Dr. Zaheer-ud-din Babar Awan,
born 27 January 1957 is the present Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs of Pakistan. He is also a senator in Pakistan's upper House of the Parliament, and a practicing lawyer and member of the Pakistan Peoples Party Central Executive Committee. Awan won the Senate election in 2006
Early life and education
Born in a village called Hothla near Kahuta (Rawalpindi), Awan belonged to a middle class landowning family. His father was active in his area's politics.
Political career
Awan was a student leader in his academic life. He first joined the PML-Junejo of former Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo. In 1996, he joined the Pakistan People's Party (PPP). In 1997, Awan contested for the General Elections from Murree from the PPP, and remained unsuccessful. He ran again in the 2002 elections, this time from Islamabad, but was defeated again. In 2004, Benazir Bhutto appointed Awan as the finance secretary of the Pakistan People's Party. In 2006, Awan contested for the Senate election and was elected unopposed. Awan was present during the 19 October attack on Benazir Bhutto in Karachi, and then when Benazir Bhutto was killed in Rawalpindi.
Awan was appointed the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs in November 2008. He was elevated as the Federal Law Minister in December 2009.
Popularity
Awan first came to limelight in 1990's when soon after the second Benazir government was ousted, several leading Pakistan Peoples Party figures were implicated in corruption cases by their then rivals Nawaz Sharif Government. Many of the PPP leaders used Babar Awan as their legal advocate. It was an uneasy time to side with PPP and several lawyers avoided protecting PPP leaders or civil servants associated with them. Being an eloquent speaker and possessing a good command of English language he is, perhaps, the best orator in the PPP top leadership. He is a criminal lawyer but he also deals with politically-inspired corruption, corporate and financial cases. Awan did nearly 10 cases of Asif Ali Zardari, and Benazir Bhutto, along with Aitzaz Ahsan and Farooq H. Naek. He was arrested by the Nawaz Sharif government and was pressurized to leave the cases. Awan was badly beaten in jail, some bruises are still visible on his back and legs. Awan's cousin was killed during a Pakistan People's Party's political rally. Thus Awan became more involved politically in the Pakistan People's Party. Benazir Bhutto was impressed by Awan after seeing him in court making his arguments, and offered him to run in the 1997 elections. Awan was a friend of Bhutto's brother, Murtaza Bhutto. Since 1998, Awan's political career has been rising. In 2007, he was present when Benazir Bhutto's return was announced in a press conference. He was the lawyer of Makhdoom Ameen Faheem in the 2007 Presidential Elections. He was the head of the Baluchistan Reconciliation Committee and was also a member of the constitutional committee on restoration of constitution and 18th Amendment.
Loyal PPP activist
Babar Awan was Benazir's speech writer and her negotiating link while she was in Dubai. She dubbed him as a younger brother. Awan has been arrested several time in Nawaz Sharif's reign and in Pervez Musharraf's reign. In November 2004, Awan was hit in the head by a gas shell. The scar is still prominent on his forehead. He was put under house arrest in 2007.
Links with other political parties
The Pakistan People's Party has used Awan for dialogue with other political parties. Awan is highly supported in his Awan tribe. His political base lies in his hometown. Awan's elder brother was also a worker of the Pakistan People's Party. His another brother is a worker of Muttahida Qaumi Movement Punjab. Awan is the uncle of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz leader Malik Shakeel Awan.[citation needed]
Controversies
Haris Steel case
In November 2009, National Accountability Bureau of Pakistan summoned Awan after he was accused for getting bribes from the owners of the Haris Steel Mill in order to get a favourable verdict from the court. Awan rejected this charge and said that the money that he had taken was not at all Rs. 3 million, instead it was his fee.
Fake Degree accusation
In November 2008, a news reporter released a story about Awan in which it was reported that he earned his PhD from Monticello University in the United States which actually was a diploma mill and was never accredited as a degree awarding institution. It was reported that Awan may have been one of the thousands of students fooled by the University in order to take millions of dollars. Thus, Higher Education Commission reached the conclusion that Awan could not be blamed as he has been fooled by the Monticello University, just like many other students. In his statement, Awan said he had taken his degree in 1997 while the university was declared a diploma mill in 2000, thus he could not be held responsible as he had no idea at the time that the university was a diploma mill.
Benazir Bhutto murder case
His name was highlighted in April 2010 after a United Nations investigation report into the murder of Benazir Bhutto. The Probe stated that Awan could not be blamed, due to lack of evidence.
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