- Shah Mehmood Qureshi
-
Shah Mehmood Qureshi
شاه محمود قریشی
Minister of Foreign Affairs In office
31 March 2008 – 9 February 2011Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani Preceded by Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri Succeeded by Hina Rabbani Khar Personal details Born 22 June 1956
Murree, PakistanPolitical party None Alma mater Aitchison College, Forman Christian College University
University of CambridgeProfession Agriculturist/Politician Religion Islam Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Hussain Qureshi (Urdu: شاه محمود قریشی; born June 22, 1956) was the Foreign Minister of Pakistan in the coalition government of PPP, Muttahida Quami Movement[MQM], ANP and JUI-F formed after the 2008 general elections.[1] He is a senior leader of Pakistan Peoples Party, where he was the president of PPP Punjab.[2] He is the head of the Qureshi family and has many followers in the country and in South Asia. Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi is also the current Sajjada Nashin and custodian of the Mausoleum of Shah Rukn-e-Alam[3] and of the Shrine (Darbar) of Hazrat Baha-ud-din Zakariya.[4]. An agriculturalist by trade, Qureshi is also the president of the Farmers Association of Pakistan.
Contents
Early life
Family
Qureshi hails from a prominent religious and political family in South Punjab. He is the eldest son of Makhdoom Sajjad Hussain Qureshi. Sajjad Qureshi was a Sajjada Nashin for Mausoleum of Shah Rukn-e-Alam and the Darbar of Hazrat Baha-ud-din Zakariya.[5] The elder Qureshi was also a prominent politician of the Pakistan People's Party under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the 1970s. Following the removal and hanging of Bhutto, Sajjad Hussain supported the presidency of General Zia-ul-Haq and served as the Governor of Punjab from December 1985 to December 1988 under Zia.[6]
Education
Qureshi received his early education from Aitchison College, Lahore. He received a Bachelor's degree in History from Forman Christian College. Qureshi also received a law degree from Cambridge University [7]
Political career
Qureshi was first elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab from Multan in 1985, which were held on a non-party basis. He joined the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) under the leadership of Muhammad Khan Junejo in 1986.[6]
He joined the faction of PML led by Nawaz Sharif, which later became PML (N), when PML split in 1988 after the death of Zia-ul-Haq. He was re-elected to the Punjab Assembly from Multan in 1988. He served as the Minister of Planning and Development in the cabinet of Chief Minister Nawaz Sharif from November 1988 to August 1990.[6]
Qureshi parted ways with Nawaz Sharif in 1990 and joined the PML (J) faction led by Manzoor Wattoo, and was re-elected to the Punjab Assembly from Multan in 1990. He served as the Minister of Finance in the Punjab cabinet under Chief Minister Watoo from 1990 to June 1993.[6]
He subsequently joined the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in 1993 under the leadership of Benazir Bhutto. He was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan from Multan in the general elections of 1993, and served as the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs under Prime Minister Bhutto. Qureshi was defeated in the 1997 general election by Makhdoom Javed Hashmi.
Qureshi served as the District Nazim of Multan from 2000 to 2002.[8] He won subsequent elections to the National Assembly from Multan in 2002 and 2008 as a member of the PPP. Benazir Bhutto made Qureshi the President of PPP in Punjab in 2006.[2]
Following the general election of 2008, Qureshi was a potential candidate for the Prime Minister of Pakistan in the coalition government headed by the PPP. However, given his political history prior to joining the PPP,[8] Qureshi was instead given the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani. He lost the portfolio of Foreign Minister in February 2011, following the Raymond Davis affair.[6] Qureshi opposed the PPP's pact with PML-Q, since he believed PML-Q to be indirectly involved in the killing of Benazir Bhutto.
Qureshi resigned from the PPP, as well as his National Assembly membership, in November 2011.[9] He has been in contact with both Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to join one of these parties.[10] In a TV talk show Imran Khan confirmed that Shah Mehmood Qureshi would join the PTI rally on 27th November 2011 at Ghotki.
Minister of Foreign Affairs (2008 - 2011)
After taking charge of the office, Qureshi immediately made clear that he was committed to establishing peace in the region and that maintaining friendly ties with neighboring India were amongst his top priorities.[11] Qureshi went on his first visit as foreign minister to China in October 2008 with Ahmad Mukhtar and President Asif Ali Zardari.[12] On his arrival back, he was given praise for his work. Qureshi has visited many countries as Foreign Minister and has been very busy explaining Pakistan's stance on the war on terror to the foreign world.
In 2009, Shah Mehmood Qureshi faced criticism in Pakistan when it was discovered that his son, Zain H. Qureshi, was working as a Legislative Fellow in the office of Sen. John Kerry [13]
In February 2011, the Government of Pakistan reduced the number of cabinet seats.[14] During this transition, Shah Mehmood Qureshi was offered the position of Minister of Water and Power. He declined, saying that he was "not interested in water and power ministry in place of foreign affairs."[15]
See also
References
- ^ Amir Wasim, "Parties finally clinch deal on key ministries" Dawn Newspaper, March 29, 2008
- ^ a b "Qureshi to revive PPP popularity in south Punjab". Daily Times. November 12, 2006. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C11%5C12%5Cstory_12-11-2006_pg7_26. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
- ^ Mausoleum of Shah Rukn-e-Alam "Multan City Online"
- ^ Mausoleum of Shah Bahauddin Zakaria "Multan City Online"
- ^ "Qureshi has bigger stature than Imran in S Punjab, Sindh". The Nation. 2011-11-15. http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/print/Regional/15-Nov-2011/Qureshi-has-bigger-stature-than-Imran-in-S-Punjab-Sindh.
- ^ a b c d e "Qureshi’s departure: dent in PPP unrealistic". Daily Times. 2011-11-15. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011%5C11%5C15%5Cstory_15-11-2011_pg7_21.
- ^ Romero, Frances (29 December 2008). "Two-Minute Bio Shah Mahmood Qureshi:". Time. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1868861,00.html.
- ^ a b "2008 WikiLeaks cable: Tariq Aziz advises Zardari against Shah Mehmood’s PM candidacy". Dawn. 2008-02-28. http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/22/2008-tariq-aziz-advises-zardari-against-shah-mehmood%E2%80%99s-pm-candidacy.html. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
- ^ http://www.geo.tv/11-14-2011/88844.htm
- ^ "Pakistan wants Aafia freed if US demands release of Davis: Babar". Daily Times. Daily Times. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\02\14\story_14-2-2011_pg1_2. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
- ^ Qureshi for friendly ties with India Hindustan Times, April 02, 2008
- ^ Seeking Funds, Pakistan Turns to 'Strong' Ally China by Shai Oster and Jason Leow, Wall Street Journal, October 15, 2008
- ^ "Pakistani press spins conspiracy theory about Kerry intern". Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/11/pakistani_press.html. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
- ^ "Pakistan to make decision on smaller cabinet today". February 4, 2011. http://www.dawn.com/2011/02/04/pakistan-to-make-decision-on-smaller-cabinet-today.html. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
- ^ "‘Qureshi was offered water & power ministry’". Dawn. Dawn. February 13, 2011. http://www.dawn.com/2011/02/13/qureshi-was-offered-water-power-ministry.html. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
External links
- Profile of Shah Mahmood Qureshi at Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Two-Minute Bio: Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Time Magazine
- Profile of Shah Mehmood Qureshi
Political offices Preceded by
Inam-ul-HaqMinister of Foreign Affairs
2008–2011Succeeded by
Hina Rabbani KharCategories:- 1956 births
- Forman Christian College alumni
- Living people
- Pakistan Peoples Party politicians
- Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf politicians
- Pakistani politicians
- People from Multan
- Seraiki people
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
