Ejaz Chaudhary

Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhary اعجاز احمد چوہدری
Portrait of Ejaz Chaudhary (Central vice-president)
Punjab President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
Incumbent
Assumed office 16th March 2013
Preceded by	Ahsan Rasheed
Central Vice President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
In office 2007–2013
President	Javed Hashmi
Appointed by	Imran Khan
Preceded by	Position Created
Succeeded by	Inamullah Niazi
Vice President (Punjab) of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
In office 2007–2013
Preceded by	Position Created
Succeeded by	Inamullah Niazi
Member of Central Executive Committee of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
Incumbent
Assumed office 2007-
President	Javed Hashmi
Appointed by	Imran Khan
Member of Central Executive Committee of Jamaat-e-Islami
In office 1998–2006
President	Qazi Hussain Ahmed
Appointed by	Qazi Hussain Ahmed
Deputy Secretary General of Pakistan for Jamaat-e-Islami
In office 1996–2000
President	Qazi Hussain Ahmed
Appointed by	Qazi Hussain Ahmed
President of Jamaat-e-Islami Student Wing
In office 1984–1985
President	Mian Tufail Mohammad
Personal details
Born	(1956-09-15) 15 September 1956 Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Political party	Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (2007-present)[1] Jamaat-e-Islami (before 2007)
Spouse(s)	Salma Ejaz (1984-present)
Residence	Lahore
Occupation	Politician, Social Worker
Religion	Islam
Website	http://ejazchaudhary.com

Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhary commonly referred to as Ejaz Chaudhary (born 15 September 1956) is a prominent Pakistani politician, social worker and Civil Engineer by profession. Chaudhary was previously a member of Jamaat-e-Islami where he spent 35 years of his political career before leaving the party, by 2007 Chaudhary had joined Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf after receiving a personal invitation from Khan himself to join the party. He is currently organizing the party in Punjab, serving as a spokesperson, and is the Punjab President of the party.^[2] Chaudhary is the founder and the Chief Executive Officer of Kisan Care (pvt ltd) providing agricultural chemicals ^[3] After becoming Punjab President Chaudhary is the fifth most powerful official in the party, he serves on both the Central executive committee and Core committee (Politburo) ^[4]

Chaudhary's political views are frequently described as moderate, based on the principals of Islam and of communal tolerance ^[5] He frequently helps female members of his party by organising protests to condemn the abuse and sexual assault of women in Pakistan ^[6]

Early life

Ejaz Ahmad Chaudhary was born in Pakistan's second largest city of Lahore. He went to a boarding school in the North of the country, in Kohat. He has an FSc from Cadet College Kohat and a BSc in Civil Engineering from University of Engineering and Technology Lahore.

Personal life

Chaudhary married Salma Ejaz in 1984, his wife is the daughter of Mian Tufail Mohammad one of the original founding members and leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami.

Business career

Before owning his own industrial company in the form of Kisan Care, Chaudhary took over Kisan Supply Services turning it into a million dollar business for Jamaat-e-Islami during the 1990s as beforehand the social enterprise was producing a continuous loss, after a fall out with Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Chaudhary formed his own chemicals company, which has a strong footing in Pakistan's breadbasket province, Punjab.

Political career

Early Career: Jamaat-e-Islami

Chaudhary started off his political career in the Jamaat-e-Islami student wing and had gradually progressed up the ranks of the party, he became national leader of the Jamaat student wing. As leader of the youth wing Chaudhary dissented from the majority of the senior leadership as he opposed the regime of dictator General Zia-ul-Haq, Chaudhary organized protests in his native Lahore as national leader of the Jamaat's youth wing, General Zia soon ordered repression of the protests and Chaudhary along with his leaders and followers were imprisoned by the dictator for several weeks.

The death of General Zia in 1988 breathed new life into Pakistan's faltering democracy, during this period Chaudhary served as deputy mayor of Lahore in the early 1990s defeating his closest Jamaat rival Mian Amir (future mayor of Lahore and owner of Dunya News). Chaudhary continued to rise in the party's ranks and by 1998 he was appointed to the Central Executive Committee (the top decision making body of the party) Chaudhary continued to dissent in the 1990s from official party line on many cases, he voted against the Jamaat forming a coalition with the Pakistan Muslim League (N) for the 1999 elections while on the Central Executive Committee, however the Jamaat formed an alliance, by this time Chaudhary had become disillusioned with the Jamaat as he felt that the party had lost its way in protecting the national interests of Pakistan, he left the party in 2006. Upon the death of Qazi Hussain Ahmed (the man who Chaudhary fell out with over his moderate approach compared to Ahmed's more conservative approach) it became evidently clear the two men had managed to reconcile their differences at some point while Chaudhary had still defected to PTI ^[7][8]

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf: 2007-present

By September 2007 Chaudhary joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and since then has rose through the party's ranks. When General Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule in November 2007 he suspended the constitution and judiciary, PTI protested, subsequently Chaudhary along with other senior officials and leader Imran Khan had to go into hiding, switching between safehouses in Islamabad and Lahore, while still protesting against renewed Military rule, Chaudhary managed to evade capture, however Imran Khan was captured and handed over to the military by the Jamaat youth wing (ironically the same youth wing Chaudhary was president of 18 years previously) ^[9]

Then Vice-president Ejaz Chaudhary is on the right, Imran Khan (centre), on the left is Ahsan Rasheed (former Punjab President, Chaudhary defeated Rasheed in the 2013 intra-party elections)

Presently he is a spokesperson for religious affairs, former central vice-president (Punjab) of the party, currently President of Punjab and is also currently responsible for organizing PTI in southern parts of Punjab province.^[10] By mid-2012 Chaudhary's efforts had paid off and PTI became the dominant party in the southern parts of Punjab province. This was reflected in polls by International Republican Institute which showed the gap between PTI and PML-N had close significantly in Punjab,^[11] a direct result of the vice-presidents efforts. By July 2012 the vice-president began to focus efforts in his native city of Lahore to ensure the gap between PTI and the other parties close even more by the approaching General Election.

Chaudhary won the PTI intra-party elections scoring victories in three out of four regions in the Punjab province,^[12] electing him to the higher position of President of PTI in Punjab and his panel including Dr Yasmeen Rashid as general secretary in Punjab.^[13][14]

On 2nd February 2014, Chaudhary made it evidently clear that Imran Khan would not be negotiating for the Taliban in the peace process, he stated that both Khan, himself and PTI were happy to facilitate the process but could not get involved directly because PTI did not have the constitutional legitimacy to lead the process, which was to be lead by PML-N. He also stated that the Taliban should not negotiate Imran Khan to negotiate on their behalf, but rather members of the Taliban because then peace talks were more likely to come to fruition ^[15]

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf: Past Contributions

Shortly after joining Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chaudhary took charge of establishing the Insaf Students Federation (ISF). After successfully, preparing the student youth wing structure in Pakistan's important universities, he empowered the youth to struggle for democracy and independent judiciary.

Ejaz Chaudhary has also co-founded the Kisan Insaf Mahaz (KAM) which should serve as a platform for empowering the farmers community in Pakistan and addressing their rights and concerns in a democratic manner.^[16]

Philanthropy

In his early career Ejaz Chaudhary worked for the Jamaat-e-Islami charities in 1985 he was appointed head to the Majlis Khidmat e Islami (the main Jamaat-e-Islami) charity, they provided free medical aid, blood transfusion's and ambulance to the poor in Lahore ^[17][18] also the charity helped to provide emergency relief to those who suffered from natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods,^[19] furthermore Chaudhary has been vocally advocating for improved conditions in the Pakistani jail system, which is closely linked to the justice system. In August 2012 Chaudhary strongly condemned the attacks against Pakistan's Shia' community in Gilgit-Baltistan which killed 25 Shia Muslims ^[20]

References