Sultan Ali Lakhani (born 24 July 1948) 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 ...

businessman and former

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

who is the co-founder of the

Lakson Group The Lakson Group ( ) is a group of companies headquartered in Karachi, Sindh. History It was founded in 1954 and is owned by the Lakhani family. Subsidiaries Listed * Century Insurance Company Limited, general insurance business * Centu ...

and owner of McDonald's Pakistan. He was a member of the

Senate of Pakistan The Senate of Pakistan, Constitution of Pakistan, constitutionally the House of the Federation, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan. As of 2023, It has a maximum membership of 96, of which 92 are elected by the Member of th ...

from March 1988 to March 1994.

Early life

Lakhani was born on 24 July 1948 in Gondia, Maharashtra, India. He holds a degree in economics from the

University of Karachi The University of Karachi (; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (which is ...

Career

Lakhani was elected to the

as a candidate of

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 ...

on the general seat from

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

. He was a member of the Senate between March 1988 and March 1994. He was arrested in 2000 on the orders of

National Accountability Bureau The National Accountability Bureau (; abbreviated NAB) is Pakistan's anti-corruption agency. Its chairman is Nazir Ahmed Butt, a retired general. History The Ehtesab Act, 1997 established an Ehtesab Cell, charged with the investigation and pr ...

(Pakistan) for alleged loan defaults and being a business partner of Hassan Nawaz, son of the 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 ...

. They co-owned fast-food chain

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

(Pakistan). They were arrested for failing to pay back loans they had taken from various banks. Lakhani is also the owner of

and was the Honorary Consul of Mexico in Karachi.

Awards and recognition

In 2012, Lakhani received the

Hilal-i-Imtiaz The ''Hilal-e-Imtiaz'' (; ), also spelled as ''Hilal-i-Imtiaz,'' is the second-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") civilian award and honour given to both civilians and military officers of the Pakistan Armed Forces by the Government of Pakist ...

(Crescent of Excellence) conferred by then

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari (born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician serving as the 14th president of Pakistan since 2024, having held the same office from 2008 to 2013. He is the president of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and was the ...

References

1948 births Living people Lakson Group Pakistani mass media owners Pakistani newspaper publishers (people) Pakistani industrialists Pakistani prisoners and detainees Members of the Senate of Pakistan University of Karachi alumni Businesspeople from Karachi Pakistan Muslim League politicians Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz People from Gondia Pakistanis named in the Pandora Papers Pakistani people of Gujarati descent Khoja Ismailis {{Pakistan-bio-stub Muhajir people Indian emigrants to Pakistan