Sardar Asif Ahmed Ali was born on 21st October, 1940 at Lahore. He belongs to a principal landholding Arain family of the Punjab region whose role in politics, in this region precedes the British rule in India. The family has a reputation of repelling authority and was instrumental in fighting against the Sikhs and later the British. His father Sardar Ahmed Ali who also remained a Member of Parliament throughout his career and his uncle Sardar Muhammad Hussain led regional movements against the Unionist Party led by wealthy Zamindars and patronized by the British.
SARDAR ASIF AHMED ALI
Born on 21 Oct 1940
Died on 19 May 2022
Notable Pakistani Politician
He got his early education from Lawrence College, Ghora Gali and passed his Senior Cambridge in 1959. After that he went to Lahore and joined Government College and did his Graduation in 1962. Later he proceeds to United Kingdom and get enrolled in the St John’s College, Cambridge from where he passed his BA (Honours) in 1966.
Before coming to politics, he began his career as a Lecturer at Forman Christian College Lahore, but soon faced opposition from the students of Jamat-e-Islami due to his liberal outlook and left teaching to become a politician.
He started practical politics in 1981 with the Majlis-e-Shura of Late General Zia-ul-Haq. In 1985, he was elected a member of the National Assembly in a non-party election from Kasur. As an independent candidate in 1990, he became a member of the National Assembly with the support of the Islami Jamhuri Ittehad (IJI).
He also served as the Minister for Economic Affairs during the 1991–1993 in Nawaz Sharif government, but resigned from the cabinet after developing differences with the Prime Minister. His resignation along with those of other members of parliament eventually led to overthrow of the first Nawaz Sharif government. While serving as the Economic Affairs Minister, he led numerous delegations of Pakistani civil society members and organizations to Russia and cultivated business and diplomatic relationships with various disintegrated states of the former Soviet Union. He was awarded honorary citizenship of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
After the removal of Mian Nawaz Sharif on April 5, 1993, the Prime Minister Balkh Sher Mazari formed the caretaker cabinet and Sardar Sahib was also included in it as the Minister for Counter Narcotics.
In the 1993 general elections, he was elected again to the National Assembly on a ticket from the Muslim League (Junejo Group) and joined Benazir Bhutto’s cabinet as Foreign Minister. As Foreign Minister of Pakistan, he was unanimously elected chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
After the removal of Benazir Bhutto’s government on November 6, 1996, her Ministry also left. In 2008 he became active again in the PPP government and was appointed Deputy Chairman Planning Commission.
In 2003, he held a painting exhibition at Lahore, where he displayed some of his hand-drawn sketches and paintings, which were attended by then-Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali. In the general elections, he was returned to the National Assembly for the fifth time after defeating his opponent, the outgoing foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri.
On 25 December 2011, he joined PTI but resigned when party awarded Khurshid Kasuri National Assembly ticket instead of him. He was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan from Kasur in 1994 and again in 2008. He has also served as the Minister for Education and Federal Minister of Information Technology and Telecommunication between 2008 and 2010. In 2013, he again contested the MNA election as an independent candidate but unfortunately failed to win the seat.
He rejoined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on 10th November, 2017 after resigning from Pakistan People Party.
His Uncle Sardar Muhammad Hussain also remained a pre and post partition Member of Parliament and pioneered the advent of Pakistan Muslim League in central Punjab region. He also led regional movements against the Unionist Party led by wealthy Zamindars and patronized by the British.
Finally he died on the evening of 19th May, 2022 at Lahore after a cardiac Arrest. He had been receiving treatment for a heart condition in a private hospital in Lahore. His funeral prayers were offered at Ahmedpur, Raiwind Road on Friday at 2 PM. Later his burial took place in his ancestral Bunga Mala Graveyard at Bhai Pheru, District Kasur.
