Awais Leghari

Who is Awais Leghari?

Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, or Owais Leghari, is the former Federal Minister for Information Technology of the Government of Pakistan and is an important leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

He comes from a feudal political family of Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab. His family is a major land owner of the area and owns approximately 2,500 acres of land.

His father – Farooq Leghari – was a former President of Pakistan. His grandfather Muhammad Khan Leghari and great grandfather after whom he was named had both been ministers in the British government. Awais Leghari’s father was also the chief of the Leghari tribe. His father died in October 2010 after which Awais’ brother Jamal Leghari was crowned the 27th chief of the tribe.

Awais Leghari started his education at Aitchison College, Lahore. He passed Higher Senior Cambridge Examination in 1988. For higher studies he went to the University of Rochester in New York, USA. He graduated in 1994 with economics and political science as his majors.

Leghari entered politics in 1997 when he contested and won a provincial assembly seat from Rajanpur as an independent candidate. He joined the Millat Party soon after it was formed on August 14, 1998. After the Millat Party and the Sindh Democratic Alliance merged with the ruling PML-Q in May 2004 to form a united Pakistan Muslim League, Awais Leghari became one of the senior vice presidents of the newly constituted party.