Hina Rabbani Khar

Hina Rabbani Khar (

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

, who is serving as the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs since 19 April 2022. She was previously appointed in July 2011 as the

Foreign Minister of Pakistan The Minister of Foreign Affairs (or simply the Foreign Minister) is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Pakistan. The minister is responsible for overseeing the federal government's foreign policy and International rel ...

at the age of 33, she was the youngest person and the first woman to have held the position. Khar has 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 r ...

since 2018. Khar is a member of an influential feudal family in

Muzaffargarh Muzaffargarh (Urdu and pa, , , Fort of Muzaffar) is a city in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Located on the bank of the Chenab River, it is the capital of the district with the same name. It is the 39th largest city of Pakistan by populatio ...

. She studied business at LUMS and

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

before entering politics as 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 r ...

in 2002, representing the

PML-Q The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid e Azam Group) ur, ; ''Pākistān Muslim Līg (Qāf)'', Acronym and initialism, Acronyms: PML(Q), PML-Q, PMLQ, "Q League") is a Conservative Nationalism in Pakistan, nationalist political party in Pakistan. A ...

and becoming a junior minister responsible for

economic policy The economy of governments covers the systems for setting levels of taxation, government budgets, the money supply and interest rates as well as the labour market, national ownership, and many other areas of government interventions into the ec ...

under the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Shaukat Aziz Shaukat Aziz ( ur, ; born 6 March 1949) is a Pakistani former banker and financier who served as 17th prime minister of Pakistan from 28 August 2004 to 15 November 2007, as well as the finance minister of Pakistan from 6 November 1999 to 15 ...

. In 2009, after switching parties and winning re-election with the

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 ...

, she became the Minister of State for Finance and Economic Affairs and the same year became the first woman to present the national budget.^{/sup> She was appointed by Prime Minister 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. ...
as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan

The Minister of Foreign Affairs (or simply the Foreign Minister) is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Pakistan. The minister is responsible for overseeing the federal government's foreign policy and International rel ...
in July 2011, and served until shortly before the 2013 election, when she retired from active politics. She has continued to push for stronger ties with India.

She remains a member of the Pakistan People's Party, and is a public speaker

Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...
on foreign policy. As of 2019, she was a Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan on a reserved seat for women.

Early life and family

Hina Rabbani Khar was born in Multan

Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.

Multan is one of the ol ...
, Punjab, Pakistan

Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...
into a Punjabi Muslim Jatt family. Khar is the daughter of the powerful feudal landlord and politician Ghulam Noor Rabbani Khar

Malik Ghulam Noor Rabbani Khar (; 1947 – 24 January 2022) was a Pakistani politician who was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, from September 2013 to May 2018.
Political career
Rabbani Khar was elected as the member of the Natio ...
. Her father was a prominent national politician and served as 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 r ...
. She is a niece of Ghulam Mustafa Khar

Malik Ghulam Mustafa Khar ( ur, ; born 2 August 1937) is a Pakistani politician and feudal lord who has previously served as the Chief Minister of Punjab and Governor of Punjab.
Early life
He was born on 2 August 1937 in Sanawan in Kot Add ...
, the former Governor

A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
and Chief Minister of Punjab. and she is the wife of Feroz Gulzar.

Education

Khar is a graduate of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) where she holds a BSc (with honors) in Economics

Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...
conferred in 1999. She subsequently studied in Isenberg School of Management at University of Massachusetts Amherst

The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...
, where she earned an MSc in Business Management in 2002.

Khar has retained ties with LUMS since her graduation. In 2012, she delivered a lecture there on "Foreign Policy and Young Democracy", and secured funding for the Abdus Salam Institute of Physics.

Political career

In the 2002 general elections, Khar was elected as 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 r ...
, representing the NA-177 (Muzaffargarh-II) constituency in Punjab. Her father, veteran politician Ghulam Noor Rabbani Khar

Malik Ghulam Noor Rabbani Khar (; 1947 – 24 January 2022) was a Pakistani politician who was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, from September 2013 to May 2018.
Political career
Rabbani Khar was elected as the member of the Natio ...
, had represented the constituency previously, but he and most of the members of her family had been disqualified. A new law requiring all parliamentary candidates to hold a university degree meant that he and they could not run that year. With the financial support of her father who addressed rallies on her behalf, she campaigned on a newly founded PML-Q

The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid e Azam Group) ur, ; ''Pākistān Muslim Līg (Qāf)'', Acronym and initialism, Acronyms: PML(Q), PML-Q, PMLQ, "Q League") is a Conservative Nationalism in Pakistan, nationalist political party in Pakistan. A ...
platform against the 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’ ...
, with her face not appearing on her own election posters.

Economic and Finance positions

Khar came to prominence during the Shaukat Aziz government and was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Economic Affairs and Statistics in 2003, and being named Minister of State for Economic Affairs the following year, a post she retained until 2007. As minister of state, she worked with international relief funds and charities after the deadly 2005 earthquake in Northern Pakistan

Northern Pakistan () is a tourism region in the northern and northwestern parts of Pakistan, comprising the administrative units of Gilgit-Baltistan (formerly known as '' Northern Areas''), Azad Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the Pothohar P ...
, and also worked on proposals for the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India pipeline

The Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) Pipeline, also known as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, is a natural gas pipeline being developed by the Galkynysh – TAPI Pipeline Company Limited with participation of the Asian Development ...
.

In 2007, she made an unsuccessful attempt to renew her alliance with the PML-Q, but the party denied her a ticket platform to campaign for re-election in 2008. She was subsequently invited to join the 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 successfully campaigned for her constituency for a second time. The PPP secured a plurality of the votes and formed a left-wing alliance with the Awami National Party

The Awami National Party (ANP; ur, , ps, اولسي ملي ګوند; lit. ''People's National Party'') is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its cur ...
, MQM MQM may refer to:

* Muttahida Qaumi Movement – London (MQM)
* Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (Pakistan) ( ur, MQM-P) is a Social liberal Muhajir nationalist Secular political party. The leader of the part ...
and PML-Q.

Minister of State for Finance and Economic Affairs

After her 2008 re-election, she was appointed Minister of State for Finance and Economic Affairs in the cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:

Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filin ...
of Yousaf Raza Gillani. She worked on the financial budget and economic policies in the absence of the then Finance Minister and on 13 June 2009 she successfully presented the 2010 federal budget in the Parliament and has the distinction of being the first woman politician to present the Pakistani budget in the National Assembly. She also worked on reducing Pakistan's circular debt within the energy sector.

Foreign minister

Khar was appointed as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs—the deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...
—on 11 February 2011, as part of Gillani's cabinet reshuffle. Gillani did not reappoint Shah Mehmood Qureshi

Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi ( ur, ; born 22 June 1956) is a Pakistani politician who served as the 29th Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2018 to 2022. He previously held the post from 2008 to 2011. He has been a member of the Nationa ...
as Foreign Minister, and that position was left empty. In the absence of any Foreign Minister, she was the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs for five months until her formal appointment as Foreign Minister on 18 July; she was sworn in on 19 July, becoming the youngest and first female Minister of Foreign Affairs. 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:

Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
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 ...
, who succeeded Pervez Musharraf

General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...
in 2008, said the appointment was "a demonstration of the government's commitment to bring women into the mainstream of national life". She was appointed foreign minister during a difficult time in Pakistan: when the country's armed forces

A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
were confronting extreme elements in Western Pakistan and anti-American

Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment) is prejudice, fear, or hatred of the United States, its government, its foreign policy, or Americans in general.

Political scientist Brendon O'Connor at the United States Studies Centr ...
emotions ran high over the Raymond Davis incident.

Shortly after her appointment, Khar visited 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 held peace talks with her Indian counterpart, S. M. Krishna. Relations between the two countries had been suspended following the 2008 Mumbai attacks

The 2008 Mumbai attacks (also referred to as 26/11, pronounced "twenty six eleven") were a series of terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organisation from Pakistan, c ...
, and did not resume until February 2011, five months before her visit. The Indian media reported extensively on her fashion and appearance, including her Birkin bag

The Birkin bag (or simply Birkin) is a kind of tote bag introduced in 1984 by the French luxury goods maker Hermès. Birkin bags are handmade from leather and are named after the English-French actress and singer Jane Birkin.

The bag quickly ...
, sunglasses, Jimmy Choo

Datuk Jimmy Choo Back from ...
stilettos and pearl necklaces. She held talks with leaders of the Hurriyat Conference before meeting Indian government representatives, a decision which was criticised by the Bharatiya Janata Party

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...
(BJP), India's biggest political party, which said it was a breach of protocol and demanded an inquiry into the matter. She later led an unsuccessful move to grant India most favoured nation status. In August 2011 she visited China

China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
and held talks with Yang Jiechi, the Chinese Foreign Minister. ''Hindustan Times

''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia.

It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...
'' reported that, in contrast to her reception in India, she was largely ignored by the Chinese media.

The NATO strike which killed 24 Pakistani troops was one of the most notable incidents during her tenure and Foreign Minister Khar stated that the government of Pakistan and defense committees had approved a measure—similar to a parliamentary resolution put forward after bin Laden's May 2011 death—that formally bars NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
and ISAF

' ps, کمک او همکاري '
, allies = Afghanistan
, opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda
, commander1 =
, commander1_label = Commander
, commander2 =
, commander2_label =
, commander3 =
, command ...
forces from using Pakistan's supply routes. Pakistan continued to demand a U.S. apology, and on 6 June 2012, Khar argued that "higher principles should take precedence over politically popular considerations", and challenged the U.S. to "live up to its democratic ideals by respecting the will of Pakistan’s elected legislature". On 15 December 2011, when the United States suspended financial aid to Pakistan, Khar warned that their actions would be responsible for losing the war on terror, since Pakistan could not win without U.S. assistance.

On 21 January 2012, Khar secretly left for Moscow

Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
with an agenda of strengthening bilateral relations

Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. Wh ...
, with Pakistan's relationship with the United States

The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
strained. On this trip invited the Russian leadership to visit Pakistan and to maintain bilateral cooperation and commitment and support for "Afghan-led and Afghan-owned" efforts for peace in the country. On 12 August 2012, while speaking at the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran

Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
, Khar maintained that regional stability was imperiled due to the increasing tensions relating to Iran's nuclear program

The nuclear program of Iran is an ongoing scientific effort by Iran to research nuclear technology that can be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran has several research sites, two uranium mines, a research reactor, and uranium processing faci ...
, and a "peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible on the basis of reciprocal confidence-building measures and security assurances against external threats".

During her short visit to Bangladesh

Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
on 9 November 2012, Khar was approached by the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Dipu Moni to sort out post-independence issues between the countries. Khar called for the two countries to move ahead together.

While the election was being scheduled, the PPP completed five-year election term in March 2013, so the government was replaced by a caretaker prime minister and cabinet, in which Khar was not a member, until the election took place. This ended Khar's two-year role as Foreign Minister. In April 2013, Khar announced that she was standing down at the next general election, so that her father, who had previously been ineligible to stand as a candidate, could succeed her. The condition requiring parliamentary candidates to hold a university degree, which had led to Khar replacing her father in 2002, had been lifted since the most recent general election. The PPP came second in the election, losing 74 seats; Khar's father was defeated in his bid to regain his former seat, although he was able to regain the seat in a by-election held later that year.

Significance

She is widely credited for her role as the youngest and first ever female Foreign Minister in Pakistan. She assumed her role in July 2011 as the 26th Foreign Minister of Pakistan. During her two-year-long appointment as the country's foreign minister she attracted significant global attention on her status as Pakistan's first woman foreign minister. She was interviewed by ''Charlie Rose'', ''CBS News

CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the '' CBS Evening News'', '' CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 4 ...
'' and ''Washington Post

''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
'' among others. She served as a high-ranking member of the Central Executive Committee of the Pakistan Peoples Party
The Central Executive Committee of the Pakistan Peoples Party of Pakistan (Urdu: سنٹرل ایگزیکٹو كميٹى; otherwise known as Core Committee, is an apex and ''De jure'' supreme governing authority of Pakistan Peoples Party— a centre ...
from 2008 until 2013, when she retired from politics. She is widely regarded as one of the highest ranking women in Pakistani politics.

Post-ministerial career

Since standing down, Khar has been an active public speaker. In an interview with Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazee ...
in December 2015, she accused the US government supporting military regimes in Pakistan. She has written op-ed

An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. ...
's for Newsweek Pakistan

''Newsweek'' Pakistan is published by AG Publications, a company wholly owned by Associated Group (AG), under license from Newsweek LLC. The licensing agreement with AG Publications follows similar publishing alliances for ''Newsweek'' editions. ...
and was interviewed by Mehdi Hasan

Mehdi Raza Hasan (born July 1979) is a British-American political journalist, broadcaster and author of Indian descent.

Hasan has been the host of ''The Mehdi Hasan Show'' on Peacock since October 2020 and on MSNBC since February 2021.

In 2 ...
at the Oxford Union

The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...
in December 2015. In June 2016, she appeared on ''Jirga with Saleem Safi

Saleem Safi (Urdu, ps, ; born 7 March 1968) is a Pakistani journalist, columnist talk show host. He specializes in foreign policy, terrorism, Kashmir conflict, Afghanistan conflict and the politics of Pakistan. He is associated with Jang Me ...
'', speaking out against Pakistan's aggressive stance in the Kashmir conflict

The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, with China playing a third-party role. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1947 as both India and Pakistan claimed ...
. In an appearance at the Islamabad Literature Festival, she continued her support of a closer Indian-Pakistan relationship.

Return to politics in 2018

She was elected on a reserved seat for women in 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 ...
in 2018 General Election by the Pakistan People's 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 ...
. On 19 April 2022 she was inducted in Shehbaz Ministry having the post of Minister of state for foreign affairs.

Personal life

Khar is married to Feroze Gulzar. She has a son, Ahmed, and two daughters, Annaya and Dina.

Khar is co-owner of a restaurant called the "Polo Lounge". The initial branch opened at the Lahore Polo Ground in 2002. A second Polo Lounge has since opened in Islamabad's Saidpur Village.

See also

*Economy of Pakistan

Pakistan is a low income developing country. Its economy is the 23rd-largest worldwide in terms of GDP based on purchasing power parity (PPP). According to a 2021 estimate, the Country has a population of 227 million people ( 5th-largest wo ...

References

Further reading

*
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*Khan, M Ilyas.
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External links

Minister of Foreign Affairsnews and commentary
at ''Dawn

Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's ...
''
*
''Who rules Pakistan?''
Al Jazeera English, December 2015 - interview with Hina Rabbani Khar (video, 47 mins)

, -

, -

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khar, Hina Rabbani
1977 births
Living people
Pakistani businesspeople
Pakistani women diplomats
Pakistani diplomats
Pakistani landowners
Pakistani MNAs 2002–2007
Pakistani MNAs 2008–2013
Pakistani MNAs 2018–2023
Pakistan People's Party MNAs
Pakistani economists
Pakistani women economists
Government of Yousaf Raza Gillani
Foreign Ministers of Pakistan
Female foreign ministers
Women members of the National Assembly of Pakistan
Women federal ministers of Pakistan
Lahore University of Management Sciences alumni
Isenberg School of Management alumni
University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni
H
People from Muzaffargarh
Politicians from Muzaffargarh
21st-century Pakistani women politicians}