Background
Khawaja Muhammad Asif was born in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan, on 9 August 1949.
politician private sector banker
Khawaja Muhammad Asif was born in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan, on 9 August 1949.
London School of Economics.
A Pakistani politician, banker, and cabinet member, he also serves as the Minister for Water & Power. He is noted for initiating the privatization of the banking sector as well as his strong rhetoric against Pervez Musharraf. Asif also held a short-tenure in the Petroleum ministry in the Gillani cabinet.
He is of Kashmiri ancestry.
Career in politics
Asif was appointed chairman of the Privatization Commission in 1997. His tenure was terminated by General Pervez Musharraf after the Pakinstani self-coup in 1999.
On 12 October 1999, Asif was arrested, imprisoned, and tortured. Despite pressure from Pervez Musharraf to change allegiance, Asif remained loyal to PML(North) and continued to criticize of Pervez Musharraf.
From 2002 to 2007, Asif worked on the PML(North)"s programme"s public relations strategy.
In 2006, Asif criticised the role of the military. Responding to accusations leveled against him by the military, Asif made a statement that he would sacrifice his life for the military. In 2008, Asif again stood for the NA-110 constituent during the general elections.
From 2009 to 2012, he filed Public Interest Litigation against the corruption of the then Federal Government, including Rental Power Plants case and LPG quota case.
Minister of Water and Defence (from 2013)
According to polling data, Asif secured 92,848 votes, or 52.45%. On 7 June 2013, he was appointed to the Ministry of Water and Power
After the appointments of the joint chief committee were completed, Asif was appointed Defence Minister.
Upon becoming Defence Minister Asif tightened government investigations on Pervez Musharraf. Musharaff is now being tried for treason.
Dual nationality proceedings
A petition admitted by the Supreme Court"s registrar stated that Asif holds dual nationality, and hence, according to Pakistan"s constitution, he is not eligible to hold public office in Pakistan.
On 4 June 2012 the FIA and the Supreme Court of Pakistan began an investigation pursuing inquiries of Asif"s dual nationality charges. The court did not find him guilty of the charges petitioned against him. The petitioner who leveled the charges withdrew the accusations and issued a formal apology.
A senior parliamentarian from the Pakistan Muslim League, his electoral career started in the Pakistan Senate in 1991. He drew widespread criticism both from Musharraf as well as supporters of the military in national politics. He was briefly appointed as the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources, with another leadership position in sports, before his party pulled out of the Pakistan Peoples Party-led coalition government in 2008.
In 2002, he again defended the NA-110 constituency in the 2002 general elections. In 2013 Asif defended the NA-110 constituency in the general elections against Usman Dar of the PTI and Firdous Ashiq Awan of the PPP.
The petition also included names of 13 other current members of National and Provincial assemblies in Pakistan.