Bilal Ijaz
بلال اعجاز
Ijaz in 2016
Chairman of the Punjab Zakat and Ushr Council
In office
April 2019 – April 2022
GovernorChaudhry Mohammad Sarwar
Omer Sarfraz Cheema
Chief MinisterUsman Buzdar
Zakat and Ushr MinisterShoukat Ali Laleka[1]
Preceded byAkhtar Hassan[2]
Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
In office
16 November 2002 – 15 November 2007
Preceded byNew seat
Succeeded byMudassar Qayyum Nahra
ConstituencyNA-100 (Gujranwala-VI)
Personal details
Born
Chaudhry Bilal Ijaz

(1970-10-08) 8 October 1970
Gujranwala, Punjab, Pakistan
Political party PTI (2014-Present)
PML-Q (2002-2014)
PMLN (1997-2002)
Parent
  • Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmad (father)
RelativesChaudhry Shamshad Ahmad Khan (brother-in-law)
Alma materForman Christian College
OccupationPolitician

Chaudhry Bilal Ijaz (Urdu/Punjabi: چوہدری بلال اعجاز; born 8 October 1970) is a Pakistani politician who served as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2002 to 2007.[3] From 2019 to 2022, he served as chairman of the Punjab Zakat and Ushr Council under the government of the Punjab.[1]

Born in Gujranwala, Bilal Ijaz was elected to the National Assembly after successfully contesting in the 2002 general election as a Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q) candidate from constituency NA-100 (Gujranwala-VI).

He campaigned in the general elections of 2008 and 2013 as a PML-Q and independent candidate respectively, but was unsuccessful. In late 2014, Ijaz joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). He contested in the 2018 election from his constituency NA-84 but was defeated by Azhar Qayyum Nahra of the PML-N.

In 2019, he was appointed by the PTI-led Punjab government as chair of the provincial Zakat and Ushr Council, an office he held until 2022.

Early life and education

Bilal Ijaz was born on 8 October 1970 in Gujranwala, Punjab.[4][5] He hails from the tehsil of Nowshera Virkan in Gujranwala District and belongs to the Rajput community.[6] He graduated from the Forman Christian College in Lahore in 1997 and is an agriculturist by profession.[4]

Ijaz's father, Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmad, was also a politician who had been elected as an MNA first from constituency NA-103 (Sheikhupura) in 1985[7] and then thrice from his home constituency of NA-79 (Gujranwala-cum-Hafizabad) in 1988, 1993 and 1997.[6][8][9]

His brother-in-law, Chaudhry Shamshad Ahmad Khan, was a four-time MPA who twice served as a minister in the Punjab cabinet.[10]

Political career

Ijaz entered politics following his father's death.[9] His father was re-elected as an MNA of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) from NA-79 in the preceding 1997 general election, but died while in office.[7] Consequently, his vacant seat was occupied by PML-N candidate Chaudhry Ahmed Raza in the by-election.[7] In the 2002 general election, Ijaz contested for a National Assembly seat from his reconstituted local constituency, NA-100 (Gujranwala-VI; now part of NA-84), as a Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q) candidate. He was elected after receiving 73,107 votes and defeating Hamid Nasir Chattha, a PML-J candidate, by a margin of approximately 25,000 votes.[11][6][9] The PML-Q formed the federal government under the regime of Pervez Musharraf. During his tenure as MNA, Ijaz's areas of legislative interest included education and defence.[4] He was a member of the National Assembly's standing committees on Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth Affairs; Housing and Works; Minorities; and Planning and Development.[4] In addition, Ijaz also served as the Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Media Development, reporting to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.[5][4]

In the 2008 general election, Ijaz once again contested as a PML-Q candidate from NA-100. He received 53,285 votes and lost by a narrow margin to Mudassar Qayyum Nahra, an independent candidate who later joined the PML-N.[12][13] Ijaz left his party after the poll and began to tilt towards the PML-N.[6][14] In 2010, Mudassar Qayyum Nahra's membership was suspended and his seat in NA-100 fell vacant after Ijaz filed a petition in an election tribunal of the Lahore High Court, seeking Nahra's disqualification over a fake degree case. In the petition, Ijaz invoked Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution and argued that Nahra was ineligible to hold public office.[13][14][15] Ijaz did not contest in the by-election that followed; the seat was won by Chaudry Tussadiq Masud Khan, a PPP candidate who defeated Mudassar's brother and also the PML-N's designated candidate, Azhar Qayyum Nahra.[9][14][16]

In the lead-up to the 2013 general election, Ijaz was tipped as a strong candidate in NA-100 alongside his main political opponents, Azhar Qayyum Nahra of the PML-N and Chaudry Tussadiq Masud Khan of the PPP.[6][14] Nahra and Ijaz were both vying for candidacy on behalf of the PML-N in NA-100 and shared a competitive rivalry.[6][9] It was reported that much of the vote in this constituency was determined by clan-based allegiances.[6][17] Nahra enjoyed the support of his Jatt community, while Ijaz was backed by the Rajput community.[6][14] Furthermore, the two endorsed their political allies for the local Punjab Provincial Assembly constituencies of PP-101 and PP-102; Nahra backed Riaz Amanat Ali Virk and Chaudhry Rafaqat Hussain Gujjar for these seats, while Ijaz backed Khalid Parvez Virk and Irfan Bashir Gujjar respectively.[6][14] Ijaz's lobby, which called itself the ittihad ("unity") group, claimed to have enlisted the support of various other local clans and likeminded leaders such as Hamid Nasir Chattha.[6][14][9] However, the PML-N ultimately awarded its tickets in favour of Nahra's group. Subsequently, Ijaz contested as an independent candidate.[6][9] He received 70,318 votes and lost to Azhar Qayyum Nahra by around 20,000 votes.[18] In November 2014, Ijaz joined the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and served as a senior core member of the party.[19][20][21]

In the 2018 general election, he was fielded as the PTI's candidate for his newly-delimited electorate of NA-84.[22] Although the PTI won the election and was able to form both the federal and Punjab provincial governments, Ijaz was unsuccessful in his constituency.[23] He received 89,943 votes and lost to the PML-N's Azhar Qayyum Nahra by a margin of around 30,000 votes (for the 3rd time consecitively).[24] The result was noted to be consistent with the PML-N's overall electoral dominance in Gujranwala District.[25]

Political appointments

In April 2019, Ijaz was appointed as the chairman of the Punjab Zakat and Ushr Council by the provincial government of the Punjab.[1][26] His co-chair for the committee is the provincial Minister for Zakat and Ushr, Shoukat Ali Laleka.[1] His name came into contention for the post following a recommendation made by prime minister Imran Khan to the Punjab chief minister, Usman Buzdar.[26] The primary function of the Zakat and Ushr Council is to collect the revenues obtained in Punjab from the Islamic taxes levied in Pakistan, known as zakat and ushr, and disburse these funds for the purposes of human and social development.[27] In his role as chairman, Ijaz has officially coordinated and discharged these duties throughout the province.[28][29]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Our Punjab Zakat and Ushr Council". Zakat and Ushr Department – Government of the Punjab. 2020. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  2. ↑ "Our Provincial Council". Zakat and Ushr Department – Government of the Punjab. 2017. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  3. ↑ "Members of the National Assembly of Pakistan (16-11-2002 to 15-11-2007) – Party Based Election". National Assembly of Pakistan. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Chaudhry Bilal Ijaz". Pildat. Archived from the original on 13 July 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Chaudhry Bilal Ijaz". Pildat. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Zaman, Qamar (30 April 2013). "Constituency profile: An old rivalry reignites". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 "Members of the National Assembly (1972–1997)" (PDF). Election Commission of Pakistan. pp. 10, 13. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  8. ↑ "Constituency-Wise Detailed Results (1988–1997)" (PDF). Election Commission of Pakistan. p. 64. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "'Sleepless, restless' nominees go all out to woo public". The Nation. 8 May 2013. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  10. ↑ "Rana Shamshad Ahmad Khan". Provincial Assembly of the Punjab. 2021. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  11. ↑ "Constituency-Wise Detailed Results (2002)" (PDF). Election Commission of Pakistan. p. 29. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  12. ↑ Geo Election Cell. "Election 2008 – NA-100 – Gujranwala-VI". Geo News. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  13. 1 2 "Another 'N' MNA sent packing". The Nation. 22 June 2010. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Rajput to decide fate of Nowshera Virkan NA-100". Pakistan Today. 27 March 2013. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  15. ↑ "Bogus degree lands former MNA Nahra in jail". Dawn. 1 March 2014. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  16. ↑ "NA-100 Gujranwala By-Election 2010 Result". ElectionPakistani.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  17. ↑ Dastageer, Ghulam; Khan, Danyal Adam; Khan, Aurangzaib; Shah, Danial (10 July 2018). "The new old order: Elections in districts across Pakistan". Dawn. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  18. ↑ "Notification" (PDF). Election Commission of Pakistan. 5 June 2013. p. 34. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  19. ↑ "Many set to embrace PTI on 19th". Dawn. 13 November 2014. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  20. ↑ "Bilal Ejaz". Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. 2021. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  21. ↑ "Govt striving hard to provide relief to people: PM". Dawn. 13 February 2020. Archived from the original on 14 February 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  22. ↑ Hussain, Danish (25 June 2018). "PTI changes candidates for nine NA seats". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  23. ↑ "Pakistan election results live: Imran Khan wins in Pakistan but needs support to form government". Gulf News. 27 July 2018. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2021. NA-84: PML-N's Azhar Qayyum Nahara wins NA-84 Gujranwala 6 with 119,612 votes, against PTI's Chaudhry Bilal Ijaz who got 89,728 votes.
  24. ↑ "Detailed Gazette Notification of Returned Candidates of General Elections – 2018" (PDF). Election Commission of Pakistan. 2 October 2018. p. 22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 September 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  25. ↑ Wasil, Malik (27 July 2018). "PML-N repeats clean-sweep in Gujranwala, supporters celebrate". Daily Times. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  26. 1 2 Asif, Rizwan (14 April 2019). "PTI's internal rifts grow over Punjab appointments". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  27. ↑ "Overview". Zakat and Ushr Department – Government of the Punjab. 2020. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  28. ↑ Irfan, Muhammad (8 June 2021). "Punjab Zakat And Ushr Council approves grant of Rs 77.7 million for 188 madaris". UrduPoint. Archived from the original on 9 June 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  29. ↑ "Punjab Chairman Zakat and Ushr Council visits Sundas Foundation". The Nation. 23 October 2020. Archived from the original on 30 December 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
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