Muhammad Hammad Azhar () is a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

politician from

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a political party in Pakistan established in 1996 by cricketer and politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The party is led by Gohar Ali Khan since late 2023. ...

. He was elected from NA-126 (Lahore-IV) in

2018 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 25 July 2018 to elect the members of the 15th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. The three major parties were Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by Imran Khan, the Pakistan Muslim ...

and remained a member of

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 August 2018 to January 2023. He served in various ministerial positions in

Imran Khan ministry The Imran Khan government was the Cabinet of Pakistan, federal cabinet of Pakistan from 20 August 2018 to 10 April 2022. It was formed by Imran Khan following 2018 Pakistani general election, general elections on 25 July 2018, which saw the Pakis ...

between 2018 and April 2022. He served as Energy Minister of Pakistan and

Finance Minister of Pakistan The Minister of Finance of Pakistan (Urdu: 'Wazīr-ē-Khazana') is a leading cabinet member who heads the Ministry of Finance in the Government of Pakistan. The Minister is responsible each year for presenting the federal government's budget to ...

between 16 April 2021 to 3 April 2022 and 29 March 2021 to 16 April 2021 respectively. He also served as Federal Minister for Economic Affairs (10 July 2019 to 5 April 2020), Federal Minister of Industries and Production (6 April 2020 to 6 March 2021), Minister of State for Revenue (11 September 2018 to 9 July 2019) and Federal Minister for Revenue (8 July 2019 to 9 July 2019). Additionally, he served as the President of PTI 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 ...

from 2023 to 2025.

Early life and education

Hammad Azhar was born to the former Governor of Punjab (1990–1993) and later co-founder of

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 ...

Mian Muhammad Azhar Mian Muhammad Azhar () is a Pakistani politician and a businessman representing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. He is currently a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, serving since February 2024. He is from an Arain family of Lahore, He is a for ...

, into a political

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

Arain Arain (also known as Raeen) are a large Punjabi Muslim agricultural community with a strong political identity and level of organisation. At the beginning of the last century, they numbered around 1 million and were mainly rural cultivator ...

family of Lahore. He received his early education from

Aitchison College Aitchison College is an elite private, boarding school, boarding Junior School, Secondary School for boys in Lahore, Pakistan. It has educated Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime ministers, including Imran Khan, Feroz Khan Noon, president of Pakist ...

and later was a pupil at Wellington College. He later graduated with a bachelor's degree in Development Economics from the

SOAS, University of London The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, ...

and then completed his postgraduate diploma in Law from the

BPP Law School BPP University Law School is a private, for-profit provider of professional and academic legal education in the United Kingdom and one of the founding schools of BPP University. History BPP Law School has degree awarding powers through its pare ...

. He enrolled for the Bar Vocational Course in 2004 and was formally called to the Bar at The Honorable Society of Lincoln's Inn in 2005.

Professional career

Hammad Azhar is a barrister by profession. He has also been involved in his family-owned company AFCO Steel Industries, one of the largest and oldest steel manufacturing groups in Pakistan. It was established in

Jalandhar Jalandhar () is a city in the state of Punjab, India, Punjab in India. With a considerable population, it ranks as the List of cities in Punjab and Chandigarh by population, third most-populous city in the state and is the largest city in the ...

, now in

Indian Punjab Punjab () is a state in northwestern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the north and northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, a ...

, in the 1930s. His other professional postings include: *

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world. The bank was establishe ...

(ADB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2018) *

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank and international financial institution that aims to collectively improve economic and social outcomes in Asia. It is the world's second largest multi-lateral d ...

(AIIB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2018) *

Islamic Development Bank The Islamic Development Bank (, abbreviated as IsDB) is a multilateral development finance institution that is focused on Islamic finance for infrastructure development and located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. There are 57 shareholding member st ...

(IsDB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2018)

Political career

After refusing tickets from both the

Pakistan People's Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a centre-left political position, it is cu ...

(PPP) and the

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) in 2007, Azhar joined

(PTI) in 2011. He ran for the seat of the

as a candidate of PTI from Constituency NA-121 (Lahore-IV) 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 ...

but was unsuccessful. He received 68,307 votes and lost the seat to Mehr Ishtiaq Ahmed. Azhar was elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PTI from Constituency NA-126 (Lahore-IV) in the

. On 11 September 2018, Azhar was inducted into the federal cabinet of Prime Minister

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...

and was appointed Minister of State for Revenue. On 11 June 2019, Hammad presented the 2019-20 annual budget of Pakistan in the National Assembly of Pakistan. On 8 July 2019, Azhar was elevated to the post of Federal Minister and was appointed Federal Minister for Revenue. The next day, he ceased to hold the office of federal minister for Revenue Division and was appointed the federal minister for Economic Affairs Division. On 6 April 2020 he was removed from the position of Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, and was given the portfolio of Federal Minister for Industries and Production. On 12 June 2020, Hammad presented the Rs. 7,294.9 billion 2020-21 annual

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus or disease responsible for the COVID-19 ...

budget of Pakistan in the National Assembly of Pakistan reflecting a reduction in its size by 11 percent from the budget estimates for fiscal 2019–20. “Formulation and presentation of the budget in times of the coronavirus pandemic that besets the world at present and is on the ascent in Pakistan at the moment with total uncertainty about its descent is almost an impossible task, particularly for a developing country like Pakistan and therefore, the present budget can at best be viewed as 'work in progress' that would need a revision/tweaking as the economic fallout from the pandemic continues to unfold.” On 29 March 2021, after the removal of

Abdul Hafeez Shaikh Abdul Hafeez Sheikh () is a Pakistani economist and politician who served as Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Affairs from 11 December 2020 to 29 March 2021. Previously, he served as an advisor to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue ...

from Federal Cabinet, Azhar was given additional charge of Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue. On 17 April 2021, Shaukat Tareen was appointed Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue and Hammad Azhar was promoted as Federal Minister of Energy. This ministry is considered to be the most difficult due to rising circular debt and costly power agreements that require new negotiations. On 16 December 2023, he was appointed as acting President of PTI's provincial chapter in

. He stepped down from the position in April 2025, arguing that he was being accused of obstructing the work of other party members and that there was a lack of freedom to control his constituency.

Awards and recognition

In 2020, the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

(WEF) named Hammad Azhar, then Minister for Economic Affairs, as one of its Young Global Leaders from South Asia. According to a press release, the WEF identifies the world's most promising leaders under the age of 40 who are driving innovation for positive change across civil society, arts, culture, government and business. Azhar had been named alongside 114 young global leaders.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azhar, Muhammad Hammad Living people Pakistani MNAs 2018–2023 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNAs Pakistani barristers Aitchison College alumni Ministers of finance of Pakistan Alumni of BPP University Alumni of SOAS University of London 1981 births