Farooq Leghari

Farooq Leghari was a Pakistani politician, statesman and military general who served as the eighth president of Pakistan from 14 November 1993 until resigning on 2 December 1997. He was the first Baloch to be elected as President. Born into a feudal family of Punjab, he was educated at Aitchison College, the Forman Christian College in Pakistan, and St Catherine's College, Oxford in United Kingdom. Upon return from the UK, he sat for the Civil Services Exam in 1964 and started his career as a civil servant, prior to getting in to politics in 1973 and tenured as Senator representing the Punjab on the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) platform from 1975 to 1977. He contested the 1977 general elections and won the National Assembly seat on Pakistan People's Party ticket and was appointed Minister for Industries. In 1980s, he led demonstrations aimed against President Zia-ul-Haq's administration and successfully ran in general elections held in 1988. From 1990 to 1993, he worked under Benazir Bhutto as her deputy Leader of the Opposition and participated in the 1993 Pakistani general elections. His credential and reputation eventually led him to secure a nomination for the presidency by Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and was elected as President in 1993. However, he began receiving criticism over the controversial appointments of Senior Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and was implicated in Mehran Bank scandal. Differences began to emerge with Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on policy issues in 1995 and he surprisingly dismissed his leader's government in 1996. His political ambitions later clashed with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his intervention to retain Justice Sajjad Ali Shah as Chief Justice finally led to his resignation in 1997. He retired from public life and lived in his native town until his death in 2010 at the age of 70. He was considered a controversial figure in Pakistani history, as he was seen as a dictator who undermined democracy and the rule of law.