Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo

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Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo is a Pakistani politician and has been part of the country's political landscape for well over thirty years. He was first elected, in 1985, the Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab, the largest province of Pakistan. Thrice elected for the same office, he secured the office of the Chief Minister in 1993 after a vote of no-confidence in the Punjab legislature against Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)'s serving C.M. Ghulam Haider Wayne.

After a tug of war between Wattoo and Mian Nawaz Sharif, the then restored (by Supreme Court) Prime Minister of Pakistan and head of the PML (N), all assemblies were dissolved and only after a fresh election, Wattoo was elected the Chief Minister of Punjab, ruling a coalition comprising chiefly of Pakistan People's Party, minorities, and some independents.

Painted corrupt by Pakistan People's Party, Muslim league (Nawaz), and the establishment, he was illegally sacked from office only later to be restored to office by the High Court. Again this time, a war broke out between his government in Punjab with the federal government, with the net result of the dissolution of all assemblies in Pakistan. Termed a political failure amidst corruption allegations and court proceedings, Wattoo was sentenced by an Accountability court to more than ten years in imprisonment besides being fined ten million ruppees only later to be set aside by the appellate courts in Pakistan.

Amid mounting tensions within his district between his faction and his rival Syed Afzal Ali Gillani, his son Khurram Jahangir Wattoo was elected the Nazim of the populous tehsil of Dipalpur while Wattoo was still serving sentence and his appeals pending hearing. Widely regarded as an astute politician, almost having never miscalculated any political situation besides trying to reconcile with his arch rival Mian Nawaz Sharif, Manzoor Wattoo was initially released on bail later to be exonnerated of any wrongdoing. Earlier convictions were set aside and he was allowed to run for any public office.

He was released while his daughter Rubina Shaheen Wattoo served as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan. He actively began taking part in politics and soon became a close ally of Pakistan President Pervaiz Musharraf. Having merged his political party, Pakistan Muslim League (Jinnah), in to the ruling PML (Q) on Presidential advice, he was made the Vice President of the ruling party. His relations with the party's leadership remained sour from the beginning, who tried at marginalizying Wattoo and anyone associated with his person.

He remains part of the ruling PML (Q) despite differences with the party leaders Chaudhry Shujaat Hussein and the Punjab Chief Minister, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi who suffered heavily under Wattoo's reign in Punjab in 1993-95.

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