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Khurram Dastgir Khan elected MNA from Gujranwala

Friday, 11 April 2008 02:17

Khurram Dastgir Khan

Engr. Khurram Dastgir Khan of 29th Entry (Iqbal Wing) was elected recently to the National Assembly from NA-96 (Gujranwala) on a PML-N ticket. On 24 March 2008, he moved the first-ever bill of the 13th National Assembly when he submitted the "Oath of Office (Judges) Order (Repeal) Act".

Khurram continues the legacy of his father, Ghulam Dastgir Khan. Dastgir Senior won election to the National Assembly in 1977, 1990, 1993, and 1997; he also served twice in the federal cabinet as Minister for Labour, Manpower, and Overseas Pakistanis and later as Minister for Local Government and Rural Development.

Khurram was serving as Special Assistant to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the time of the army takeover in October 1999. While under military house arrest, he raised one of the first voices for democracy when he condemned the coup d'etat on BBC World Service Radio mere two days after Musharraf's imposed martial law. He contested unsuccessfully the 2002 general election on a PML-N ticket and was appointed Central Joint Secretary and ex-officio member of Central Working Committee of PML-N in April 2006. He is a member of PML-N's Policy Planning Committee that prepared the 2007 manifesto of the Party.

St. Joseph's High School in Gujranwala and Islamabad College for Boys educated Khurram before Hasan Abdal. Post-CCH, he was at Government College Lahore for a few months before joining UET's Electrical Engineering Department. He left UET to join Bowdoin College and California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the United States on a double-degree program. He graduated with an A.B. in Economics from Bowdoin and a B.Sc. in Engineering from Caltech.

After graduation, Khurram looked after the family business and assisted his father in the National Assembly. He served as Vice President of Punjab Squash Association during 1998-2002 and in Gujranwala has been active in management of District Red Crescent, Gujranwala Club, and Jinnah Memorial Library. He published a book Gujranwala: At the Dawn of a New Millennium in 1999 and since 2000 has been writing for opinion pages of major English-language dailies of Pakistan. Between 2002-2007, Khurram also reviewed books regularly for Dawn's Books and Authors.

Khurram Dastgir Khan is married and has been blessed with a daughter.

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