Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan ( ur, ; born 27 September 1945) is a Pakistani politician and lawyer. He served two times as the Leader of the House in the Senate of Pakistan from 1994 to 1997 and again from 2012 to 2015. He also served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. He was elected a member of the

Senate of Pakistan Senate of Pakistan or Aiwān-e-Bālā Pākistān ( ur, , , literally "Pakistan upper house"), is the upper legislative chamber of the bicameral legislature of Pakistan, and together with the National Assembly makes up the Parliament of Pakist ...

from

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

in 1994. His tenure ended in March 2018. Born in

Murree Murree (Punjabi, Urdu: مری) is a mountain resort city, located in the Galyat region of the Pir Panjal Range, within the Muree District of Punjab, Pakistan. It forms the outskirts of the Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area, and is about ...

, Ahsan studied law at the Government College,

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

and received a LLM from the

Downing College Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. Ahsan became the Planning and Development Minister for

in 1975. After the

Operation Fair Play Operation Fair Play was the code name for the 5 July 1977 coup by Pakistan Chief of Army Staff General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, overthrowing the government of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The coup itself was bloodless, and was preceded by ...

coup, Ahsan became a prominent figure of the

Movement for the Restoration of Democracy The Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) ( ur, اتحاد برائے بحالی جمہوریت), was a historically left-wing populism and massive socialist political alliance formed to oppose and end the military government of Preside ...

. Ahsan was elected to 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 r ...

from Lahore in 1988 and served as the

interior minister of Pakistan Interior may refer to: Arts and media * ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas * ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck * ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See * Interior de ...

under

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...

's first government and served until 1990. Ahsan was elected as a member of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 1994. He re-joined the cabinet after Benazir's re-election, and went on to serve as the Minister for Law, Justice and Human Rights until 1997. He served as the minority leader in the Senate between 1996 and 1999. Ahsan was elected to the National Assembly again in 2002, and went on to serve as the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association between 2007 and 2008. Ahsan was elected to the Senate in 2012 and in 2015 became the minority leader.

Early life and education

Ahsan was born on September 27, 1945, in

. He belongs to a

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

Jat family of the

Warraich Warraich or Waraich is a clan of Jatts both in Pakistan and India, mainly located in Punjab, Pakistan and Punjab, India . Notable people Notable people with the surname, who may or may not be affiliated with the clan, include: * Chaudhary Perva ...

clan, and grew up in

. He received his early education from

Aitchison College Aitchison College ( ur, ایچیسن کالج) is an independent, semi-private boys school for boarding and day students from grade 1–13 in Lahore, Pakistan. It has a tradition of providing an education that uses academics, sports, and co-curri ...

. He then enrolled in

Government College Lahore The Government College University, Lahore (colloquially known as GCU), is a public research university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Opened as Government College, Lahore, in 1864, it became a university in 2002. Overview In 1864, Gov ...

and later studied law at

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the old ...

. He was at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in 1967. He then appeared in

Central Superior Services The Central Superior Services (CSS; or Civil Service) is a permanent elite civil service authority, and the civil service that is responsible for running the bureaucratic operations and government secretariats and directorates of the Cabinet o ...

examination where he reportedly topped. However, he did not join the government service.

Political career

Ahsan returned to Pakistan in 1967. He joined

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded i ...

(PPP) and began his political career in 1970s. He was elected as the member of the

Provincial Assembly of the Punjab The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Punjab, which is located in Lahore, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of Pak ...

for first time on the ticket of PPP in by-elections held following the Pakistan General elections of 1977 from Gujrat constituency. He was inducted in the provincial cabinet of Punjab and was appointed as the Provincial Minister for information, planning and development. Ahsan was in his twenties during his tenure as provincial minister. He resigned from the provincial cabinet and left PPP following the incident in which Punjab Police opened fire on a rally of lawyers during the

Pakistan National Alliance The Pakistan National Alliance ( Urdu: پاکستان قومی اتحاد, Acronym: PNA), was a populist and consolidated right-wing political alliance, consisting of nine political parties of the country. Formed in 1977, the country's leadi ...

demonstrations against the alleged rigging of elections by the PPP government in 1977. Ahsan joined Tehrik-e-Istiqlal. He rejoined the PPP following the

and actively became involved with the

and for his participation in the MRD, he was repeatedly imprisoned. He was reportedly jailed for two years during Zia -ul-Haq presidency. He was elected as the member of the National Assembly of Pakistan on PPP ticket for the first time in Pakistan General elections of 1988 from Lahore constituency. He was inducted into federal cabinet and was appointed as the Minister for Law and Justice, along with the additional portfolio of the Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control.It was during this tenure that he provided list of the Khalistani separatists to India, thus sabotaged Pakistani plan to revenge India for its role in 1971 war. He was re-elected as the member of the National Assembly of Pakistan on PPP ticket for the second time in Pakistan General elections of 1990 from Lahore constituency. He lost the Pakistan General elections of 1993 to

Humayun Akhtar Khan Humayun Akhtar Khan ( Urdu: ) is a Pakistani politician, business tycoon, and actuary. He has been elected as a member of the National Assembly four consecutive times between 1990–2007, having served as Federal Minister for Trade and Commer ...

Pakistan Muslim League The Pakistan Muslim League ( ur, ; known as PML), is the name of several different Pakistani political parties that have dominated the right-wing platform in the country. The Muslim League (a different party) was the party of Pakistan’ ...

. In 1994 he was elected as the member of the

for the first time representing PPP, where he sat as Leader of the Opposition until 1999. In Pakistan General elections of 2002, he ran for the membership of the National Assembly on PPP seat from two constituencies. He was re-elected as the member of the National Assembly for the third time from constituencies of Bahawalpur and Lahore. He retained his Lahore seat. Ahsan did not run in the Pakistan General elections of 2008 due to his involvement in the

Lawyers' Movement The Lawyers' Movement, also known as the Movement for the Restoration of Judiciary or the Black Coat Protests, was the popular mass protest movement initiated by the lawyers of Pakistan in response to the former president and army chief Pervez Mu ...

for the restoration of deposed judges. Ahsan was elected as the member of the Senate for the second time in the

2012 Pakistani Senate election Senate elections were held in Pakistan on 2 March 2012. Fifty-four of the 100 seats in the Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roma ...

on technocrat seat representing PPP. In 2013, he reportedly resigned from Senate membership. In 2013, Ahsan become opposition leader in the Senate. In 2015, he for the second time became opposition leader in the Senate. In late August 2018, Ahsan was nominated by the PPP as a candidate for the 2018 presidential election according to media reports. On 4 September 2018, he clinched 124 electoral votes behind

Arif Alvi Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi (; born 29 July 1949) is a Pakistani dentist and politician currently serving as the 13th President of Pakistan, in office since 9 September 2018. He was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from June 2013 to May 2 ...

(352) and Fazal-ur-Rehman (184) in the election. The notification of the suspension of his basic membership was accepted by the PPP on 14 October 2022 as a result of Ahsan "going against party discipline". A few days before this, Ahsan openly criticized the Sharifs, the political family that headed the PML(N), which was a coalition partner of the PPP at the time. He also criticized the Chief of Army Staff General

Qamar Javed Bajwa General Qamar Javed Bajwa ( ur, ; born 11 November 1960) is a retired Pakistani army general who served as the tenth Chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan from 29 November 2016 to 29 November 2022. In 2018 he was ranked 68th in the ''Forbe ...

in the same speech, accusing him of committing a crime for allegedly helping the Sharifs get acquitted in different corruption cases.

Law career

Professionally, Ahsan is a barrister by law and a senior advocate of the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...

. He is senior partner of Aitzaz Ahsan & Associates. Ahsan has represented several high-profile Pakistani personalities including three Prime ministers of Pakistan in various cases such as

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime minister of Pak ...

and

Yousaf Raza Gillani Yusuf Raza Gilani ( Urdu: ; born 9 June 1952), is a Pakistani politician who served as 18th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 25 March 2008, until his retroactive disqualification and ouster by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 26 April 2012. ...

and former President of Pakistan

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari ( ur, ; sd, ; born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician who is the president of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party. He served as the 11th president of Pakist ...

. He had served as President of Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan. He is known for representing and leading the lawyers campaign to reinstate former Chief Justice of Pakistan

Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry ( ur, ; born 12 December 1948) is a Pakistani jurist who served as the 20th Chief Justice of Pakistan over three non-consecutive terms from 29 June 2005 to 11 December 2013. Chaudhry began practice as an advocate of ...

. In 2008, Ahsan was awarded the Asian Human Rights Defender Award by the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission in reconginition. Ahsan was arrested following

Pakistani state of emergency, 2007 A state of emergency was declared by President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf on 3 November 2007 which lasted until 15 December 2007, during which the constitution of Pakistan was suspended. When the state of emergency was declared, Musharraf cont ...

. He was house arrest in his house in Lahore for four months. He was released in March 2008. Ahsan is also a noted human rights activist in Pakistan.

Other work

Ahsan is the author of the book ''The Indus Saga and the Making of Pakistan'' and its

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Indus region is a distinct entity from the rest of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

and constitutes a nation.Aitzaz Ahsan representative for NA-124, Lahore-VII
He has also co-authored the book ''Divided by Democracy'' with Lord Meghnad Desai of the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 milli ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahsan, Aitzaz Living people 1945 births 20th-century Pakistani lawyers Pakistani Marxists Pakistani democracy activists Pakistani barristers Pakistani prisoners and detainees Pakistani MNAs 1988–1990 Pakistani MNAs 1990–1993 Pakistani MNAs 2002–2007 Pakistan People's Party MNAs Interior Ministers of Pakistan Aitchison College alumni Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge Alumni of the Inns of Court School of Law Members of Gray's Inn Government College University, Lahore alumni People from Murree Articles containing video clips Pakistani senators (14th Parliament) Leaders of the House for the Senate of Pakistan Provincial ministers of Punjab Federal ministers of Pakistan Presidents of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan 21st-century Pakistani lawyers People from Lahore