| Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari سردار فاروق احمد خان لغاری |
|
|---|---|
| 8th President of Pakistan | |
| In office 14 November 1993 – 2 December 1997 |
|
| Prime Minister | Benazir Bhutto Malik Meraj Khalid (Acting) Nawaz Sharif |
| Preceded by | Wasim Sajjad (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Wasim Sajjad (Acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 29 May 1940 Choti Zareen, British Raj (now Pakistan) |
| Died | 20 October 2010 (aged 70) Rawalpindi |
| Political party | Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (2004–2010) |
| Other political affiliations |
Pakistan Peoples Party (Before 2004) |
| Alma mater | Forman Christian College University Kingston University London |
| Religion | Islam |
| Website | Presidential library |
Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari (Punjabi, Urdu: سردار فاروق احمد خان لغاری) (May 29, 1940 – October 20, 2010) was the eighth President of Pakistan from November 14, 1993 until December 2, 1997. He was the first Balouch President of Pakistan.
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Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari was born in Choti Zareen, a village of Dera Ghazi Khan District, Punjab on May 29, 1940 during the British Raj and died on October 20, 2010 due to a cardiac arrest. He was born into a political family that has been active in politics in that part of the world since the pre-colonial days. His father Muhammad Khan Leghari and grandfather Nawab Muhmammad Jamal Khan Leghari had both been ministers in the Government. Leghari was the major landowner in the area and owned approximately 2,500 acres (10 km2) of land. After the death of Farooq Khan Leghari his son Jamal Khan Leghari became the 23rd Chief of Leghari tribe.
After his initial schooling at Aitchison College, Lahore (where he was the Head Boy and was declared the Best Leaving Student of 1957) Leghari graduated with honours from the famous institute of Forman Christian College University, Lahore, Punjab (Pakistan) where again he was among the best students. From there he went on to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at Oxford University, [Great Britain]].
After returning to Pakistan he joined the Civil Service and served for some time in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). On the death of his father he resigned from the service and came back from East Pakistan to look after the affairs of his tribe. He was the head (Sardar) of the Leghari tribe.
He joined the Pakistan Peoples Party, and was made leader of the party upon the imprisonment of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. He was put under house-arrest several times during the military regime of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.
In 1993, with the express support of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Leghari ran for the office of President and won the election against Wasim Sajjad. In November 1996, utilizing his powers under Article 58 2(b) of the Constitution of Pakistan,[1] he dismissed the Peoples' Party Government of Benazir Bhutto on charges of corruption, lawlessness and extra judicial killings.
Following the word of the Constitution of Pakistan he held elections for the National Assembly in 1997. The elections were won by the Pakistan Muslim League and Nawaz Sharif was elected Prime Minister. A decisive majority in the lower house of parliament led the Sharif Government to remove the controversial 8th amendment from the constitution of Pakistan. Farooq Leghari resigned due to differences with the next Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif and so was unable to complete his 5-year term as President of Pakistan.
Instead of retiring from politics, Leghari went on to create his own political party, the Millat Party, which entered into a coalition of seven parties, known as the National Alliance, to participate in the general elections of 2002. The National Alliance, emerged as the 3rd largest group in the parliament and won 13 seats in the National Assembly. He entered in a coalition with the majority party to form the government. Thereafter his son Awais Leghari was made a federal minister for Telecom and IT and another of his deputies Yar Mohammad Rind was also made a member in the Federal cabinet. Later Mohammad Ali Durrani and his niece Sumaira Malik from his party were also inducted into the Federal Cabinet.
With National Alliance being merged with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Q) in May 2004 to form united Pakistan Muslim League, Farooq Leghari also became the member of the newly constituted party, with his son Awais Leghari being one of its senior vice presidents.
His elder son Jamal Leghari has recently been elected to the Senate of Pakistan. His daughter Faryal Leghari is an analyst and researcher in Security & Terrorism Studies at the Gulf Research Center in Dubai.
Leghari died on October 20, 2010 in Rawalpindi due to a heart related illness.[2] He was undergoing surgery at the Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi at the time of his death. Initial reports claimed that he was ill for sometime, owing to complications with his heart.[3]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Abdul Sattar |
Minister of Foreign Affairs 1993 |
Succeeded by Aseff Ahmad Ali |
| Preceded by Wasim Sajjad Acting |
President of Pakistan 1993–1997 |
Succeeded by Wasim Sajjad Acting |
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