Jahangir Tareen - a political heavyweight
Pakistan
Tareen began his political career with PML-Q when he was elected to NA in 2002
By Ahad Khan
Jahangir Khan Tareen was born on July 4, 1953 in Comilla, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) where his father served as a police officer.
He received his early education from Sadiq Public School, Bahawalpur, and later graduated from the FC College, Lahore. After that, he received his MBA degree from the University of North Carolina in 1974.
Lesser known facts:
1) Jahangir Tareen was a lecturer in the Department of Public Administration, University of the Punjab.
2) Jahangir Tareen worked as a banker in Grindlays Bank, Lahore for three years.
3) Jahangir Tareen owns the biggest sugar mill business of Pakistan by the name of JDW Sugar Mills.
4) He worked as chairman of the Punjab Task Force on Agriculture in 1997 on special request of then Punjab CM, Shehbaz Sharif.
5) He is paternal cousin of Shaukat Tareen, two-time finance minister of Pakistan.
Election 2024
The IPP chief would contest from NA-149 Multan where he is faced with a seemingly insurmountable barrier in the shape of PTI's Malik Amir Dogar.
And NA-155 is Tareen's home where PML-N leader Siddique Baloch is waiting in the wings to secure this seat.
Political Career:
Jahangir Tareen began his political career with the PML-Q after he was elected to the National Assembly in the 2002 general elections. He was a special adviser on agriculture and social sector initiatives to then CM Parvez Elahi.
He joined federal cabinet as Federal Minister for Industries and Production in 2004 and served till 2007.
Tareen was reelected to the National Assembly in the 2008 general election from NA-195 on PML-F ticket. He later developed differences with PML-F and resigned as MNA.
In November 2011, he joined the PTI. He was appointed general secretary of the PTI in 2013. He also contested the 2013 general elections from NA-154 Lodhran but was unsuccessful. He again became successful as MNA in December 2015 by-elections in NA-154 Lodhran.
In 2017, the apex court disqualified him for life under Article 62(1)(f) for false and dishonest financial declarations.
He was one of the closest aides to PM of PTI government during first two years. Later, differences emerged between him and the PTI government due to sugar inquiry report which led him to form a forward bloc named "Tareen Group".
This group supported Hamza Shehbaz in Punjab Assembly in 2022 by-elections.
In June 2023, he founded his own own party named Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP).
