• About Us
  • The TFT Story
  • Team
  • Write for TFT
  • Online advertisement tariff
  • Donate To Us
Monday, July 4, 2022
  • Home
  • Editorials
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Features
  • Spotlight
  • Videos
  • Citizens’ Voice
  • Lifestyle
  • Editor’s Picks
  • Good Times
  • More
    • About Us
    • Team
    • Write for TFT
    • The TFT Story
    • Donate To Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Editorials
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Features
  • Spotlight
  • Videos
  • Citizens’ Voice
  • Lifestyle
  • Editor’s Picks
  • Good Times
  • More
    • About Us
    • Team
    • Write for TFT
    • The TFT Story
    • Donate To Us
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home Features

Mir Balkh Sher Mazari: A Man For All Seasons

"The last survivor of Pakistan's second Constituent Assembly, his presence in our midst reminds us of the 1950s: a bygone age of federal parliamentary politics, marked by old-world values, courtesy and civility," writes Yusuf Zaman

Yusuf Zaman by Yusuf Zaman
January 10, 2022
in Features, Legacy
Mir Balkh Sher Mazari: A Man For All Seasons

Taking oath as caretaker Prime Minister, April 1993

163
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Today in 2022 we have amongst us a person who holds a unique set of political records. He is the last survivor of the second Constituent Assembly (1955-1958); one of the only two persons alive who were elected to the 1962 National Assembly (Ghulam Mustafa Khar is the other); along with Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, he is the only living prime minister from the previous century; and the only Baloch tribal chief to ever become prime minister of Pakistan.

All these distinctions belong to none other than the Tumandar (paramount chief) of the Baloch Mazari tribe, the veteran politician and former caretaker prime minister, Mir Balkh Sher Mazari.

Born in 1928 in Rojhan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Mir Balkh Sher assumed the de jure chieftainship of the Mazaris in 1933, upon the untimely death of his father, Mir Murad Khan Mazari. Since 1948, he has also exercised de facto control over the tribe, a remarkable feat of 74 years’ duration!

The Mazari chieftain’s long political career began in the early 1950s, with his election as the Finance Secretary of the Punjab Muslim League and as the Chairman of the Dera Ghazi Khan District Board. Over the next four decades, apart from his election to the Constituent Assembly in 1955, he has been elected an MNA on five occasions (1962, 1977, 1985, 1990 and 1993) and an MPA once (1970). Never has Mir Balkh Sher been defeated in any electoral contest: an achievement enjoyed by few, if any, major politicians in Pakistan’s history.

Some aspects of Mir Balkh Sher’s political innings are of particular interest. To begin with, he became the first person in Pakistan’s history to assume prime ministerial office without previously having held any ministerial/executive position or having served as the leader of a political party. Benazir Bhutto, too, had become prime minister in 1988 without previous governmental experience, but at least she had been the co-chairperson and the driving force of the PPP for many years before her election to the premiership. Mir Balkh Sher had no such experience to his credit.

Secondly, Mir Balkh Sher has the dubious distinction of serving as prime minister for the shortest period in Pakistan’s history. His planned 90-day tenure began on 18 April 1993, when he assumed the caretaker prime-ministership upon the dismissal of Mian Nawaz Sharif’s government by president Ghulam Ishaq Khan. However, his premiership abruptly ended after a mere 37 days, when the Supreme Court restored Nawaz Sharif to office on 26 May 1993.

It is worth mentioning that on 6 December 1971 the veteran Bengali leader Nur-ul-Amin was designated as prime minister by General Yahya Khan for the dying 14 days of his dictatorship. But since this was not a constitutional nomination, rather it was an irregular appointment under Martial Law, therefore Nur ul Amin’s brief “period in office” does not really count.

Another less than flattering distinction of Mir Balkh Sher’s career has been its lack of political constancy. In 1964, he supported Fatima Jinnah in her electoral contest with Ayub Khan, but after the latter emerged victorious, Mir Balkh Sher duly joined the king’s party, the Convention Muslim League, only to desert its ranks once Ayub Khan departed from the scene in 1969. Similarly, in 1970 he was elected an MPA as an independent candidate, one of the few politicians to withstand the PPP wave in the Punjab, but in 1974 he joined the PPP. Later, with remarkable prescience he saw the writing on the wall and he left the PPP a few months before the coup of 5 July.

Mir Balkh Sher has the dubious distinction of serving as prime minister for the shortest period in Pakistan’s history

From then onwards, Mir Balkh Sher has constantly aligned with the preferences of the establishment of the day. This is evidenced by his membership of General Zia’s Majlis-e-Shoora from 1981-1985, his election as an IJI MNA in 1990 and, above all, by his appointment as caretaker prime minister in 1993. A further case in point is the fact that in 2018 Mir Balkh Sher came out of nearly two decades of retirement from active politics to become the chairman of the Junoobi Punjab Sooba Mahaz, a political grouping that primarily comprised parliamentarians who broke from the PML-N when the party fell from the grace of the establishment.

Finally, no account of Mir Balkh Sher can be considered complete without a mention of his late younger brother, Sardar Sherbaz Mazari, who was one of the most principled and honourable politicians of Pakistan. Twice elected MNA (1970 & 1977) and serving as Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly from 1975-1977, Sardar Sherbaz throughout remained steadfast in his adherence to democracy, constitutionalism and the rule of law, even turning down General Zia’s offer to become prime minister in 1980.

Both brothers also jointly enjoy a truly singular distinction in the annals of Pakistani constitutional history. As a member of the second Constituent Assembly, Mir Balkh Sher was one of the signatories of the 1956 constitution of united Pakistan. And as a member of the 1970 National Assembly, Sardar Sherbaz was one of the signatories of the 1973 constitution of truncated Pakistan.

Mir Balkh Sher’s presence in our midst reminds us of the 1950s: a bygone age of federal parliamentary politics, marked by a significant degree of old-world values, courtesy and civility. Sadly, today’s parliamentary landscape is a far cry from that era!

 

The writer is a lawyer and a history aficionado

Also Read:

Rasheed Araeen’s Artworks: An Internal Dialogue Of Self-Reflection

As The First Muslim Judge In The US , Will Pakistani-American Zahid Quraishi challenge the toxic portrayals of Muslims?

Tags: constituentziaderaHistorymazarighaziassemblybhuttoayublawmartialkhanbalkhBalochistansherppptribesecondtumandarmir2ndyahya
Previous Post

Hot Air: Pakistani Public Discourse Is Loud But Lacks Vision

Next Post

‘Use Snow Spray, Eat Nuts’ Instead Of Going To Murree: Minister

Yusuf Zaman

Yusuf Zaman

The writer is a barrister with over twenty years of varied legal practice in Pakistan, UAE and Australia. He is currently an entrepreneur and the co-founder/operator of an online home-based confectionery business. The history and politics of Pakistan is his abiding passion. He can be reached at yzaman72@yahoo.com.au

Next Post
‘Use Snow Spray, Eat Nuts’ Instead Of Going To Murree: Minister

'Use Snow Spray, Eat Nuts' Instead Of Going To Murree: Minister

Comments 1

  1. alameen says:
    5 months ago

    I just came across to this mind blowing documentary which is about the war of 1971, if u are also a history lover watch this awesome teaser

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jw0B6IxTy4

Search

No Result
View All Result

Recent News

U-turn: PTI Deviates From Its Stance On Phone Tapping By Intelligence Agencies

U-turn: PTI Deviates From Its Stance On Phone Tapping By Intelligence Agencies

July 4, 2022
Actor Saad Qureshi Becomes Goodwill Ambassador for Pakistan Learning Festival

Actor Saad Qureshi Becomes Goodwill Ambassador for Pakistan Learning Festival

July 4, 2022
Rameez Raja Says His Life Is In Danger

Rameez Raja Says His Life Is In Danger

July 4, 2022

Twitter

Donate Us

Subscribe
The Friday Times – Naya Daur

News and views which are not fit to print.


The Friday Times is Pakistan’s first independent weekly, founded in 1989. In 2021, the publication went into collaboration with digital news platform Naya Daur Media to publish under a daily cycle.


Social Media

Latest News

  • All
  • News
  • Editorials
  • Features
  • Analysis
  • Lifestyle
U-turn: PTI Deviates From Its Stance On Phone Tapping By Intelligence Agencies

U-turn: PTI Deviates From Its Stance On Phone Tapping By Intelligence Agencies

by News Desk
July 4, 2022
0

Taking another U-turn, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has...

Actor Saad Qureshi Becomes Goodwill Ambassador for Pakistan Learning Festival

Actor Saad Qureshi Becomes Goodwill Ambassador for Pakistan Learning Festival

by Noor Akbar Chishti
July 4, 2022
0

The star of the hit television serial 'Benaam'...

Follow Us on Instagram

Follow

    The Instagram Access Token is expired, Go to the Customizer > JNews : Social, Like & View > Instagram Feed Setting, to refresh it.
  • About Us
  • The TFT Story
  • Team
  • Write for TFT
  • Online advertisement tariff
  • Donate To Us

© 2022 All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Editorials
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Features
  • Spotlight
  • Videos
  • Citizens’ Voice
  • Lifestyle
  • Editor’s Picks
  • Good Times
  • More
    • About Us
    • Team
    • Write for TFT
    • The TFT Story
    • Donate To Us

© 2022 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist