Malik Meraj Khalid

Malik Meraj Khalid
File:Malik Meraj Khalid.jpg
Prime Minister of Pakistan Acting
In office 5 November 1996 – 17 February 1997
President	Farooq Leghari
Preceded by	Benazir Bhutto
Succeeded by	Muhammad Nawaz Sharif
Speaker of the National Assembly
In office 3 December 1988 – 4 November 1990
Deputy	Ashraf Khatoon Abbasi
Preceded by	Hamid Nasir Chattha
Succeeded by	Gohar Ayub Khan
In office 27 March 1977 – 5 July 1977
Deputy	Abul Fateh
Preceded by	Sahibzada Farooq Ali
Succeeded by	Fakhar Imam
Law Minister of Pakistan
In office 13 November 1973 – 20 March 1977
Preceded by	Meraj Muhammad Khan
Succeeded by	Abdul Hafiz Pirzada
Chief Minister of Punjab
In office 2 May 1972 – 12 November 1973
Governor	Ghulam Mustafa Khar Hanif Ramay
Preceded by	Abdul Hamid Khan Dasti
Succeeded by	Ghulam Mustafa Khar
Personal details
Born	(1915-09-20)20 September 1915 Kot Radha Kishan, Punjab, British Raj (now in Punjab, Pakistan)
Died	Islamabad, Pakistan
Political party	Pakistan Peoples Party
Alma mater	Islamia College

Malik Meraj Khalid (Urdu: ملک معراج خالد‎; 20 September 1915– 13 June 2003), was a Pakistani left wing statesman and Marxist philosopher who served as the acting Prime Minister of Pakistan from November 1996 until February 1997. He was noted an being one of the original philosopher and founding personality of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

Born in 1916 to a poor farming family in Punjab, British India, he graduated from the Islamia Law College in 1942 to start his legal practices by establishing his own law firm in 1948. Inspired by the communist literature published in Soviet Union, his initial public community work was aimed towards promoting the literacy in his native village. In 1967, he helped founded the PPP and ascended towards holding the highly important public offices. Responsible for administrating and maintaining the control of Punjab Province after the war with India in 1971, Meraj was succeeded law minister in 1974 and the Speaker of the National Assembly in two non-consecutive terms.

However, his tough and rigorous Hard Left ideas led to developing political differences with Benazir Bhutto in the 1990s and was sacked by Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 1996 after levelling the accusations against Asif Zardari for the murder of Murtaza Bhutto. Disheartened by Benazir's decision, Meraj worked on to rallying the anti-Benazir Bhutto forces contributed to Nawaz Sharif and conservative's landslide 1997 victory in the parliamentary elections, but as prime minister Meraj continued to live his simple life and his Lahore home too remained as accessible as ever. In 2003, Meraj peacefully died in his resident in Lahore, and was buried with full state honour in a local cemetery.

Early life and career beginnings

Malik Meraj Khalid was born in Dera chahal, a small village near [Burki] Distt. Lahore, to a poor and farming family. His early life saw his family hardship and survival in the feudalism spectrum where his family grow corps for a local feudal lord who paid less than the minimum wage sat by the British Indian Empire government. However, Khalid did not abandoned the school, and despite the hardship, Khalid completed his high-school and later went onto work for feudal lord who agreed to finance his education.

He was educated at Islamia College, Lahore and gained LLB in 1944, followed by Associate degree in public works. In 1948 he began to practice law. For the first time he elected to the Provincial Assembly of West Pakistan in 1965. In 1968 he joined the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and was appointed President of Lahore chapter. It was on the PPP ticket that he was successfully re-elected to the National Assembly in 1970.

Statesmanship

Malik Meraj Khalid, famous for his gentleness and honesty was a favourite of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the flamboyant Prime Minister of Pakistan during the 1970s. It was him who played a major role in the political career of Meraj Khalid by first appointing him as his Minister for Food and Agriculture and Under-Developed Areas in December 1971. Afterwards he was appointed Chief of the Party's Parliamentary Affairs in November 1972, and Minister of Social Welfare, Local Government and Rural Development in 1975.

Member and Speaker of National Assembly

After the execution of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in April 1979, he was nominated member of the PPP's Central Committee but he eventually resigned from this position in January 1988. After once more successfully returning to the National Assembly in 1988, he was once again appointed as Speaker of the National Assembly in 1988. However, he lost the subsequent elections in 1990, and remained aloof from politics for sometime. During this period of solitude he kept on serving as the Rector of International Islamic University in Islamabad.

Interim Prime Minister

President Farooq Leghari, using the powers granted him by the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan, dismissed the government of Benazir Bhutto in November 1996, accusing it of corruption and politically motivated killings. Malik Meraj Khalid was asked to officiate the interim government before new elections.

Some people call him a great leader but in fact he was just an average level politician. He used and tried to use politicians against then opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in 1996.

External links

1. Chronicles Of Pakistan
2. A profile of Malik Meraj Khalid
3. Meraj Khalid passes away

Political offices
Preceded by Abdul Hamid Khan Dasti	Chief Minister of Punjab 1972–1973	Succeeded by Ghulam Mustafa Khar
Preceded by Sahibzada Farooq Ali	Speaker of National Assembly 1977	Succeeded by Fakhar Imam
Preceded by Hamid Nasir Chattha	Speaker of National Assembly 1988–1990	Succeeded by Gohar Ayub Khan
Preceded by Benazir Bhutto	Prime Minister of Pakistan Acting 1996–1997	Succeeded by Nawaz Sharif