Babar Awan facts for kids

Supreme Court of Pakistan

Zaheer-ud-din Babar Awan is a well-known Pakistani politician and a senior lawyer. He has also worked as an author, analyst, and writer. He served as an Adviser to the Prime Minister for Parliamentary Affairs from April 2020 to April 2022. Before that, he was the Federal Law Minister. He was also a Senator for Punjab Province from 2012 to 2017. Later, he joined the PTI party.

Babar Awan often writes political articles for a major Urdu newspaper, Daily Jang. In his writings, he supports ideas like fairness and equal opportunities for everyone in society.

Early Life and Education

Babar Awan finished high school in 1971. He then went to the Punjab University to study subjects like history and literature. In 1975, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He continued his studies and received a Master of Science degree in Economics from the same university in 1978.

In 1980, Babar Awan moved to Karachi to study law at Karachi University. He earned his law degree (LLB) in 1986. After that, he started working as a lawyer at the Sindh High Court, mainly handling criminal cases.

Today, Babar Awan lives in Islamabad. His brother, Ghulam Farooq Awan, also worked in law and politics. He was an adviser to a former Prime Minister and also served as an additional Attorney General of Pakistan.

Political Journey

Starting in Politics

Babar Awan became interested in politics in the 1980s while studying law. He was active in the Peoples Students Federation, which is a youth group connected to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). In 1996, he officially became a member of the PPP.

He ran in the 1997 Pakistani general election but did not win. In 2002, he tried again in the Islamabad area during the general elections, but he was not successful. In 2004, Benazir Bhutto, a very important leader, made him the finance secretary for the Pakistan People's Party.

In 2006, Babar Awan was elected as a Senator without anyone running against him. He was with other important party leaders when Benazir Bhutto announced her return to Pakistan. He was also present during an attack on Benazir Bhutto in Karachi in 2007. Later, when Benazir Bhutto was killed in Rawalpindi, Babar Awan was the first person to tell the public about her death outside the hospital.

Working as a Minister (2008–2011)

After the general elections in 2008, Babar Awan became the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and the Law Minister in November 2008. This meant he was in charge of laws and how the government worked with the Parliament.

He stepped down from the Justice Ministry in 2011 but was asked to return very quickly. During this time, he was seen as a close helper to the President. He also briefly held the Ministry of Information Technology. In 2011, he resigned from his minister role to work on a famous court case. In May 2012, he was removed from all his party positions in the PPP.

Connecting with Other Parties

The PPP often used Babar Awan to talk with other political parties. He has strong support from his family and community. His elder brother was also involved with the Pakistan People's Party. Another one of his brothers works for the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in Punjab.

In 2011, Babar Awan helped the Pakistan Peoples Party negotiate with the Pakistan Muslim League. These talks led to an alliance that made the PPP government stronger in Parliament. He often spoke with Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, who was a leader of the PML-Q party. He also helped with discussions between the PPP and its partner, the MQM. His nephew, Shakeel Awan, is a member of the PML-N party and a former member of the Pakistan National Assembly.

Joining PTI

Even after leaving his party posts in the PPP, Babar Awan remained a member for five more years. In early 2013, he met Imran Khan, the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. This led to rumors that he might join PTI.

On June 21, 2017, Babar Awan announced that he would join PTI. He also stepped down from his position as a Senator at that time.

Other Work and Writings

Writing and Columns

In June 2012, Babar Awan said he was receiving threats and asked for security. In early 2013, he started using Twitter regularly to share his political views and connect with his supporters.

In 2011, Babar Awan published his first book, called Wakalat Nama. This book was a collection of his articles and columns that had appeared in Pakistani newspapers between 1997 and 2009. In November 2011, he published another book based on his arguments in a court case known as the Karachi Conspiracy case.

Television Work

Babar Awan has also worked in television for many years. He hosted an Islamic show on ATV and later appeared as an analyst on a show called Ikhtilafi Note on Neo TV.

Books by Babar Awan

• وکالت‌نامه / Vakālat Nāmah (Lawyers' diary), 2010. This book contains articles about Pakistan's politics and government.
• کراچى قتل عام : از خود نوٹس سپريم کورٹ آف پاکستان / Karācī qatl-i ʻām : az k̲h̲vud noṭis Suprīm Korṭ āf Pākistān (Karachi Massacre: Suo Moto Notice by the Supreme Court of Pakistan), 2011. This book is about his arguments in court regarding civilian killings in Karachi.
• رجیم چینج اور توہینِ ریاست ضیا، مشرف اور قمر باجوہ کے تنازعے / Regime Change aur Tauheen e Riasat : Zia, Musharraf aur Qamar Bajwa ke Tanazay (Regime Change and Insult to the State: The Controversies of Zia, Musharraf, and Qamar Bajwa), 2023.

See also

• Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan
• Lahore High Court Bar Association