Raoof Hasan () is a Pakistani writer and political analyst who previously served as the information secretary and

spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

of PTI and also served as special assistant to 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's the head of the PTI policy think tank as well of the ''Regional Peace Institute''.

Early life and education

Hasan was born in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

into a family of

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, the language of the Kashmiris ethnic group People with the nam ...

descent. He is one of five brothers, including

Fawad Hasan Fawad Fawad Hasan Fawad () is a Pakistani public policy practitioner, former civil servant who served in BPS-22 grade as the Principal Secretary to three Prime Ministers Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif, and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi; and later as caretaker Fe ...

, a senior civil servant known for his association with the

Sharif family The Sharif family is a List of Pakistani political families, Pakistani political family of Kashmiris in Punjab, Punjabi–Kashmiri background. Playing a prominent role in Politics of Pakistan, Pakistani politics, especially in Punjab, Pakistan, ...

. After initially enrolling at Gordon College, Rawalpindi, he left to join the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

. However, his military career was interrupted by an accident, leading to his departure from the

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) is a military academy located nearby Kakul village in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Established in October 1947, it is the only service academy in Pakistan that trains cadets to serve as army of ...

(PMA) after approximately one and a half years. He subsequently returned to Gordon College, where he completed a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

. In 2006, he was diagnosed with blood cancer. He spent approximately three and a half years receiving treatment at a hospital in London, followed by an extended period of recovery.

Professional career

Following his graduation, he began teaching at his alma matter Godon College, a position he held until the college was nationalized. Pursuing his interest in writing, he entered the advertising industry as a

copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. Copywriting is aimed at selling products or services. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to incre ...

and subsequently established his own advertising agency, which he successfully ran for over twenty years.

Political career

He served as the information secretary and

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) from 27 May 2023 to 26 September 2024.

2024 arrest

In July 2024, he was arrested for spreading anti-state propaganda.

Political views

While serving as Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan, Hasan commented on the

2020–2021 U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan The United States Armed Forces completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan on 30 August 2021, marking the end of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), 2001–2021 war. In February 2020, the First presidency of Donald Trump, Trump administration ...

and the Taliban's takeover. He tweeted that Afghanistan experienced a nearly seamless transition of power from the corrupt Ghani government to the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

, and that the U.S.-backed structure in Afghanistan had collapsed "like the proverbial house of cards."

Writings

Raoof Hasan is a prolific writer and political analyst whose work spans several prominent publications. His writings often delve into themes such as governance, national identity, and socio-political dynamics. He has contributed to outlets including ''

The News International ''The News International'', published in broadsheet size, is one of the largest English language newspapers in Pakistan. It is published daily from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/ Islamabad. An overseas edition is published from London th ...

'', ''

Geo News Geo News () is a old technology foundation Pakistani news channel owned by the Jang Media Group. It was launched in October 2002 as the news and current affairs program was under its flagship channel Geo TV, which later in 2004, Geo TV decided ...

'', ''

Daily Times ''Daily Times'' may refer to the following national newspapers: * ''Daily Times'' (Nigeria), newspaper published in Nigeria * ''Daily Times'' (Pakistan), newspaper published in Pakistan ''The Daily Times'' may refer to the following newspapers: * ...

'', ''Narratives Magazine'', and ''

Arab News ''Arab News'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Saudi Arabia. It is published from Riyadh. The target audiences of the paper, which is published in broadsheet format, are businesspeople, executives and diplomats. At least as ...

''. His publications include: *

Michael Kugelman Michael Kugelman is an American foreign policy author and expert specializing in South Asia. He is the director of the South Asia Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He is an columnist for the Foreign Policy Magazine. ...

and Raoof Hasan
What a Year of Track II Discussions Says About the Future of US–Pakistan Relations
''War on the Rocks'', 30 November 2017.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hassan, Raoof Living people Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf politicians Year of birth missing (living people) People from Rawalpindi Politicians from Rawalpindi Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent Government Gordon College alumni