Daniyal Aziz Choudhry ( Punjabi, ; born 25 February 1965) is a Pakistani politician who served as Minister for Privatisation, in Abbasi cabinet from August 2017 to May 2018. He had been a member of the
National Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...
between 1997 and May 2018.
Early life
Choudhry was born on 25 February 1965 in Lahore (taxali gate) to politician Anwar Aziz Chaudhry, who once served in the Pakistani federal cabinet, and an American mother. According to PILDAT, he was born on 25 February 1965.
Road accident injuries
On 16 June 2022, he was sustained critical injuries in a road accident in Shakargarh, a city in
Punjab
Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
’s Narowal District. As per details, the vehicle of his car was hit by a speeding truck coming from the opposite direction near Bhajna Stop after its tyre burst. In the crash, a man travelling in the truck died on the spot, while three others sustained injuries. He has fractured one of his arms in the horrific crash. He was shifted to DHQ Hospital in Narowal.
On 17 June 2022, he was shifted to
CMH Rawalpindi
The Combined Military Hospital Rawalpindi is a tertiary care military hospital in Rawalpindi.Services Hospital Lahore. According to doctors, his lungs were also damaged in the accident.
Health
Soon after the incident, Prime Minister
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 ...
called Aziz’s wife Mehnaz Aziz to inquire about the PML-N leader’s health. The premier added that he was praying for his health.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shahbaz ordered that the former PML-N lawmaker should be provided with all kinds of medical facilities and also summoned a report from the commissioner of Gujranwala Division and the regional police officer regarding the accident.
Political career
Choudhry was elected to the
National Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...
from the Constituency NA-91 (Narowal-II) as an independent candidate in the 1997 general election.
He was re-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 repr ...
Pakistan Muslim League (Q)
The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid e Azam Group) ; ''Pākistān Muslim Līg (Qāf)'', Acronyms: PML(Q), PML-Q, PMLQ, "Q League" (officially registered as the Pakistan Muslim League) is a political party in Pakistan. As of the 2024 parliamentary e ...
(PML-Q). He previously served as the chairman of the National Reconstruction Bureau.
Choudhry ran for the seat of the National Assembly from Constituency NA-116 (Narowal-II) as a candidate of PML-Q in the 2008 general election but was unsuccessful.
In March 2013, he joined PML-N. Choudhry was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of
Pakistan Muslim League (N)
The Pakistan Muslim League (N) or (PML(N)) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right, Conservatism in Pakistan, conservative political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third-largest party in the Senate of Pakistan, Senate and the larges ...
(PML-N) from Constituency NA-116 (Narowal-II 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 ...
.
Following the election of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as Prime Minister of Pakistan in August 2017, Choudhry was offered the cabinet membership as Minister of State however he declined it. Reportedly, he wanted to be appointed as federal minister. Later, he was inducted into the cabinet of Abbasi as a Minister for Privatization with the status of federal minister. Upon the dissolution of the National Assembly on the expiration of its term on 31 May 2018, Chaudhry ceased to hold the office as Federal Minister for Privatization.
In June 2018, he was disqualified by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in a contempt of court case and was barred from contesting in the 2018 general election. Following which he decided to field his wife Mehnaz Aziz in election.
He and his wife, Mehnaz Aziz, decided to run as independents in the 2024 elections after they did not receive the PML(N)'s nominations for any seat.