Muhammad Baligh Ur Rehman (; born 21 December 1970) is a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

politician who served as the 42nd Governor of Punjab, he served in office from 30 May 2022 till 10 May 2024. In 2022 he was appointed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Arif Alvi, on advice of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Shehbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who has served as the 20th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan since March 2024, having previously been in the role between Ap ...

. He had taken the oath of Governor of Punjab on 30 May 2022, Chief Justice of the

Lahore High Court The Lahore High Court () is a provincial court house based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over the province of Punjab. The High Court's principal seat is ...

, Muhammad Ameer Bhatti administered his oath. Previously he served as the Minister of State Federal Education and of Interior and Narcotics Control between 2013 and 2017. He had been a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

from 2008 to May 2018. After assuming the charge of Governor he automatically became the Chancellor of the public sector universities of the Punjab, Pakistan.

Early life and education

Baligh Ur Rehman was born on 21 December 1970 in

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur (Urdu: ; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 13th largest city of Pakistan and List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, 8th most populous city of Punjab. Bahawalpur is the capital of Bahawalpur Division. Founded in ...

, Pakistan. His father Muhammad Aqil-ur-Rehman was Member of National Assembly during 1997-99 while his cousin Qazi Adnan Fareed is also a politician. He was initially educated at the

Sadiq Public School The Sadiq Public School (SPS) is a college-preparatory boarding school located in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. It also takes day pupils. It is one of the largest schools in Pakistan and its area of makes it both the largest in the country and ...

, where he passed

O Level O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), ...

with a Gold Medal and later completed his FSc, before graduating from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

as an

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

in 1994.

Political career

Baligh was elected as the member of the National Assembly of Pakistan for the first time in the 2008 Pakistani general election from Constituency NA-185 on PML-N ticket. He was elected as the member of the National Assembly for the second time on PML-N ticket from NA-185 in the

2013 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on Saturday 11 May 2013 to elect the members of the List of members of the 14th National Assembly of Pakistan, 14th National Assembly of Pakistan, National Assembly and the four Subdivisions of Pakistan, Pr ...

. In June 2013, he was appointed as Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training. In November 2013, he was given the additional charge of Minister of State for Interior and Narcotics Control in the cabinet of Nawaz Sharif. He had ceased to hold ministerial office in July 2017 when the federal cabinet was disbanded following the disqualification of Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

after Panama Papers case decision. Following the election of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as Prime Minister of Pakistan in August 2017, he was inducted into the federal cabinet of Abbasi. He was elevated as federal minister and given the portfolio of Federal Minister of Education and Professional Training, serving in that capacity until the term of the National Assembly ended on 31 May 2018.

Governor of Punjab (2022-2024)

On 30 May 2022, he was appointed as the 39th Governor of Punjab by President Arif Alvi. On 22 December, Governor Baligh Ur Rehman denotified Chief Minister of Punjab, Chaudhary Parvez Elahi from his position, citing his failure to take a vote of confidence from the Provincial Assembly, which the Governor had requested, as the reason for the denotification. However, Elahi was restored by the

on 23 December 2022. Chief Minister of Punjab, Parvez Elahi dissolved the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab in January 2023, on Imran Khan’s orders, following this, Baligh Ur Rehman opted not to intervene in the dissolution process and stated he would “let the constitution take its course.” Baligh Ur Rehman retained the position of Governor until he was replaced by President

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari (born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician serving as the 14th president of Pakistan since 2024, having held the same office from 2008 to 2013. He is the president of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and was the ...

with Sardar Saleem Haider Khan in May 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baligh Ur Rehman, Muhammad Living people 1970 births Governors of Punjab, Pakistan Pakistani MNAs 2008–2013 Pakistani MNAs 2013–2018 Sadiq Public School alumni Education ministers of Pakistan Pakistan Muslim League (N) politicians University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni