Ijaz Ahmed Shah

Ijaz Ahmed Shah is a Pakistani politician, former officer of the Pakistan Army, and a former Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officer.[1] He was serving as the Federal Minister for Narcotics Control, was in office since 11 December 2020.[2] Previously, he served as the Federal Minister for interior from April 2019 to 11 December 2020 and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs from March 2019 to April 2019. He was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from August 2018 till July 2022.

Ijaz Ahmed Shah
Minister of Narcotics Control
In office
11 December 2020 – 10 April 2022
PresidentArif Alvi
Prime MinisterImran Khan
Preceded byAzam Khan Swati
Succeeded byShahzain Bugti
37th Minister for Interior
In office
18 April 2019 – 11 December 2020
PresidentArif Alvi
Prime MinisterImran Khan
Preceded byImran Khan
Succeeded bySheikh Rasheed Ahmad
Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
In office
13 August 2018 – 29 July 2022
ConstituencyNA-118 Nankana Sahib-II
Personal details
BornNankana Sahib, Pakistan
Nationality Pakistani
Political partyPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (since 2015)
NicknameBrig. Shah
Military service
AllegiancePakistan
Branch/service Pakistan Army
Years of service1966–2004
RankBrigadier
Unit15 Infantry Punjab Regiment and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)
CommandsDG Intelligence Bureau (DGIB)
Battles/warsIndo-Pakistani War of 1971

Political career

Shah has served as the Home Secretary of Punjab in 2002.[3] During his tenure, he was accused of the formation of the PML-Q and PPP-Patriots.[4][5]

In 2004, he was appointed as the Pakistani High Commissioner to Australia but was rejected by Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs.[4]

He ran for the seat of the National Assembly of Pakistan from NA-118 (Nankana Sahib-II) as an independent candidate in 2013 Pakistani general election, but was unsuccessful.[3]

He again ran for the seat of the National Assembly of Pakistan from NA-118 (Nankana Sahib-II) as an independent candidate, with support of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), in 2015 by-elections, but was again unsuccessful.[3] He lost to Shizra Mansab Ali Khan.

He was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan from NA-118 (Nankana Sahib-II) as a candidate of PTI in 2018 Pakistani general election.[3] He received 63,818 votes and defeated Shezra Mansab Ali of Pakistan Muslim League (N).[6]

In March 2019, he was made the Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs which he held till 16 April 2019.[7]

On 18 April 2019, in a cabinet reshuffle, he was sworn in as Federal Interior Minister of Pakistan, the post previously held by Shehryar Khan Afridi.[8]

Resignation

On April 10, 2022, because of the motion of no confidence, he resigned from the National Assembly on the orders of Imran Khan. The new government did not accept the resignations of many members for fear of deteriorating the number of members. However, accepting the resignations of eleven members on July 28, 2022, one of them was Ijaz Ahmed Shah. Later, by-elections were held again on his seat, Imran Khan made a surprising move to stand on his own in all the by-seats.[9]

Military career

Shah was a long-term close associate of President Pervez Musharraf,[1] and was Director of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Punjab during Musharraf's 1999 coup.[5] Musharraf appointed Shah as Director-General of Intelligence Bureau of Pakistan from 2004 to 2008.[10][11] Shah's tenure as the head of Intelligence Bureau was controversial with accusations of political victimisation and for undermining the judiciary.[12]

Alleged involvement in Benazir Bhutto's assassination plot

According to the PPP Senator Latif Khosa, days after the 2007 Karachi bombings, Benazir Bhutto in a letter to President Musharaf written on 16 October 2007 allegedly named Ijaz Shah as one of the four persons including the then chief minister of Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, the then chief minister of Sindh Arbab Ghulam Rahim, and the former ISI chief Hamid Gul she suspected were behind the attacks.[13]

Osama bin Laden compound

General Ziauddin Butt, former Director General of the ISI allegedly revealed in October 2011 that according to his knowledge Ijaz Shah, had kept Osama bin Laden in an Intelligence Bureau of Pakistan safe house in Abbottabad[14] but later denied making any such statement, after Shah announced filing a defamation suit against him.[15]

Family

His younger brothers, Pir Hassan Ahmad Shah, also called Papu Shah, and Pir Tariq Ahmed Shah, who was elected president of Nankana District Bar Association, both died in 2020, the former in July and the latter in August.[16]

References
  1. Profile of Saeed Sheikh Archived 6 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine, under 5 February 2002
  2. Syed, Baqir Sajjad (18 April 2019). "Profile: Ijaz Shah – Imran Khan's new Interior Minister". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  3. "Ex-spymaster makes it to PTI's Core Committee". The Nation. 7 March 2017.
  4. Syed, Baqir Sajjad (13 February 2019). "PM mulling Ijaz Shah's appointment as NSA". DAWN.COM.
  5. "Who is Ijaz Shah?". www.thenews.com.pk. 30 March 2019.
  6. "NA-118 Results - Election 2018 Results - - Candidates List - Constituency Details - Geo.tv". www.geo.tv.
  7. "Ijaz Shah appointed as federal minister for parliamentary affairs - Pakistan Today". www.pakistantoday.com.pk.
  8. Syed, Baqir Sajjad (18 April 2019). "Profile: Ijaz Shah – Imran Khan's new Interior Minister". DAWN.COM.
  9. "Resignations of 11 PTI MNAs accepted". The Express Tribune. 28 July 2022.
  10. "Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Candidate Ijaz Ahmed Shah Wins NA-118 Election - UrduPoint". UrduPoint. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  11. "Ijaz Shah new IB chief" Daily Times, 26 February 2004.
  12. Raza, Syed Irfan (18 March 2008). "Intelligence Bureau chief removed". Dawn Newspaper.
  13. Shakeel, Syed Faisal (30 December 2007). "PPP demands probe based on Benazir's letter". Dawn Newspaper.
  14. Jamal, Arif. "Former Pakistan Army Chief Reveals Intelligence Bureau Harbored Bin Laden in Abbottabad". Terrorism Monitor Journal. The JamesTown Foundation.
  15. Ashraf Javed (16 February 2012). "Ijaz Shah to sue Ziauddin Butt". The Nation. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  16. Wakeel, Nasir (24 August 2020). "Interior minister's brother Pir Tariq Ahmad Shah passes away". Aaj News. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
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