Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar (; born 7 July 1967) 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 who recently served as Pakistan's Federal Minister for Industries & Production. Previously, he has served as Federal Minister of Economic Affairs, Federal Minister of National Food Security and Research and Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms in the PTI Government under the leadership 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 ...

. 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 ...

from 2002 to 2008, 2013 to 2018 and 2018 till 2023. Previously, he was a member of the

Provincial Assembly of the Punjab The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, also known as the Punjab Assembly, is the supreme legislative body of Punjab, a province of Pakistan. It convenes at the Assembly Building in Lahore, the capital of Punjab. It is a unicameral legislature o ...

from 1997 to 1999 and served as provincial advisor to the then

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

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 ...

. During his first tenure as Member of the National Assembly, he served as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from September 2004 to November 2007 in the Federal Cabinet of Prime Minister

Shaukat Aziz Shaukat Aziz (born 6 March 1949) is a Pakistani-born British former banker who served as the 15th prime minister of Pakistan from 28 August 2004 to 15 November 2007. When his term as Prime Minister was over, he immediately left Pakistan and se ...

Early life and education

Bakhtyar was born on 7 July 1967. He hails from

Mian Wali Qureshian Mian Wali Qureshian (میاوالی قریشیاں) is a town in Rahim Yar Khan District, Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab, Pakistan. It was founded more than 450 years ago by Makhdoom Rohullah Shah I. The Saraiki language is spoken. Location Mian W ...

, a village in the

Rahim Yar Khan District Rahim Yar Khan District (Urdu: ضلع رحیم یار خان, Punjabi: ضلع ریم یار خان) is a Districts of Pakistan#Punjab, district in the province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. Its headquarters is the city of Rahim Yar Kha ...

of Punjab and belongs to a prominent political family. He graduated from the

University of Punjab The University of the Punjab (UoP) is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1882, its international influence has made it one of the most prestigious universities in South Asia; being the oldest and largest publ ...

in 1990, and received an

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

(Hons.) degree in 1994 from the

London School of Economics and Political Science The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the University ...

and a Bar-at-Law degree from

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1995.

Political career

He was elected to the

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 PP-236 (Rahim Yar Khan-V) in the

1997 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 3 February 1997 to elect the members of National Assembly. The elections were a fierce contest between Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led by pre-election Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the Pakistan Mus ...

. He received 19,736 votes and defeated Makhdoom Ashfaq Ahmad, a candidate of

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...

(PPP). He was elected to the

as a candidate 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 ...

(PML-Q) from Constituency NA-194 (Rahim Yar Khan-III) in the

2002 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 10 October 2002 to elect the 12th National Assembly and four Provincial Assemblies. The elections were held under the military government of Pervez Musharraf. The two mainstream parties, Pakistan ...

. He received 70,116 votes and defeated Makhdoom Shahabuddin. In the same election, he also ran for the seat of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of PML-Q from Constituency PP-291 (Rahim Yar Khan-VII) but he was unsuccessful. On 4 September 2004, he was inducted into the Federal Cabinet of Prime Minister

and was appointed as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. He continued to serve as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs until 15 November 2007. He ran for the seat of the National Assembly as a candidate of PML-Q from Constituency NA-194 (Rahim Yar Khan-III) in the

2008 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 18 February 2008 to elect members of the 13th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. On 3 November 2007 President Pervez Musharraf enacted a state of emergency; elections were initia ...

, but was unsuccessful. He received 42,442 votes and lost the seat to Makhdoom Shahabuddin. He was re-elected to the National Assembly as an independent candidate from Constituency NA-194 (Rahim Yar Khan-III) 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 ...

. He received 64,272 votes and defeated Makhdoom Shahabuddin. In the same election, he also ran for the seat of the National Assembly as an independent candidate from Constituency NA-195 (Rahim Yar Khan-IV) but was unsuccessful. He received 46,897 votes and lost the seat to Mustafa Mehmood. In the same election, he was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as an independent candidate from Constituency PP-289 (Rahimyar Khan-V). He received 25,898 votes and defeated Mian Muhammad Aslam Advocate. Following the election, he abandoned his Punjab Assembly seat in favor of the National Assembly seat. On 23 May 2013, he joined PML-N. In 2017 he was mad
Chairman House Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs
In March 2018, he became business partner of

Jahangir Khan Tareen Jahangir Khan Tareen () (born 4 July 1953) is a Pakistani industrialist and politician who is the founder of JDW Sugar Mills, also known as JDW Group, a conglomerate specializing in the manufacturing and sale of sugar and associated products, e ...

after they together purchased a sugar mill for Rs 27 billion. This triggered speculation that he might join PTI soon. On 9 April 2018, Bakhtyar, together with seven other PML-N parliamentarians, quit the PML-N and formed a new group under the name of "Junoobi Punjab Suba Mahaaz". The group accused PML-N for ignoring the southern part of Punjab and demanded the creation of separate province for southern Punjab. On 30 April, he resigned from his National Assembly seat in protest. On 9 May 2018, Junoobi Punjab Sooba Mahaaz (JPSM) merged with

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. ...

(PTI) after the latter promised to create a South Punjab province on administrative grounds. Subsequently, Bakhtyar joined PTI after signing an agreement with PTI chairman

on the promise of the creation of a South Punjab province and an equitable distribution of resources to the region. He was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PTI from Constituency NA-177 (Rahim Yar Khan-III) in the

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 ...

after securing 100,768 votes. On 18 August,

formally announced his federal cabinet structure and Bakhtyar was named as Minister for Water Resources. However, on 20 August 2018, he was sworn in as Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms in the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Imran Khan. On 19 November 2019, he was appointed as Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research and served in that position until a perceived conflict of interest arose due to his sugar business, after which he resigned on 6 April 2020. He was appointed Minister of Economic Affairs after a cabinet reshuffle. After a year of holding the Economic Affairs portfolio, Bakhtiar was made Federal Minister of Industries & Production, a position which he held until the end of the Imran Khan government on 10th April, 2022. He was also appointed president for the

South

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 ...

chapter in December, 2021. In May, 2023, Bakhtiar announced his decision to leave party positions, saying the “May 9 incidents” led him to reevaluate his alignment with PTI’s ideology. Bakhtiar revealed his plan to resign from key positions, including his membership in the core committee and presidency of the South Punjab chapter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakhtiar, Makhdoom Khusro Living people 1969 births Pakistani barristers Pakistani MNAs 2013–2018 Pakistani MNAs 2002–2007 Pakistan Muslim League (Q) MNAs Pakistan Muslim League (N) MNAs Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNAs University of the Punjab alumni Ministers of state for foreign affairs of Pakistan Alumni of the London School of Economics Punjab MPAs 1997–1999 Pakistani MNAs 2018–2023