Awais Leghari

Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari (Urdu: اویس احمد خان لغاری; born 22 March 1971) is a Pakistani politician currently serving as the Federal Minister of Energy in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif since 18 March 2024.He served as Federal Minister for Railway but removed by Prime Minister on 18 March 2024. Previously, he held the position of Federal Minister for Power in the Abbasi cabinet from October 2017 to May 2018. Leghari has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2002 to 2007 and again from March 2011 to May 2018. He was elected from NA-186 Dera Gazi Khan 3 in the 2024 general elections and has been serving as a member of the National Assembly since 29 February 2024.

Awais Leghari
اویس احمد خان لغاری
Federal Minister for Energy
Incumbent
Assumed office 18 March 2024
President	Asif Ali Zardari
Prime Minister	Shehbaz Sharif
Preceded by	Khurram Dastgir Khan
Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
Incumbent
Assumed office 29 February 2024
Constituency	NA-186 Dera Ghazi Khan-III
Federal Minister for Power
In office 4 October 2017 – 31 May 2018
President	Mamnoon Hussain
Prime Minister	Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
Deputy	Abid Sher Ali (As Minister of State)
Federal Minister without portfolio
In office 4 August 2017 – 4 October 2017
Prime Minister	Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
Personal details
Born	(1971-03-22) March 22, 1971 (age 53) Lahore, Pakistan
Political party	Pakistan Muslim League (N) (2013-present)
Other political affiliations	PTI (2011-2013)[1] PML-Q (2004-2011) National Alliance (2002-2004) Millat Party (1997–2002)
Relations	Jamal Leghari (brother)[2]
Parent	Farooq Leghari (father)

Early life and education

He was born on 22 March 1971 in Lahore, Pakistan^[3][4] to former President of Pakistan, Farooq Leghari.^[5]

According to PILDAT, he was born on 1 August 1971.^[6]

He received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from University of Rochester in 1994.^[3]

Political career

He was elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as an independent candidate from Constituency PP-204 (Rajanpur-I) in 1997 Pakistani general election.^[7]

He was elected as the member of the National Assembly on a ticket of National Alliance (Pakistan) from NA-173 (D.G.Khan-III) in 2002 Pakistani general election.^[8][9] He served as Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications.^[5]

He ran for the seat of the National Assembly on a ticket of Pakistan Muslim League (Q) from NA-173 (D.G.Khan-III) in 2008 Pakistani general election but was unsuccessful.^[10][11][12]

He was elected as the member of the National Assembly from NA-172 (D.G.Khan-II) in by-election held in March 2011.^[13][14] The seat became vacant after his father Farooq Leghari died who won the seat in 2008 election.^[15][12]

He was elected as the member of the National Assembly as an independent candidate from NA-173 (D.G.Khan-III) in 2013 Pakistani general election.^{[12][16][17][18][19]} He joined Pakistan Muslim League (N) in May 2013.^[20]

Following the election of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as Prime Minister of Pakistan in August 2017, he was inducted into the federal cabinet of Abbasi.^[21][22] He was sworn in as Federal Minister without any portfolio on 4 August 2017.^[23]

He was offered the portfolio of ministry of science and technology but he refused to accept it.^[24] Reportedly, he demanded the portfolio of privatization.^[25] In October 2017, he was made Federal Minister for Power.^[26][27] Upon the dissolution of the National Assembly on the expiration of its term on 31 May 2018, Leghari ceased to hold the office as Federal Minister for Power.^[28]

He was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of PML-N from Constituency PP-292 (Dera Ghazi Khan-VIII) in by-election held on 14 October 2018.^[29]

He was re-elected to the National Assembly from NA-186 Dera Ghazi Khan-III as a candidate of PML(N) in the 2024 Pakistani general election. He received 100,252 votes and defeated Sajjad Hussain, an independent candidate supported by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), who received 97,990 votes.^[30][31]

References

1. https://tribune.com.pk/story/308778/jehangir-tareen-legharis-join-pti ^{[bare URL]}
2. "Fourth generation of Legharis in Punjab Assembly". The News. 7 June 2013.
3. "Legislators from RAJANPUR (PP-204 to PP-206)". pap.gov.pk. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
4. "If elections are held on time…". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
5. "DAWN - Features; November 26, 2002". DAWN.COM. 26 November 2002. Archived from the original on 9 April 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
6. "Detail Information". www.pildat.org. Archived from the original on 11 July 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
7. "Punjab Assembly election results" (PDF). ECP. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
8. "PPP re-emerges in southern Punjab". DAWN.COM. 12 October 2002. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
9. "Arithmetic of political families in national, provincial assemblies". DAWN.COM. 20 December 2002. Archived from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
10. "As Pakistan goes to polls: Take a peek at some major NA constituencies". DAWN.COM. 10 May 2013. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
11. "Legharis bury the hatchet". DAWN.COM. 9 February 2008. Archived from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
12. Khan, Iftikhar A. (5 August 2017). "A blend of old, new hands". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
13. "Awais Leghari leading in NA-172 by-polls". DAWN.COM. 29 March 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
14. "Awais Leghari wins NA-172 by-election". The Nation. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
15. "Traditional rivals face off". DAWN.COM. 2 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
16. "Kashmir envoys: diplomatic tactics or appeasement for reluctant allies?". DAWN.COM. 2 September 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
17. "43 newly elected legislators join PML-N". DAWN.COM. 23 May 2013. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
18. "PPP re-emerges in southern Punjab". DAWN.COM. 12 October 2002. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
19. "Leghari questions Khosa's candidature". DAWN.COM. 7 April 2013. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
20. "33 independent MPAs, 12 MNAs join PML-N". www.thenews.com.pk. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
21. "A 43-member new cabinet sworn in". Associated Press Of Pakistan. 4 August 2017. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
22. "PM Khaqan Abbasi's 43-member cabinet takes oath today". Pakistan Today. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
23. "Notification" (PDF). Cabinet division. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
24. Raza, Syed Irfan (10 August 2017). "Daniyal Aziz among four new ministers". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
25. Reporter, The Newspaper's Staff (18 August 2017). "Portfolios allocated to PM's advisers, special assistants". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
26. "Awais Leghari made Minister of Power Division". Business Recorder. 5 October 2017. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
27. "Cabinet Notification". Cabinbet Division. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
28. "Notification" (PDF). Cabinet division. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 June 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
29. "By-election 2018: Unofficial, partial results". Geo News. 14 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
30. "NA-186 Election Result 2024 Dera Gazi Khan 3, Candidates List". www.geo.tv. Geo TV. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
31. "NA-186 Election Result". Samaa. Retrieved 29 July 2024.