Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali is an Indian politician and former cabinet minister of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

. He is an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

by profession and was a member of the 11th and 12th

Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, also known as the Jammu and Kashmir Vidhan Sabha, is the legislature of Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Prior to 2019, the State of Jammu and Kashmir had a bicameral legislature with a ...

from Darhal constituency. He has also served as Cabinet Minister from 2015 to 2018. He was also associated with

Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is a state political party in Jammu and Kashmir, India. The PDP was headed and founded by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. His daughter, Mehbooba Mufti, succeeded him as party leader and as chief ...

and served as district chief of the party for district

Rajouri Rajouri or Rajauri (; ; ) is a city in the Rajouri district in the Jammu division of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. It is located about from Srinagar and from Jammu (city), Jammu city on ...

2003 to 2013. He resigned from the PDP and became one of the founding member of

Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary source ...

. Presently Vice President of the party. in August 2024, He joined BJP.

Early life and education

Zulfkar was born on 1 January 1970 at Tralla,

to a bureaucrat turned politician Chowdhary Mohmmad Hussain, who belongs to a feudal

Zaildar Zaildar was an officer in charge of a Zail which was an administrative unit of group of villages during the Sikh Empire, British Indian Empire in Punjab and Dogra dynasty rule in Jammu and Kashmir (princely state). The Settlement Officer, with ...

family of the district Rajouri who was a member of

Jammu and Kashmir Legislative assembly The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, also known as the Jammu and Kashmir Vidhan Sabha, is the legislature of Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Prior to 2019, the State of Jammu and Kashmir had a bicameral legislature with a ...

for 5 terms. Zulfkar did early schooling from MIER Jammu and Graduation from Prince of Wales College Jammu and bachelors in law and masters in law from University of Jammu and masters in business administration (MBA) from

IGNOU Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is a public open & distance learning university located in Delhi, India. Named after the former prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi, the university was established in 1985 with a budget of 20 ...

. He also did a post-graduate diploma course in Journalism and mass communication, industrial relation personal management, human resources development, business administration and rural development.

Political career

Zulfkar was active in politics as a student leader and was a president of the student union in

University of Jammu The University of Jammu informally known as Jammu University (JU), accredited as A++ grade by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), was established in 1969 by an act of the state legislature which effectively split the Jammu and ...

. As his father was associated with

Jammu & Kashmir National Conference The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) is a regional political party in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir union territory and Ladakh. Founded as the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference by ...

(JKNC), he also joined JKNC after completing his education where he became a zonal president of the youth wing. In 2002, he was denied a ticket by the National Conference from the Darhal constituency, and he contested it as a rebel National Conference candidate, losing with a narrow margin. On 5 January 2003, he joined

and became the district president, a position he held for a decade. In the 2008 general election, he again stood from Darhal and was elected to the 11th J&K legislative assembly from 2008 to 2014. He served as a member of the Public Accounts Committee, estimates committee, public undertakings committee, subordinate legislation committee, environment committee etc. and also served as chairman of ethics committee, subordinate legislation committee, and brick klin committee. In the 2014 general election, he had been reelected to the 12th Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly and was inducted as a cabinet minister in the PDP-BJP coalition government and was re-inducted as the cabinet minister

Positions held

# Cabinet Minister for Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs # Cabinet Minister for Tribal Affairs Department (Pioneer Minister) # Cabinet Minister for Information and Public Relations Department # Cabinet Minister for Haj and Aquaf Department # Cabinet Minister for Education Department # Chairman of State Consumer Council # Chairman of Ethics Committee # Chairman of Subordinate Legislation Committee # Chairman of Brick Kiln Committee( Environment Committee)

Personal life

Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali is married to Zubeida, daughter of politician Haji Buland Khan who also served as a member of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative assembly and council. His two brothers-in-Law Ajaz Ahmed Khan an Mumtaz Ahmed Khan were members of Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Chowdhary Zulfkar 1970 births Jammu and Kashmir MLAs 2008–2014 Jammu and Kashmir MLAs 2014–2018 People from Rajouri district University of Jammu alumni Apni Party politicians Living people Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party politicians Jammu & Kashmir National Conference politicians Indian lawyers Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Jammu and Kashmir State cabinet ministers of Jammu and Kashmir