Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan

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Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan (born 1953 in Malkot, Abbottabad District) is the current Pakistani Federal Minister for Railways in PM Yousaf Raza Gillani cabinet.[1] He is politically affiliated with PML-N, where he is the Senior Vice President. He was the Chief Minister of N.W.F.P. in the second Nawaz Sharif government of 1997-1999. He has since served as a senator from March 2003, but resigned on March 17, 2008, when he won the NA-17 Abbottabad-I National Assembly seat in the 2008 general eletion, held on February 18, 2008.

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[edit] Education and Early life

Sardar Mahtab passed matriculation from Govt High School Murree and graduated from the Sir Syed School in Rawalpindi. He then went on to do his LLB and practiced in the courts of Rawalpindi. Finding the legal profession not to his liking, he joined his father Sardar Muhammad Nawaz Khan's clothing business in Rawalpindi Saddar. His uncle Sardar Sarfaraz Khan had contested local elections but never won and so promoted his nephew Sardar Mehtab in Circle Bakote, who was elected for the first time in 1985 as an independent candidate. He became popular among the people of Circle Bakote and has been successful in every election until now.

[edit] Chief minister

Sardar Mahtab became the 22nd chief minister of the North-West Frontier Province on the 21 February 1997, taking over from Raja Sikander Zaman, and served until 12 October 1999[2]. During his tenure he invested heavily in area of Circle Bakote, a relatively poor and underdeveloped area. During this time, he electrified all of the area, provided facilities such as telephone lines, water supply schemes, link roads, like the Kohala - Moolia road, Sowargali - Boi road, Birote - Berote Khurd, and the Osia - Malkot road. He constructed the Murree - Abbottabad road as a motorway and upgraded high schools in Ayubia, Birote and Bakote.

[edit] Military coup and jail

Sardar Mahtab's term was cut short by the military coup of 12 October 1999 and he was arrested from his house in Abbottabad[3]. He was involved in the wheat scandal case in Attock Fort. However, he was later released after the High Court found him not guilty. He remained in Attock Fort jail for three years.

He then became a senator in March 2003. He opposed the award of ticket to Sardas Idrees Khan of Karhal Tribe of Galiyat as a candidate of PML (N) to the Ex-Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mian Nawaz Sharif in 2002 general elections, but he won the election as MPA of NWFP Assembly, and joined the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), and was appointed as Provincial Minister of the Local Bodies Ministry.

[edit] Post-CM political career

Sardar Mahtab did not contest the general elections in 2002 for National Assembly, and therefore had to settle as a Senator in the March 2003 - March 2009 tenure. In the 2008 general elections, Mahtab Ahmad Khan won NA-17 Abbottabad seat, and hence vacated the Senate seat. He also won the PF-45 provincial assembly seat, which he will have to vacate as parliamentarian can only keep one seat.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sajjad Malik, "24-member federal cabinet takes oath" Daily Times, April 01, 2008
  2. ^ 'Five in the run for presidency' The News
  3. ^ 'Sardar Mahtab, a born-again politician: Dateline Peshawar' Dawn Newspaper, April 10, 2003

[edit] External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Raja Sikander Zaman		 Chief Minister of the North-West Frontier Province
21 February 1997 - 12 October 1999		 Succeeded by
Akram Khan Durrani