Malik Ghulam Mustafa Khar (; born 2 August 1937) is a Pakistani politician and

feudal lord An overlord in the English feudal system was a lord of a manor who had subinfeudated a particular manor, estate or fee, to a tenant. The tenant thenceforth owed to the overlord one of a variety of services, usually military service or s ...

who has previously served as the Chief Minister of Punjab and Governor of Punjab.

Early life and education

He was born on 2 August 1937 in Sanawan in

Kot Addu Kot Addu () is the capital city of the Kot Addu District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city is subdivided into five Union Councils

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 ...

to a wealthy landowning family belonging to the

Khar Khar may refer to: Places * Khar, Mumbai, a suburb of Mumbai, India * Khar, Punjab, a town in the Punjab Province, Pakistan * Khar, Bajaur, a town in the Bajaur Agency of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan * Khar, Nepal, a village in Darchu ...

clan, of the larger

Kharal Kharal ( Punjabi: ) is a Punjabi Muslim tribe predominantly found in northern Punjab and the Sandal Bar region. Origins The earliest mention of origins of Kharals was by Hazrat Pilu, a 16-17th century poet who wrote Mirza Kharal as a Jat ...

tribe. From his maternal side, he is a descendant of Khawaja Suleman Taunsvi of

Taunsa Sharif Taunsa Sharif (Urdu, Saraiki: تونسه شريف) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan and the capital of Taunsa District. It is located on the bank of the Indus River and is known for its agricultural significance. The city is primarily i ...

. He received his 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 ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Political career

Ghulam Mustafa Khar won his first National Assembly election in 1962 at the age of 24. He remained on posts of Minister of Water and Power, Chief Minister and Governor. In 1967, Khar joined

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

as one of the founding members of the

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 ...

as a close personal friend and political ally. He was appointed

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

and Martial Law Administrator of Punjab, the most electorally powerful province in the country by the newly sworn in President Bhutto following the collapse of

Yahya Khan Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan (4 February 191710 August 1980) was a Pakistani army officer who served as the third president of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971. He also served as the fifth Commander-in-Chief, Pakistan, commander-in-chief of the Pakistan ...

's military government. When the 1973 constitution was adopted in August and Bhutto became

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

, Khar was given the portfolio of

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 ...

of Punjab Province. Thanks to complaints from within the PPP, Khar was replaced by the far more left-leaning and intellectual

Hanif Ramay Muhammad Hanif Ramay () (1930 – 1 January 2006) was an internationally renowned intellectual, painter, journalist and former Governor and Chief Minister of Punjab, and he was among the founding fathers of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP ...

. Khar was briefly reappointed Governor in March 1975 before being finally dismissed in July 1975. Bhutto's suspicions over Khar's ambitions as well as the deep divisions within the PPP in the Punjab led to his refusal to allow Khar to run for Ramay's seat in Lahore. Khar's attempts to run for the seat as an independent ended in failure. By 1976, former rivals within the PPP, Khar and Ramay were working together within the Pir of Pagaro's

Pakistan Muslim League (F) The Pakistan Muslim League (Functional) (, Acronym and initialism, acronym: PMLF, PML-F, PML (F)) is a Nationalism in Pakistan, nationalist and pro-Hurs clan political party in Pakistan. It is one of the List of Muslim League breakaway groups, br ...

. However, his relations with Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto briefly improved as he was appointed Special Assistant to the Prime Minister in 1977. In April 2017, he joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and he is considered to be on the left-wing of the PTI. He quit the PTI in 2022 and went back to the PML-N.

Personal life

Khar has been married eight times. One of Khar's marriages was to

Tehmina Durrani Tehmina Durrani (; born 18 February 1953) is a Pakistani author known for her bestselling book My Feudal Lord, an artist, and a women's and children's rights activist. She is the current spouse of the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif ...

, a Pakistani women's rights activist and author. Her first book, ''My Feudal Lord'', released by

Vanguard Books Najam Aziz Sethi (Punjabi, Urdu: نجم عزیز سیٹھی; born 20 May 1948) is a Pakistani journalist, businessman and cricket administrator. He is the current chief executive officer (CEO) of Mitchell's. Previously, he served as the Chair ...

of Lahore in June 1991, caused controversy in Pakistan's society by describing her abusive and traumatic marriage to Ghulam Mustafa Khar. His daughter

Aaminah Haq Aaminah Haq (), also variously spelled as Aamina Haq and Amna Haq) is a Pakistani model and actress. Haq has modelled for magazines including ''She'', ''Libas'', ''Visage'', '' Women's Own'', ''Fashion Collection'' and '' Newsline''. She also ...

is a Pakistani model and actress noted as a Lux model and for her role in the television drama ''

Mehndi Mehndi () is a form of temporary skin decoration using a paste created with henna. In the West, mehndi is commonly known as henna tattoo, although it is not a permanent tattoo. Mehndi is a popular form of body art in South Asia and resembl ...

''.

Hina Rabbani Khar Hina Rabbani Khar (born 19 November 1974) is a Pakistanis, Pakistani politician who served as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Pakistan), Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from 19 April 2022 to 10 August 2023. She previously served as ...

, the former

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

, is the daughter of his brother Ghulam Noor Rabbani. His son, Bilal Mustafa Khar was accused by his former wife

Fakhra Younus Fakhra Younus (; 1979 – 17 March 2012) was a Pakistani woman who was the victim of an acid attack, which severely injured her face. She underwent 39 surgeries during a 10-year period. She committed suicide at age 33. Biography Younus was a dan ...

of pouring acid over her face. Later, his son was acquitted of the charges. Four witnesses who testified to seeing his son enter Fakhra's home on the day of the attack complained of receiving death threats; they later retracted their statements due to the seriousness of the threats. In December 2003, judge dismissed the charges. Khar continued to protest his son's innocence, claiming the perpetrator was a pimp with whom his wife had been having an affair.

Writings

Books

*''Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto ki Kahani'', 1975, 156 p. *''Khari Baten'', 1987, 152 p.

Book chapter

“Pakistan’s role in Muslim world” in the book ''Re-emerging Muslim World'' edited by Zahid Malik, published by Pakistan National Centre in 1974.

References

External links

Ghulam Mustafa Khar

Ghulam Mustafa Khar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khar, Ghulam Mustafa Living people 1937 births Pakistani landowners Pakistani MNAs 1962–1965 Punjab MPAs 1972–1977 Pakistan People's Party politicians People from Multan Governors of Punjab, Pakistan Chief ministers of Punjab, Pakistan People from Muzaffargarh District Ghulam Mustafa Aitchison College alumni Pakistani landlords Politicians from Muzaffargarh