Ahmad Mukhtar

Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar was a prominent Pakistani politician and businessman who held high-ranking government positions. He served as the Defence Minister of Pakistan within the cabinet led by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani. As an industrialist, he also owned the Servis Group and founded Shalamar Hospital.

Early life and education

Mukhtar was born on 22 June 1946 in Lahore. He belonged to a Punjabi Gujjar family that had deep roots in the Gujrat region. His father, Chaudhry Muhammad Hussain, served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board between 1977 and 1978.

He completed his undergraduate studies at Forman Christian College University. To further his technical expertise, Mukhtar obtained a Diploma in Plastic Technology from West Germany. He later traveled to the United States to earn a Master of Science degree in Operational Management from California. Because of his international education, he was fluent in Urdu, Punjabi, English and German.

Career

Mukhtar began his political journey in 1990 while running on the Pakistan Peoples Party platform. He was a central leader for the PPP in the Gujrat District. During the 1993 elections, he defeated Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain in the NA-105 constituency of Gujrat. He repeated this victory against the PML-Q leader during the 2008 elections.

His business interests and political roles often overlapped throughout his life. He served as the Commerce Minister during the Benazir Bhutto government from 1993 to 1996. Following the 2008 elections, a coalition government consisting of the PPP, PML-N, ANP and JUI-F was formed on 31 March 2008. Mukhtar assumed the role of Defence Minister in this administration.

Before the announcement of the new Prime Minister, he was considered a top candidate for the premiership. He was mentioned alongside Ameen Faheem, Yousaf Raza Gillani and Shah Mehmood Qureshi for the position. However, the leadership chose Yousaf Raza Gillani on 22 March 2008. Mukhtar also took on the responsibility of serving as the chairman of PIA starting in May 2008.

Personal life

Family connections played a significant part in his professional circles. His brother, Ahmad Saeed, held leadership roles at PIA as the Managing Director from April 2001 and the Chairman from April 2003. These positions were held by Saeed until April 2005 during the era of General Pervez Musharraf.

Mukhtar was also related to the sporting community through marriage. He was the brother-in-law of Ijaz Butt, who served as the former chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board. Mukhtar passed away on 25 November 2020 at the age of 74 after a prolonged illness.