Ahad Cheema | |
|---|---|
| Federal Minister of Economic Affairs | |
| Assumed office 11 March 2024 | |
| President | Asif Ali Zardari |
| Prime Minister | Shehbaz Sharif |
| Member of Senate of Pakistan | |
| Assumed office 4 April 2024 | |
| Advisor to PM in Establishment Division | |
| In office 10 August 2023 –26 December 2023 | |
| President | Arif Alvi |
| Prime Minister | Anwaar ul Haq Kakar |
| Army Chief | Qamar Javed Bajwa Asim Munir |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | PMLN (2023-present) |
Ahad Khan Cheema is a retired Pakistani bureaucrat who is the current Federal Minister of Economic Affairs,appointed on 11 March 2024. [1] [2] [3] Previously,he has served as a chief executive officer (CEO) of the Quaid-e-Azam Thermal Power Company and director-general of the Lahore Development Authority. [4] In 2018,the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested Cheema on charges related to irregularities in the Ashiana Housing Scheme project during his time as chairman of the LDA. [5] The investigation also involved former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad and Shehbaz Sharif. [5] Cheema was released on bail in 2021 after spending three years in jail and was acquitted of all charges by the NAB in 2023. [5] He took retirement from civil service in January 2023. [6]
Ahad Cheema was born into a Punjabi Jat family of the Cheema clan in Hafizabad,Punjab,Pakistan to an agricultural family. [4]
He studied Economic and Political Science at the University of the Punjab and later the London School of Economics. [7]
After completing his education,he joined Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) in 2001. [4] [6]
Cheema has served in executive positions as chief executive officer (CEO),director or board member of companies such as Pakistan Telecommunication Co. Ltd,Pak Arab Refinery Ltd and Quaid-e-Azam Thermal Power (Pvt) Ltd. [7]
In 2005,Cheema was selected by Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi to manage the Parah Likha Punjab project,a World Bank-supported initiative aimed at increasing literacy in Punjab. [4]
Cheema has been part of Shehbaz Sharif's ministry since 2008,when Sharif first became the Chief Minister of Punjab. [5] During Sharif's tenure as Chief Minister,Cheema served as the Deputy Commissioner of Lahore as well as the Director General of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA). [5]
In 2012,Cheema was chosen by the chief minister to oversee and monitor the Lahore Metro Bus System (MBS) project. [4] As the director general of the LDA from March 2012,Cheema completed the project in a record time of 11 months. [4] In recognition of his outstanding services in constructing the Lahore metro,he received the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz from the President of Pakistan. [4] Later,due to this project,he became known in bureaucratic circles as the "metro man". [4]
In 2023,Cheema was appointed as the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Establishment Division following Shehbaz Sharif's appointment as Prime Minister of Pakistan. [5] He continued to serve in this role during the caretaker government after Sharif's term ended in the Kakar caretaker ministry. [8] However,the Election Commission of Pakistan ordered the caretaker government to remove Cheema from the caretaker cabinet following a petition filed against him. [5] The President of Pakistan approved his removal in December 2023. [5]
On 11 March 2024,Cheema assumed the role of Federal Minister of Economic Affairs within the cabinet led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. [1] Notably,Cheema was appointed to the federal cabinet prior to being elected as a member of parliament. [9]
In 2018,the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested Cheema on charges related to irregularities in the Ashiana Housing Scheme project during his time as chairman of the LDA. [5] The investigation also involved former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad and Shehbaz Sharif. [5] Cheema was released on bail in 2021 after spending three years in jail and was acquitted of all charges by the NAB in 2023. [5] He took retirement from civil service in January 2023. [6]
On March 25,2024,Michael A. Thompson,the Australian principal of Aitchison College,resigned,citing interference by the Governor's House in college administration. Reports suggest his resignation was influenced by a dispute over fee waivers,involving Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman granting leave and a three-year fee waiver to the sons of Cheema. [10]
In June 2022,Cheema's wife,a civil servant,requested a fee waiver for their sons due to her transfer to Islamabad. She sought a leave of absence,but the principal denied the fee waiver,citing policy. Governor Rehman intervened on March 21,2024,granting the sons a leave of absence with a full fee waiver,sparking the principal's resignation and raising concerns about political interference in the college's administration. [10]