Nilofar Bakhtiar
Encyclopedia
Nilofar Bakhtiar (born 9 September 1957) is a public official in Pakistan
. She was Federal Minister for Tourism
in Prime Minister
Shaukat Aziz
's cabinet until a scandal forced her to resign. She remains a senator. Bakhtiar has worked toward improving women's social status, as well as working in areas of health and education.
She was born in Bannu
. The family has a background of social work and military service. Her father was retired from army as colonel while her two brothers retired from brigadier rank.Begum Ali Malik, Bakhtiar's mother, was a renowned social worker and was also the founder and chairperson of The National Committee for the Repatriation of POWs after the 1971 war. At that time Begum Ali Malik went all over the world and met with Heads of State, and politicians including the Pope in Italy. Nilofar got passionately involved in social work right from childhood.
. She received a Bachelor of Arts from the Punjab University
and a Masters in Public Administration from Carnegie Mellon University
.
in 1990. She headed PML election campaigns in 1990, 1993, and 1997.
Other organizations she heads or is a member of include: President of the Women's Wing of the Pakistan Muslim League in Rawalpindi, a member of the Central Working Committee since 1996. During Tehrik-e-Nijat, a government operation against anti-government protests, she was imprisoned.
She serves on the board of numerous educational and civic bodies.
Bakhtiar has served in the Senate of Pakistan
since March 2006.
urging that she be punished and fired from the government after some newspapers printed photographs of her hugging and kissing a male colleague after landing from a parachute jump in France
. The clerics stated that this was "an illegitimate and forbidden act, and that without any doubt, she has committed a great sin.
Bahktiar described the hug as a congratulatory pat after her parachute jump. "It was just a pat because he felt so proud of me, I did it for a good cause. I did not have any practice of parajumping. I thought it was brave on my part." The jump had been intended to raise money for victims of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake
.
On May 21, 2007, according to some sorces Nilofar Bakhtiar announced her resignation as Tourism Minister, over the parachute controversy. Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz
rejected this resignation but Bakhtiar insisted and quit. She planned to sue the clerics behind the fatwa.
Ms Bakhtiar complained of a campaign of intimidation against her, and had told a Senate Standing Committee that her life was under threat. Ms Bakhtiar said she was disappointed by her Cabinet colleagues who had failed to stand by her.
http://www.pakistanileaders.com.pk/profile/Nilofar_Bakhtiar
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. She was Federal Minister for Tourism
Ministry of Tourism (Pakistan)
The Ministry of Tourism was a federal government agency in Pakistan. The ministry has been abolished under Constitutional requirements in Pakistan on June 30, 2011.- External links :* *...
in Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
Shaukat Aziz
Shaukat Aziz
Shaukat Aziz is a world acclaimed Pakistani economist who was the 15th Prime Minister of Pakistan from May 20, 2004 to 15 November 2007 in a joint military government led by General Pervez Musharraf. A Citibank executive, Aziz returned to Pakistan from the United States to be became Finance...
's cabinet until a scandal forced her to resign. She remains a senator. Bakhtiar has worked toward improving women's social status, as well as working in areas of health and education.
She was born in Bannu
Bannu
Bannu is the principal city of the Bannu District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. It is an important road junction and market city. Bannu is a very old city, founded in ancient times; however, the present location of the downtown Bannu was founded by Sir Herbert Edwardes in 1848,...
. The family has a background of social work and military service. Her father was retired from army as colonel while her two brothers retired from brigadier rank.Begum Ali Malik, Bakhtiar's mother, was a renowned social worker and was also the founder and chairperson of The National Committee for the Repatriation of POWs after the 1971 war. At that time Begum Ali Malik went all over the world and met with Heads of State, and politicians including the Pope in Italy. Nilofar got passionately involved in social work right from childhood.
Education
For high school Bakhtiar attended Presentation Convent Girls High School in RawalpindiRawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
. She received a Bachelor of Arts from the Punjab University
University of the Punjab
University of the Punjab , colloquially known as Punjab University, is located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The University of the Punjab is the oldest and biggest University of Pakistan. The University of the Punjab was formally established with the convening of the first meeting of its...
and a Masters in Public Administration from Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
.
Politics
She joined Pakistan Muslim LeaguePakistan Muslim League
The Pakistan Muslim League was founded in 1962, as a successor to the previously disbanded Muslim League in Pakistan. Unlike the original PML which ended in 1958 when General Ayub Khan banned all political parties, each subsequent Muslim League was in some way propped by the military dictators of...
in 1990. She headed PML election campaigns in 1990, 1993, and 1997.
Other organizations she heads or is a member of include: President of the Women's Wing of the Pakistan Muslim League in Rawalpindi, a member of the Central Working Committee since 1996. During Tehrik-e-Nijat, a government operation against anti-government protests, she was imprisoned.
She serves on the board of numerous educational and civic bodies.
Bakhtiar has served in the Senate of Pakistan
Senate of Pakistan
The Senate of Pakistan is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan. Elections are held every three years for one half of the senate and each senator has a term of six years...
since March 2006.
Parachuting Controversy
In April 2007, Islamic clerics in Pakistan issued a fatwaFatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
urging that she be punished and fired from the government after some newspapers printed photographs of her hugging and kissing a male colleague after landing from a parachute jump in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The clerics stated that this was "an illegitimate and forbidden act, and that without any doubt, she has committed a great sin.
Bahktiar described the hug as a congratulatory pat after her parachute jump. "It was just a pat because he felt so proud of me, I did it for a good cause. I did not have any practice of parajumping. I thought it was brave on my part." The jump had been intended to raise money for victims of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake
2005 Kashmir earthquake
The 2005 Kashmir earthquake was a major earthquake centered in Pakistan-administered Kashmir known as Azad Kashmir, near the city of Muzaffarabad, affecting Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It occurred at 08:52:37 Pakistan Standard Time on 8 October 2005...
.
On May 21, 2007, according to some sorces Nilofar Bakhtiar announced her resignation as Tourism Minister, over the parachute controversy. Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz
Shaukat Aziz
Shaukat Aziz is a world acclaimed Pakistani economist who was the 15th Prime Minister of Pakistan from May 20, 2004 to 15 November 2007 in a joint military government led by General Pervez Musharraf. A Citibank executive, Aziz returned to Pakistan from the United States to be became Finance...
rejected this resignation but Bakhtiar insisted and quit. She planned to sue the clerics behind the fatwa.
Ms Bakhtiar complained of a campaign of intimidation against her, and had told a Senate Standing Committee that her life was under threat. Ms Bakhtiar said she was disappointed by her Cabinet colleagues who had failed to stand by her.
External links
http://www.pakistanileaders.com.pk/profile/Nilofar_Bakhtiar