Sardar Sanaullah Khan Zehri (; born 4 August 1961) is a Pakistani politician who had been the Chief Minister of Balochistan from 24 December 2015 to 9 December 2017. He belongs to Channal Zarakzai family and is also the

Sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar (, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royal family, royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other Aristocracy (class), aristocrats. It ha ...

of the Zehri tribe and chief of Jhalawan. Zehri was the central president of the

Pakistan Muslim League The Pakistan Muslim League (; known as PML), is the name of several different Pakistani political parties that have dominated the centre-right platform in the country. The ''Muslim League'' (the original successor of the All-India Muslim ...

's Balochistan branch and a confidant of former Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

. He left the PML-N on 7 November 2020. On 7 June 2013, Zehri was appointed senior minister of Balochistan with portfolios of communication works, mines, minerals. On 9 January 2018, due to the imminence of a no-confidence vote against him, Zehri resigned from his post as chief minister to prevent the brewing of a political crisis.

Biography

Nawab Sanaullah Zehri was born in Anjeera in the Khuzdar District,

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

, Pakistan, on 4 August 1961. His father, Sardar Doda Khan Zehri, was a tribal leader and an

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

in the

Pakistan Movement The Pakistan Movement was a religiopolitical and social movement that emerged in the early 20th century as part of a campaign that advocated the creation of an Islamic state in parts of what was then British Raj. It was rooted in the two-nation the ...

who played a crucial role in gathering Balochistan's support for the cause of Pakistan. He graduated with a BA degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

in 1983 from the University of Balochistan. Upon graduating from Balochistan University, he ran in the 1990 Balochistan Assembly

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

, performing well on the PML(N)'s conservative platform. During this time, he campaigned for

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

in Balochistan. In 1997, he contested and triumphed in a

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

election, representing Balochistan until 1999. Zehri ran for the PB-50 (Khuzdar-I) constituency on the National Party's platform during the 2002

. He served as the provincial minister of prisons and tribal affairs until 2003. In 2008, the National Party boycotted the general election. Zehri disagreed with the move, leaving the party, and in February he won a seat in the assembly under his own, newly founded the National Party.In September 2006, Zehri participated in a loya jirga called by the Khan of Kalat, Mir Suleman Dawood Jan, following the death of Akbar Bugti. On 6 January 2010, he joined the

. In August 2011, Baloch was selected by PML(N) as the assistant secretary general of the PML-N for Balochistan. In 2013, Zehri defended his constituency on PML-N's platform and was initially named as candidacy for

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 Balochistan. However, Prime Minister

instead approved the appointment of Abdul Malik Baloch as the chief minister of Balochistan. On 16 April 2013, Zehri escaped an assassination attempt on his life when his convoy came under a bomb attack in his native Khuzdar district. The attack killed his son, Sikander Zehri, brother Mir Meharullah Zehri and nephew Mir Zaid. The

Balochistan Liberation Army The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) is a Baloch ethnonationalist militant organization based in the Balochistan region. Operating primarily from safe havens scattered across southern Afghanistan, BLA perpetrates attacks in neighboring Paki ...

(BLA), claimed responsibility for the attack on Zehri. On 23 November 2020, Sanaullah lost his daughter Ayesha Zehri, allegedly due to COVID-19.

References

External links

Peace top priority, says Zehri
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zehri, Sanaullah Khan 1961 births Living people Balochistan MPAs 1990–1993 Balochistan MPAs 2002–2007 Balochistan MPAs 2013–2018 Balochistan MPAs 2024–2029 Brahui people Chief ministers of Balochistan, Pakistan Members of the Senate of Pakistan Nawabs of Balochistan, Pakistan Nawabs of Pakistan Pakistan Muslim League (N) politicians Pakistan People's Party politicians Provincial ministers of Balochistan People from Khuzdar District University of Balochistan alumni University of Karachi alumni Politicians from Balochistan, Pakistan

Biography

References

Further reading

External links