Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad

Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad
MNA
Minister for Railways
In office
25 April 2006 – 15 November 2007
President Pervez Musharraf
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz
Preceded by Saleemur Rahman Akhoond
Succeeded by Ghulam Ahmad Bilour
Minister for Information and Broadcasting
In office
21 November 2002 – 20 May 2006
President Pervez Musharraf
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz
Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
Assumed office
1 June 2013
In office
18 November 2002 – 18 November 2007
Constituency NA-55 Rawalpindi-VI
In office
21 March 1985 – 12 October 1999
Constituency NA-38 Rawalpindi-III
Personal details
Born (1950-11-06) 6 November 1950[1]
Rawalpindi, Punjab Province, Pakistan[2]
Nationality Pakistani
Political party Awami Muslim League
Other political
affiliations		 Pakistan Muslim League (Q)
Alma mater Punjab University
LLB and MA

Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad (Urdu: شيخ رشيداحمد‎, born 6 November 1950), is a Pakistani politician and the current leader of the Awami Muslim League. Ahmed has been an elected member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since 1985 from Rawalpindi constituency.

Born in Rawalpindi, was educated at the Polytechnic College and the Gordon College, later attending the University of Lahore. Ahmed has served as a member of the federal cabinet, in various positions, between 1992 and 1997. He first served as Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting from 2002 to 2006 and then as Federal Minister for Railways from 2006 to 2007. In 2008, he founded his own political party after losing his traditional seat from Rawalpindi.

Early life and education

Ahmed was born on 6 November 1950 in Babra Bazaar in Rawalpindi, Punjab.[1][3][2][2] According to another report, he was born on 17 February 1950.[4]

He received his early education in from Polytechnic College and graduated from Gordon College. He completed his Bachelor of Laws at the University of Punjab.[3][2] Ahmed was a leader of the student union at Gordon College.[5]

Political career

Ahmed began his political career during his student years and was actively involved against the military regime of Ayub Khan.[2]

In the 1985 Pakistani general election, he was elected as the member of the National Assembly for the first time[6] from Rawalpindi on Pakistan Muslim League (N) ticket.[2]

In the 1988 Pakistani general election, he was re-elected as the member of the National Assembly[6] for the second time from Rawalpindi[2] on Islamic Democratic Alliance (IDA) ticket.

In the 1990 Pakistani general election, he was re-elected as the member of the National Assembly[6] for the third time from Rawalpindi[2] on IDA ticket.

In the 1993 Pakistani general election, he was re-elected as the member of the National Assembly[6] for the fourth time from Rawalpindi[2] on PML (N) ticket.

In the 1997 Pakistani general election, he was re-elected as the member of the National Assembly[6] for the fifth time from Rawalpindi.[2]

For the 2002 Pakistani general election, PML-N refused to allot ticket to Ahmed for running in the election.[7] Ahmed was re-elected in the 2002 election as the member of the National Assembly[6] for the sixth time from NA-55 (Rawalpindi)[2] as independent candidate.[8]

Later, he joined PML-Q.[9][10]

Since Ahmad was considered a close aide of Pervez Musharraf therefore during his sixth tenure as member of the National Assembly, he was appointed as Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting in the Zafarullah Khan Jamali cabinet in November 2002.[9][10][11][2][12]

As minister for information, Ahmed, on public places, had assumed the role of the spokesman of Pervez Musharraf[13] and advocate of government of Zafarullah Khan Jamali.[7]

In May 2006, he was made Federal Minister for Railways.[9][2][14][15]

He also served as Leader of the Opposition[11] in the National Assembly of Pakistan.

In the 2008 Pakistani general election, Ahmed ran for the seat of National Assembly on a Pakistan Muslim League-Q ticket however, lost the election for the first time[8][6][16] from both of his Rawalpindi constituencies, NA-55 and NA-56 to PML-N.[13][17][2] There were rumours that Ahmed had fled to Spain following the defeat.[6] However, these allegations were later discovered to be false.[16] In an interview, Ahmed said defeat in the election was due to raid on Lal Masjid and that "he had promised to quit politics after 2008 elections but his defeat had changed his mind."[16]

He later left PML-Q where he was a senior vice-president and created his own political party Awami Muslim League (Pakistan)[9] and self-appointed himself as president of the party.[2][18]

In February 2010, while Ahmed was preparing to run for the seat of National Assembly in by-election in NA-55, Rawalpindi, he was attacked by unknown gunmen at his election office in Rawalpindi. It was believed Taliban militants were behind the attack which injured Ahmed and killed three others known to be his bodyguards.[9] Ahmed earlier supported President Musharraf's military operation against the militants in Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the Siege of Lal Masjid[2][11] and has been on the hit list of militants.[9] He was defeated in the by-elections by a wide margin.[19]

In the 2013 Pakistani general election, Ahmed made an electoral alliance with Imran Khan to support each other in their respective constituencies in the election.[20][21][2] It was reported that Ahmed has requested for a merger between his party and the PTI[22] however PTI decided not to go for an alliance with any political party.[23]

He was re-elected as the member of the National Assembly for the seventh time from Rawalpindi.[20][20]

In public circles, he is known for making witty remarks and political predictions. He is also known for switching political allegiances from one party to another.[2]

In July 2017, he was chosen by the PTI as a candidate for the post of Prime Ministership of Pakistan, following the resignation of outgoing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after Panama Papers case decision.[24] He secured 33 votes in the 342 seat parliament and was unsuccessful.[25]

Controversies

In 2005, India Today reported that Yasin Malik claimed that Ahmed had run a jihadi camp at Fateh Jung in Punjab, where around 3,500 jihadis were trained. Ahmed denied running such a camp.[26] Later it was reported that Yasin Malik retracted his statements and denied he had ever said that Ahmed running camps.[27][28]

In 2005, during Ahmed tenure as Minister for Information, he applied for permit to travel to Srinagar, in his personal capacity to visit the graves of his grandparents and meet his relatives in Jammu & Kashmir.[29] However Indian denied Ahmed's request to travel to Srinagar.[27]

In 2004, Ahmed during his tenure as Minister for Information was replaced with Shaukat Aziz as minister-in-waiting who would receive then visiting Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee after Indian foreign ministry's objection to the nomination of Ahmad as minister-in-waiting.[30]

In 2012, Ahmed was detained at Houston airport concerning his links with Lashkar-e-Taiba and with Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, an alleged mastermind of 2008 Mumbai attacks. He was released after five hours of interrogation after official protest from Pakistani Ambassador in United States.[31][32]

In 2014, Ahmed was off-loaded from a Toronto bound PIA flight due to non-issuance of clearance by the Canadian authorities.[33]

References

  1. 1 2 "Detail Information". 11 October 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 "Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad - Profile - DAWN.COM". Dawn. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed profile". Business Recorder. 10 March 2016. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  4. ↑ "Detail Information". www.pildat.org. PILDAT. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  5. ↑ "Educational institutions no longer centre of cultural activities". DAWN.COM. 8 February 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "The End of Musharraf?". Newsweek. 18 February 2008. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Rashid asked to defend military govt policies". DAWN.COM. 25 November 2002. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  8. 1 2 "As Pakistan goes to polls: Take a peek at some major NA constituencies". DAWN.COM. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Sheikh Rashid survives gun attack, three others killed". Dawn. 9 February 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  10. 1 2 "Jamali discusses cabinet with Musharraf: Some ministers may be retained". DAWN.COM. 23 November 2002. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 Masood, Salman (8 February 2010). "Former Pakistani Official Attacked in Rawalpindi". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  12. ↑ "Jamali, cabinet take oath: PPP, PML-N abstain from ceremony". DAWN.COM. 24 November 2002. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  13. 1 2 "Heavyweights knocked out". DAWN.COM. 19 February 2008. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  14. ↑ "Rashid accorded ‘clean’ welcome". DAWN.COM. 1 May 2006. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  15. ↑ Masood, Salman (2 October 2007). "Maneuvering Before Vote in Pakistan". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  16. 1 2 3 "Defeat due to raid on Lal Masjid: Rashid". The Nation. 29 February 2008. Archived from the original on 29 February 2008. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  17. ↑ "PML-N’s win in Pindi surprises PPPP and PML-Q". Daily Times. 20 February 2008. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  18. ↑ "Sheikh Rashid quits PML-Q, forms Awami Muslim League: Withdrawal from election race". DAWN.COM. 2 June 2008. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  19. ↑ "PUNJAB: The sheikh’s domain". DAWN.COM. 11 May 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  20. 1 2 3 "A FEW WORDS : Sheikh Rashid, TV talk shows and the PTI — Dr Qaisar Rashid". Daily Times. 22 May 2013. Archived from the original on 14 June 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  21. ↑ "Imran, Sheikh Rashid reaffirm seat adjustment in Rawalpindi - DAWN.COM". Dawn. 4 January 2014. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  22. ↑ "PTI head-hunting spree continues - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 2 December 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  23. ↑ "PTI agrees to electoral alliance with AML - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 8 August 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  24. ↑ "PTI names Sheikh Rashid for coveted slot - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 29 July 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  25. ↑ "Pakistan elects Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as interim prime minister". Daily Pakistan Global. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  26. ↑ "Pak minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed suspected behind jehadi camp, peace process in jeopardy". India Today. 27 June 2005. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  27. 1 2 "India rejects Rashid’s travel application". DAWN.COM. 25 June 2005. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  28. ↑ "Did He Help Train 3,500 Militants?". Outook India. 27 June 2005. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  29. ↑ "Rashid seeks permit for private Srinagar visit". DAWN.COM. 9 June 2005. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  30. ↑ "Shaukat to play host to Vajpayee". DAWN.COM. 2 January 2004. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  31. ↑ "Pak ex-minister detained in US trained Kashmir jihadis". Rediff. 29 June 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  32. ↑ "Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed briefly detained at Houston airport - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 28 June 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  33. ↑ Sheikh Rasheed offloaded Archived 13 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine.. Pakistantoday.com.pk (21 March 2014). Retrieved on 2016-05-11.
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