Important Personalities

Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi

immiImran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born October 05, 1952) is a cricketer turned politician who sworn in as 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan in 2018. He is also the Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Before entering politics, Khan was an international cricketer and captain of the Pakistan National Cricket Team, which he led to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. He was Chancellor of the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom from 2005 to 2014.

Khan was born to a Pashtun family in Lahore in 1952, and graduated from Keble College, Oxford in 1975. He began his international cricket career at age 18, in 1971 Test Series against England.  Khan played until 1992, served as the team's captain intermittently between 1982 and 1992, and won the Cricket World Cup, in what is Pakistan's first and only victory in the competition. Considered one of cricket's greatest ever all-rounders, Khan registered 3,807 runs and took 362 wickets in Test Cricket and was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

In 1991, he launched a fundraising campaign to set up a cancer hospital in memory of his mother. He raised $25 million to set up a hospital in Lahore in 1994, and set up a second hospital in Peshawar in 2015. Khan then continued his philanthropic efforts, expanding the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital to also include a research center, and founded Namal College in 2008. Khan also served as the Chancellor of the University of Bradford between 2005 and 2014, and was the recipient of an honorary fellowship by the Royal College of Physicians in 2012.

Khan founded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in 1996, and serves as the party's chairman. By winning a seat in the National Assembly in 2002, he served as an opposition member from Mianwali until 2007. PTI boycotted the 2008 general election. In the subsequent election PTI became the second-largest party by popular vote. In regional politics, PTI led a coalition government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 2013, with Khan delegating this leadership to Mahmood Khan.

Maulana Abdul Sattar Khan Niazi

abdul sattar niaziHe was born on October 01, 1915 at Isa Khel in Mianwali District, Punjab, British India. After his school education, he gained religious education in Lahore. He obtained his Master's degree from Islamia College, Lahore in 1940, and later became its Dean of Islamic Studies. He held that post until 1947, after which he joined active politics.

Niazi vigorously participated in the political struggle for the creation of Pakistan and the Pakistan Movement, and became the President of the Punjab Muslim Students Federation in 1938. He then served in the position of the President of the Provincial (Punjab) Muslim League until the creation of Pakistan in 1947. He was considered among the trusted companions of both Allama Iqbal and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

He was arrested for a short period along with Abul Ala Maududi by the Pakistan Army for purportedly inciting the Lahore Riots of 1953 against the Ahmadiyya. Both Maulana Maududi and Maulana Abdul Sattar Niazi were then sentenced to death by a military court but later released.

Attaullah Khan Esakhelvi

attaullahAttaullah Khan Esakhelvi also known as ‘Lala’ (meaning "elder brother" in Pashto and Punjabi), is a Pakistani musician from Isa Khel, Mianwali, Punjab. This Mianwali-born vocalist with his swashbuckler moustache, kameez shalwar and shawl on one shoulder became the poster boy for traditional Pakistani music. He is considered as one of the most formidable classical folk singers to have emerged from South Asia.

The Government of Pakistan awarded him the Sitara-e-Imtiaz on 23 March 2019 and he also got the Pride of Performance Award in 1991.

In 2011, he appeared in Coke Studio (Season 4) and sang 3 songs including ‘Ni Oothaan Waale’, and ‘Pyaar Naal’. In September 2017, he appeared in Coke Studio (Season 10) second time and sang ‘Sab Maya’ with his traditional loving sound.

Misbah-ul-Haq

misbahMisbah-ul-Haq Khan Niazi (born May 28, 1974) is a former Pakistani cricket coach and former international cricketer. Misbah captained Pakistan in Test cricket and One Day Internationals (ODIs) and is former head coach and former chief selector of the Pakistan national team.

A late bloomer, Misbah-ul-haq was a middle-order batsman best known for his composure with the bat whilst also having the ability to be an aggressive big shot player when required. He scored the fastest fifty in Test Cricket and set a new record for the fastest Test Hundred and holds the record for most ODI runs in the career without a century. Misbah has an MBA degree in Human Resource Management from the University of Management and Technology to his credit.

After announcing retirement from limited overs cricket in 2015, Misbah continued to play Test Cricket for a few years. On April 04, 2017, he announced his retirement from all international cricket as well after the conclusion of West Indies tour on May 14, 2017.

Dr. Sher Afgan Niazi

sher afganDr. Sher Afgan Khan Niazi was a Pakistani politician who also served as Minister for Parliamentary Affairs of the country. He was elected for a fourth time to National Assembly in 2002 as a member of Pakistan Peoples Party (Parliamentarians), but later shifted his loyalty to PPPP (Patriot) and then joined the Pakistan Muslim League (Q). Sher Afgan Niazi helped President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf to oust, detain and then replace the judges of the Supreme Court in 2007 and also supported Musharraf regime's military operation at Lal Masjid, Islamabad. On February 18, 2008, he lost the general election to an independent candidate, Humair Hayat Khan Rokhri. On April 08, 2008, he was pelted with rotten eggs and attacked in Lahore, Punjab by the lawyers protesting against his support for dismissing of Supreme Court judges and Lal Masjid operation. That attack was strongly protested for days in his hometown. Niazi joined President Pervez Musharraf's newly formed political party, the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML). However, he later resigned from the party following differences with the leadership. 

Niazi was famous for memorizing all the articles of the Constitution of Pakistan. His health deteriorated slowly after one of his sons died in car accident in Rawalpindi, and he was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2012. He died, aged 66 having one of biggest funeral in the history of Mianwali.