket. On December 31, 1997, he was elected as the President of Pakistan. His appointment as the President is widely attributed to his close ties with the family of the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.
On June 20, 2001, by virtue of a Provisional Constitutional Order, he was replaced by General Pervez Musharraf, who himself became the President.
Immediately after Independence in 1947, Rafiq Tarar performed voluntary duty as a relief worker in camps set up by Muslim Students Federation for refugees, migrating from the riot-torn India to Pakistan. He has a passion for poetry and literature, with a deep insight into classic Persian Literature. He is married and has four children; three sons and a daughter.