Riaz Hussain Pirzada

Riaz Hussain Pirzada (Urdu: ریاض حسین پیرزادہ; born 1 August 1948) is a Pakistani politician who currently holds the position of Federal Minister for Housing and Works. He has been serving as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since 29 February 2024. He has held previous terms in the National Assembly from August 2018 to August 2023 and from 1993 to May 2018. Additionally, he was a member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab from 1985 to 1988.

Riaz Hussain Pirzada
ریاض حسین پیرزادہ
Federal Minister of Housing and Works
In office 11 March 2024 – 25 October 2024
President	Asif Ali Zardari
Prime Minister	Shehbaz Sharif
Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
In office 29 February 2024 – 11 October 2024
Constituency	NA-164 Bahawalpur-I
In office 1 June 2013 – 31 May 2018
Constituency	NA-186 (Bahawalpur-IV)
In office 2008–2013
Constituency	NA-186 (Bahawalpur-IV)
In office 2002–2008
Constituency	NA-186 (Bahawalpur-IV)
In office 1993–1997
Constituency	NA-143 (Bahawalpur)
Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination
In office 4 August 2017 – 31 May 2018
President	Mamnoon Hussain
Prime Minister	Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
Succeeded by	Muhammad Azam Khan
In office 28 June 2013 – 28 April 2017
Minister of Federal Education and Professional Training
In office 30 July 2011 – June 2012
Prime Minister	Yousaf Raza Gillani
Federal Minister Without Portfolio
In office 1 July 2011 – 29 July 2011
Prime Minister	Yousaf Raza Gillani
Federal Minister for Health
In office May 2011 – June 2011
Prime Minister	Yousaf Raza Gillani
Federal Minister of Minorities
In office May 2011 – May 2011
Prime Minister	Yousaf Raza Gillani
Member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab
In office 1985–1988
Minister of Human Rights
In office 19 April 2022 – 10 August 2023
President	Arif Alvi
Prime Minister	Shehbaz Sharif
Personal details
Born	(1948-08-01) 1 August 1948 (age 76) Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur State, Pakistan
Political party	PMLN (2013-present)

Pirzada's political career includes roles in various ministerial positions. He served as the Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination in the Shahid Khaqan Abbasi cabinet from August 2017 to May 2018. Affiliated with the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), he previously held the position of Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination from 2013 to 2017. He also served as the Federal Minister for Minorities and Minister for Health in 2011, as well as the Minister for Professional and Technical Training from 2011 to 2012. Furthermore, he held the portfolio of Minister of Human Rights from 19 April 2022 to 9 August 2023 in the PDM government led by Shehbaz Sharif.

As of 11 March 2024, Riaz Pirzada is a Federal Minister of Housing and works in the coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.^[1]

Early life and education

Pirzada was born on 1 August 1948 in Sheikh Wahan, Bahawalpur.^[2][3] He received his LL.B Degree from University Law College, Lahore in 1969.^[4][3]

Political career

Pirzada was elected to the Provincial Assembly of Punjab in the 1985 Pakistani general election where he served until 1988. During his tenure as a member of the Punjab Assembly, he served as the Provincial Minister of Punjab.^[4]

He was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan as a candidate of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) from Constituency NA-143 (Bahawalpur) in the 1993 Pakistani general election^[5] where he served until 1997.^[6]

He was elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of the National Alliance from Constituency NA-186 (Bahawalpur-IV) in the 2002 Pakistani general election. He received 60,456 votes and defeated Syed Tasneem Nawaz Gardezi, a candidate of PML-Q.^[7]

He was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PML-Q from Constituency NA-186 (Bahawalpur-IV) in the 2008 Pakistani general election. He received 66,757 votes and defeated an independent candidate, Syed Tasneem Nawaz Gardezi.^[8] In May 2011, he was inducted into the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and was made Federal Minister of Minorities^[9] where he served in May 2011. In May 2011, he was made Federal Minister for Health where he served until June 2011. From 1 July to 29 July 2011, he remained in the federal cabinet without any ministerial portfolio. On 30 July 2011, he was made Minister of Federal Education and Professional Training where he served until June 2012.^[10]

He was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) from Constituency NA-186 (Bahawalpur-IV) in the 2013 Pakistani general election. He received 74,491 votes and defeated Tariq Bashir Cheema.^[11]

In June 2013, he was inducted into the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and was made Federal Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination.^[12][4] In 2017, he resigned from his post of Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination^[13] in protest^[14] alleging that there was interference in his ministry by the principal secretary of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.^[15]

He ceased to hold ministerial office in July 2017 when the federal cabinet was disbanded following the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after the Panama Papers case decision.^[16] Following the election of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as Prime Minister of Pakistan in August 2017, he was inducted into the federal cabinet of Abbasi.^[17][18] He was appointed as federal minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination.^[19][20] Upon the dissolution of the National Assembly on the expiration of its term on 31 May 2018, Pirzada ceased to hold office as Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination.^[21]

He was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PML-N from Constituency NA-171 (Bahawalpur-II) in the 2018 Pakistani general election.^[22] He defeated Naeem Ud Din Waraich of PTI.

In the 2024 Pakistan General Elections, Pirzada ran as a candidate representing the PMLN in the NA-164 Bahawalpur 1 constituency, securing victory with 123,360 votes.^[23]

References

1. "National Assembly of Pakistan". na.gov.pk. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
2. "Detail Information". 19 April 2014. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
3. "Profile". Sports Board. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
4. "Profile of Minister". 202.83.164.29. Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
5. "National Assembly members" (PDF). ECP. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
6. "Punjab Assembly". www.pap.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
7. "2002 election result" (PDF). ECP. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
8. "2008 election result" (PDF). ECP. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
9. "Thirteen PML-Q ministers allocated portfolios". DAWN.COM. 3 May 2011. Archived from the original on 21 August 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
10. "Federal Cabinet of Yousaf Raza Gillani" (PDF). Cabinet division. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
11. "2013 election result" (PDF). ECP. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
12. Wasim, Amir (28 June 2013). "Riaz Pirzada sworn in as federal minister". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
13. Guramani, Nadir (28 April 2017). "Minister of Inter-Provincial Coordination Riaz Pirzada resigns". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
14. "Minister for inter-provincial coordination resigns in protest against PSB DG's removal – The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 28 April 2017. Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
15. "Minister for Inter-Provincial Coord Riaz Pirzada resigns – Pakistan Observer". Pakistan Observer. 29 April 2017. Archived from the original on 29 April 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
16. "PM Nawaz Sharif steps down; federal cabinet stands dissolved". Daily Pakistan Global. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
17. "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.
18. "PM Khaqan Abbasi's 43-member cabinet takes oath today". Pakistan Today. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
19. Raza, Syed Irfan (5 August 2017). "PM Abbasi's bloated cabinet sworn in". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
20. "Bloated cabinet: Influential ministers with powerless underlings – The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 25 September 2017. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
21. "Notification" (PDF). Cabinet division. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 June 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
22. "PML-N candidate Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada wins NA-171 election". Associated Press Of Pakistan. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
23. "NA-164 Election Result 2024 Bahawalpur 1, Candidates List". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 2024-03-15.