Ijaz-ul-Haq facts for kids

Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq (Urdu: محمد اعجاز الحق) was born on February 20, 1952. He is a well-known Pakistani politician. He currently serves as the president of the Pakistan Muslim League (Z) political party.

Ijaz-ul-Haq is the son of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, who was a military leader and former president of Pakistan. Ijaz-ul-Haq has held important government positions. He was the Minister for Religious Affairs and Minorities from 2004 to 2007. Before that, he was the Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis from 1990 to 1993.

He studied at Southern Illinois University in the United States. Before becoming a politician in 1988, he worked as a banker. He has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan several times, including his current term which started in February 2024.

Early Life and Education

Ijaz-ul-Haq was born in Peshawar, Pakistan, on February 20, 1952. His father was General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, and his mother was Shafiq Jahan.

He earned a master's degree in business administration. He got this degree from Southern Illinois University in the United States. Before entering politics, he worked as a banker for about ten years. He worked with Bank of America in Bahrain during this time.

Political Career

Ijaz-ul-Haq decided to enter politics in 1988. This was after his father passed away.

Joining the National Assembly

He was first elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan in 1990. He won from two areas: NA-39 Rawalpindi-IV and NA-72 Toba Tek Singh-II. He ran as a candidate for the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) party.

He was elected again to the National Assembly in 1993. This time, he represented NA-54 Rawalpindi-IV. He was a candidate for the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML(N)) party.

In 1997, he was re-elected for the third time from NA-54 Rawalpindi-IV. He continued to be a part of the PML(N) party. After this election, he became the Federal Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis. He served in this role until 1999.

Forming a New Party

Later, Ijaz-ul-Haq had some disagreements with Nawaz Sharif. Because of this, he decided to create his own political party. In 2002, he founded the Pakistan Muslim League (Z) (PML(Z)).

He was elected to the National Assembly for the fourth time in 2002. He won from NA-191 Bahawalnagar-IV as a PML(Z) candidate. After this election, he joined forces with the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML(Q)). He was then appointed as the Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Federal Minister for Minorities.

Recent Elections

In 2013, Ijaz-ul-Haq ran for two seats in the National Assembly. He won one seat, NA-191 Bahawalnagar-IV, as a PML(Z) candidate. He lost the other seat, NA-190 Bahawalnagar-III.

He ran again in the 2018 general election from NA-169 Bahawalnagar-IV. However, he did not win this election.

In 2023, there were discussions about his party, PML(Z), joining the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). However, he later clarified that the merger did not happen.

Most recently, he was re-elected to the National Assembly in the 2024 general election. He won from NA-163 Bahawalnagar-IV as a PML(Z) candidate.

Ijaz-ul-Haq has also written articles for different Urdu newspapers and publications. These include Daily Jang and Dunya News.