Rana Iqbal Ahmad Khan (Urdu/Punjabi: رانا اقبال احمد خان) is a Pakistani lawyer and former politician who previously served as a provincial cabinet minister in the Punjab government.[1][2] A veteran member of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), he began his legal career in the mid-1960s and also entered politics at around the same time. He is a practicing advocate in the Supreme Court[2] and a member of the District Bar Association of Gujranwala.[3] More recently, he has been associated with Tahir-ul-Qadri and his Pakistan Awami Tehreek movement.[2]

Rana Iqbal Ahmad Khan
رانا اقبال احمد خان
Born
Alma materIslamia College
University of the Punjab
Occupation(s)Lawyer and politician
Political partyPakistan Peoples Party
Pakistan Awami Tehrik
ParentRana Khurshid Ahmad Khan (father)[1]

Background edit

Khan was born in the village of Talwandi in the Patiala State (now in eastern Punjab), in pre-partition British India. He belongs to a Rajput family and his father Rana Khurshid Ahmad Khan[3] was a zamindar (landlord).[1] Following the partition of India in 1947, his family migrated to Pakistan and settled in the village of Sanhara Geraya in Gujranwala District, Punjab.[1] He is a resident of Satellite Town, Gujranwala.[1][3]

Education edit

Khan matriculated from the Government High School in Gujranwala in 1957, following which he studied at the Islamia College in Lahore, graduating in 1961. He later pursued a Master of Arts degree in Persian at the Punjab University in 1963, and completed a Bachelor of Laws at the same university in 1965.[1]

Legal and political career edit

Khan began his legal practice in 1965 at the District Court of Gujranwala.[1][3] In 1968, he became an advocate in the Lahore High Court.[1] He entered politics at a young age as one of the grassroots members of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP),[1] establishing a working relationship with Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto[2] and playing a key role in organising the party's early democratic movement.[1] During his political career, Khan served as a chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party in Gujranwala District and also chaired the Gujranwala Kissan Committee (farmers' committee).[1] He also contested in elections on behalf of the PPP and became a member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab in December 1970.[1]

He later became a minister in the cabinet of the PPP-led provincial Government of Punjab, serving in various departments.[1] In recent times, Rana Iqbal has been affiliated with the Pakistan Awami Tehreek, led by the religious scholar and academic Tahir-ul-Qadri.[2] He is a member of the District Bar Association in Gujranwala and is now a senior advocate with the Supreme Court.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Khan, Tahawar Ali (1985). Biographical Encyclopedia of Pakistan. Biographical Research Institute, Pakistan for International Publishers (Pakistan) Limited. p. 34.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Ex-Minister of PPP Rana Iqbal Ahmad Khan Advocate joins Pakistan Awami Tehreek". Minhaj-ul-Quran. 30 November 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Member Profile – Rana Iqbal Ahmad Khan". District Bar Association Gujranwala. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
Political offices
Preceded by
Unknown
Cabinet minister in Government of Punjab Succeeded by
Unknown