Qamar Zaman Kaira ( ur, ; born 5 January 1960) is the former Minister of Information and Mass-Media Broadcasting in the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...

. He is Incumbent advisor on Kashmir Affairs to current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Before heading the ministry of Information, Kaira was the minister of the ministry of Kashmir and Northern Areas and later ascended as acting

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 ...

Gilgit–Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has been the subject of a dispute bet ...

in 2009. His career in the national politics started in 2002 on a platform of

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 ...

and has pioneered many articles on

political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, ...

and raised a voice for

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose g ...

in the country. After succeeding

Sherry Rehman Sherry Rehman ( ur, ; born 21 December 1960) is a Pakistani politician, journalist and former diplomat who has been the member of the Senate of Pakistan since 2015. She was the first female Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from March ...

as minister of information in 2009, he lost his ministry in 2011 to

Firdous Ashiq Awan Firdous Ashiq Awan (Punjabi, ur, , born 11 January 1970) is a Pakistani politician from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. She has served as Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting from 2019 to 2020, Federal Minister for N ...

. However, in 2012, he was again reappointed in the ministry of information after a cabinet reshuffle. His son Osama Zaman Kaira died in a road accident on 17 May 2019 in Lala Musa in an attempt to save a motorcyclist, losing control of the car and crashing into a nearby tree. He was laid to rest on 18 May in the same city.

Education

Kaira was born in

Lalamusa Lala Musa (; ur, , pa, ), is a city located in the Gujrat District of the Punjab province, Pakistan with a population of 91,500 in 2018. History Toponymy Lala Musa is a combination of two nouns which mean Brother Musa with ''Lala'' (from ...

, Gujrat on 5 January 1960. He belongs to a political family from Gujrat. After attending a local high school, Kaira

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

and passed intermediate college testing examinations. After attending a F.G. Community College at Kharian Military District, Kaira made

college transfer College transfer is the anticipated movement students consider between education providers and the related institutional processes supporting those secondary and post-secondary learners who actually do move with completed coursework or training that ...

to Forman Christian University. There he enrolled in the Department of Philosophy and earned a BA in Philosophy from Forman Christian University in 1983. Kaira later applied for a

graduate school Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and ...

of the

University of Punjab The University of the Punjab (Urdu, pnb, ), also referred to as Punjab University, is a public, research, coeducational higher education institution located in Lahore, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. ...

to resume his higher education. In 1985, Kaira wrote his thesis for double master's degrees and subsequently obtained an MA in philosophy of politics and an MS in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

from the Punjab University.

Political career

Kaira 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 ...

for the first time in 2002 and remained a member of lower House until 2007. He returned to the National Assembly of Pakistan for the second consecutive term and became a minister in the coalition government of PPP, ANP, MQM and JUI-F formed after the 2008 elections. He is a senior leader of

, having won from his local constituency in Gujrat. He was selected to the office of Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas on 31 March 2008, and was given the additional office of Federal Minister for Information on 14 March 2009.

Other positions held

*1st

Gilgit Gilgit (; Shina: ; ur, ) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and the Hunza River. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a ...

Baltistan Baltistan ( ur, ; bft, སྦལ་ཏི་སྟཱན, script=Tibt), also known as Baltiyul or Little Tibet ( bft, སྦལ་ཏི་ཡུལ་།, script=Tibt), is a mountainous region in the Pakistani-administered territory of Gil ...

*Minister for

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

Affairs and

*Minister for Information Media and BroadCasting *Member National Assembly 2002–2007 *Member National Assembly 2008-2013 *Advisor to Prime Minister 2022-To date

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaira, Qamar Zaman 1960 births Living people Forman Christian College alumni University of the Punjab alumni Pakistan People's Party politicians Government of Yousaf Raza Gillani Information Ministers of Pakistan People from Gujrat District BOL Network people Politicians from Gujrat, Pakistan Governors of Gilgit-Baltistan