Mr Zardari received his primary education at Karachi Grammar School and secondary education at Cadet College Petaro.

He pursued his further education in London where he studied Business.

He was married to Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in 1987 and was widowed on December 27, 2007 when Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a terrorist attack in Rawalpindi.

Butto was PPP Chairperson from 1979 until her assassination and was twice elected Prime Minister of Pakistan of Pakistan. They have three children, Bilawal, born in 1988, Bakhtawar, born in 1990 and Aseefa, born in 1993.

Mr Zardari served as a Member of the National Assembly twice (1990-93 and 1993-96), as Federal Minister for the Environment (1993-1996) and as Federal Minister for Investment (1995-96).

He was the principal architect of the Benazir Bhutto government’s efforts to transform Pakistan’s energy power sector by encouraging major investment opportunities in power generation. He was also the initiator of the Iran-Pakistan natural gas pipeline project.

Mr Zardari was elected Senator in 1997 and served in that capacity until the dissolution of the Senate following the military coup of 1999.

He was elected Co-Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party in January 2008 following the assassination of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

Mr. Zardari’s political career spans two decades spent working closely with Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. During this period he helped formulate policies that expanded the freedom of the media, revolutionized telecommunications and opened Pakistan for foreign direct investment.

During Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s first term in office CNN and BBC were allowed broadcasting rights in Pakistan and mobile telephone services introduced at Mr Zardari’s initiative. During her second term in office, in addition to the independent power producers (IPPs) being allowed in, Mr Zardari encouraged the introduction of FM radio in the private sector.

Mr Zardari was targeted by anti-democratic forces for vilification and persecution and bore the hardship with fortitude. He spent eleven and a half years in prison in conditions often unacceptable by human rights standards, without any charge ever being proven against him. He won election as MNA and as senator while in prison.

Despite many offers from the government of the time to leave Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) or to go abroad under a negotiated political exit, he remained committed to Party goals and continued his fight for justice and the return of a democratically elected civilian leadership.

Mr. Zardari was asked by the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Pakistan Peoples Party to serve as Chairman of the Party after the assassination of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

Although he was elected unopposed, he nominated his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for that role and instead accepted the job of Co-Chairman of the PPP.

After Ms. Bhutto’s death he has remained in the frontlines of shaping a national consensus at the federal level on the politics of reconciliation initiated by Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

Under Mr. Zardari’s leadership of the Party, the PPP’s candidate for Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani was elected Prime Minister of Pakistan unopposed. This was a singular and unprecedented event in Pakistan’s political history.

Mr. Zardari also spearheaded the appointment of Dr. Fehmida Mirza as the first female Speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly, and continues to support the empowerment of women and minorities in all government policy making.

Today, the PPP government has coalition governments in all of Pakistan’s four provinces.

Most recently the PPP, under Mr. Zardari’s leadership, removed General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, the unconstitutional President of Pakistan, from office in a historic move, through a series of complex negotiations and political diplomacy. Mr. Zardari united Pakistan’s major political parties and this unprecedented act was accomplished without any violence.

Mr. Zardari was elected President of Pakistan with an overwhelming majority in the presidential election held on September 6, 2008

She currently writes columns for The Daily Beast, New Statesman and other publications.

She came to fame after the appearance of her first book, a collection of poems, titled Whispers of the Desert. She received notable coverage for her second book, 8:50 a.m. 8 October 2005.Fatima is the granddaughter of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and niece of Benazir Bhutto, from whom she was estranged. She is active in Pakistan's socio-political arena, but has no desire to run for political office.

Achievments:
MPA (Sindh Assembly) 1993-1996.
MNA (Member National Assembly) 1997-1999.
Senator (Sindh) 2003-

In 1980, Ansar Burney began the "Ansar Burney Welfare Trust", "Prisoners Aid Society", and "Bureau of Missing and Kidnapped Persons" in Karachi. Ansar Burney is accredited as being the first man to introduce the concept of human rights in Pakistan nearly 30 years ago

He took the oath of office from President Pervez Musharraf on 25 March 2008. Gilani is the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan from the Saraiki-speaking belt.

Syed Zaid Zaman Hamid is a self-styled Pakistani security consultant and defence analyst.He hosts his own dedicated program on the News One channel, "BrassTacks with Zaid Hamid" named after BrassTacks, a Pakistani "think tank" he created, which is devoted to the study of regional and global political events and their implications for Pakistan's security and interests. Hamid is frequently invited to speak on private television networks in Pakistan as a defence and political analyst.

Early life

Early in his youth Hamid volunteered to participate in the Afghan war (a mujahid). His active participation in the war spans six years.[

It was during this time where Hamid claims to have met and befriended Ahmad Shah Masoud.

Hamid eventually completed his degree in Electronics Engineering from NED University of Engineering & Technology in Karachi. He was also a student of world history, economics, Islamic philosophy, Quran and Sunnah.

After the war Hamid started a career as a security professional covering subjects like electronic security solutions, security systems design, and training of security personnel.

After a stint as area head of Security Alarms Systems Division of a security company, he launched his own private consulting company in the late 1990s, called BrassTacks Security. The company specializes in corporate security systems design, security systems audit and security intelligence reporting.

He has authored dozens of published articles and handbooks on various defence and security related issues

BrassTacks

Hamid started the independent think tank "Brasstacks". The organization claims to create awareness among the Pakistani people on issues of national security.

Because Pakistan lacked the technical base to for a nuclear program, Khan reportedly began to clandestinely acquire the necessary materials and components required for the production of fissile material using information pertaining to URENCO's key suppliers, which he had also taken with him from the Netherlands. Theses were used to provide Pakistan with needed equipment. Indeed, according to a Dutch government report, two Dutch firms were involved in the 1976 export of 6,200 unfinished maraging steel rotor tubes to Pakistan. A dual track approach was reportedly used for Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program, however, with Khan’s program being the reportedly inferior one, as far as size, power and efficiency characteristics were concerned. Pakistan’s Atomic Energy Commission ran the other track. There have however been a number of allegations regarding Pakistan’s nuclear weapon that its origins may lie with China, as Pakistan’s bombs closely mirror Chinese designs from the late 1960’s, and which relied on advanced, implosion-based detonation.

A.Q. Khan initially worked under Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), headed by Munir Ahmad Khan, for a short period. But the pair fell out, and in July 1976, Bhutto gave A.Q. Khan autonomous control of the uranium enrichment project, reporting directly to the prime minister's office, which arrangement has continued since. A.Q. Khan founded the Engineering Research Laboratories (ERL) on 31 July 1976, with the exclusive task of indigenous development of Uranium Enrichment Plant. Within the next five years the target would be achieved.

On 01 May 1981, ERL was renamed by Gen. Mohammad Zia ul-Haq as Dr. A.Q. Khan Research Laboratories (KRL). It was enrichment of Uranium in KRL that ultimately led to the successful detonation of Pakistan's first nuclear device on 28 May 1998.

During the 1990s, there were intermittent clues from intelligence that AQ Khan was discussing the sale of nuclear technology to countries of concern. By early 2000, intelligence revealed that these were not isolated incidents. It became clear that Khan was at the centre of an international proliferation network. By April 2000, the UK Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) was noting that there was an evolving, and as yet incomplete, picture of the supply of uranium enrichment equipment to at least one customer in the Middle East, thought to be Libya, and evidence linking this activity to Khan.

A.Q. Khan's official career came to an abrupt end in March 2001, when he was suddenly was forced out as director of the nuclear lab by order of President Pervez Musharraf. Though Kahn was made a special adviser to the government, the reason for his dismissal reportedly coincided with concerns about financial improprieties at the lab as well as general warnings from the United States to the Musharraf about Khan’s proliferation activities. Musharraf's restraint in dealing with A.Q. Khan has been said to have resulted from the lack of incontrovertible evidence of proliferation activities. Nonetheless, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, in an article which appeared in the Financial Times on 01 June 2001, expressed concern that, "people who were employed by the nuclear agency and have retired" may be assisting North Korea with its nuclear program.

The change in position for A.Q. Khan did not necessarily end proliferation concerns. Indeed, while in Pakistan in October 2003, a US delegation led by Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage reportedly briefed Gen. Musharraf on A.Q. Khan activities. Gen. Abizaid, then head of US Central Command, repotedly conducted similar concerns to Pakistani political and military leaders.

With the international inspections of Iran's nuclear operations and the October 2003 interception of a ship headed for Libya and carrying centrifuge parts, Pakistan began seriously investigating A.Q. Khan. The United Nation's International Atomic Energy Agency in November 2003 itself warned Pakistan of possible nuclear leaks. After two months of investigations, in late January 2004 Pakistani officials concluded that two of the country's most senior nuclear scientists had black market contacts that supplied sensitive technology to Iran and Libya. Pakistani intelligence officials said the scientists - A.Q. Khan and Mohammed Farooq - provided the help both directly and through a black market based in the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai. Dr. Khan and Dr. Farooq were longtime colleagues at A.Q. Khan Research Laboratories. President Musharraf acknowledged that some scientists may have acted for their own personal gain, but he denied any government involvement and pledged harsh punishment for any person implicated in the scandal.

The lack of of strict oversight over Pakistan's nuclear weapons program has been blamed with a brigadier general in charge of security for Dr. Khan's top-secret laboratory never having reported anything. Doubts remain, however, about the lack of governmental approval/supervision of A.Q. Kahn's proliferation activities; some of which were conspicuously advertised. Indeed, one of A.Q. Khan Research Laboratories' sales brochure promoted the sale of components derived from Pakistan's nuclear weapons program and critical to the making of centrifuges. The Pakistani government istelf published in 2000 an advertisement regarding procedures to be followed for the exports of nuclear material according to a Congressional Research Service report dated May 2003. Moreover, Khan and colleagues of his had published numerous scientific papers internationally on the making and testing of uranium centrifuges, including one dated from 1991 which detailed the methodology to be followed in ecthing grooves on the bottom of a centrifuge to aid the flow of lubricants and thus aid in the centrifuge's spinning speed.

Some questions have been raised over the idea that even someone as prominent as Khan could have delivered such sensitive material without approval from higher authorities, and that at the very least the leadership of Pakistan's military and intelligence establishment must have sanctioned the transfers. The extent of previous Pakistani civilian governments' involvement is unclear, even if the military knew and approved the transfers. This is partly a result of the distrust by the army of civilian politicians. Such was the case with former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.

Many Pakistanis have felt that President Pervez Musharraf succumbed to US pressure in moving against A.Q. Khan, the latter's stature as a national hero. However, given the scope of the problem and the fact taht the three intended recipients of nuclear transfers are on the list of countries the United States is most anxious to keep away from weapons of mass destruction, Musharraf may not have had a choice other than act on A.Q. Khan. Still, the government of Pakistan is likely not to be eager to give the United States any more information than it has to as to the whereabouts and/or security arrangements of its nuclear arsenal.

In his startling televised confession Wednesday, Abdul Qadeer Khan insisted he acted without authorization in selling nuclear technology to other governments. A.Q. Khan admitted selling nuclear technology to Iran, Libya, and North Korea. A.Q. Khan asked for clemency, but the Pakistani government made no public announcement about whether he is to be prosecuted. The confessed proliferation took place between 1989 and 2000, though it is suspected that proliferation activities to North Korea continued after that date. The network used to supply these activities is global in scope, stretching from Germany to Dubai and from China to South Asia, and involves numerous middlemen and suppliers.

Dr. Fehmida Mirza is the first women Speaker of the National assembly of Pakistan. She was elected on March 19, 2008 as 19th Speaker of the National assembly. She has the distinction of being the 1st women Speaker in the Muslim World.

Dr. Fehmida Mirza has been elected to the Pakistani Parliament in three consecutive terms in 1997, 2002 and 2008 as MNA from Badin NA-225 Sindh. She won the February 18, 2008 election with huge margin of over 70,000 votes. She had been a Member of the National assembly Standing Committees on Population Welfare and Women Development, Health, Social Welfare and Special Education, Commerce and Industries.

Born on December 20, 1956, Dr. Mirza did her MBBS from Liaqat Medical College Jamshoro Sindh, Pakistan, in 1982 and completed house job in gynecology and pediatrics. She remained in the Medical Profession from 1983 to 1989.

Dr. Fehmida Mirza has intrinsic inclination for philanthropic and humanitarian work. She arranged relief and rehabilitation for the affectees of the devastating cyclone and floods in Sindh Province during the years 1999 and 2003 and provided medical treatment, rations, clothing and other essential items for the displaced people out of her personal resources.

In view of the high prevalence of Thalecimia Disease in the District of Badin, Dr. Fehmida Mirza established Thalecimia Centre with assistance of District Government in year 2005. This center is presently providing free medical treatment and blood transfusion services to the people of Badin and its adjoining areas.

Dr. Fehmida Mirza also arranged various free ENT, Cardiac, ophthalmological, chest, nephrological and neurological camps in District Badin. She also arranged vaccination and immunization drives against hepatitis, cholera etc. with the assistance of civil society and NGOs. She played had provided clean potable water to many villages in District Badin on her own expenses. Dr. Fehmida Mirza supports and grants financial assistance to the poor and deserving students of the area. She also pays the dowry expenses of the poor marrying couples.

Dr. Fehmida Mirza is a senior Pakistani politician and parliamentarian. She contested election on the platform of Pakistan Peoples Party. She was Secretary Information (PPP) Sindh. She has traveled to USA, UK, Canada, Switzerland, France, Turkey, Saudi arabia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. She likes reading.

Dr. Fehmida Mirza's belongs to a political family. Her father, Qazi abdul Majeed abid was a seasoned politician who held different ministerial portfolios in Federal and Provincial (Sindh) cabinets from 1982 to 1990 including Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Food and agriculture, Education, Water and Power and Provincial Minister for Communication. Her Uncle, Qazi Mohammad akbar was also a long serving Provincial Minister in Sindh.

Born in 1953 in the province of Sindh and educated at Harvard and Oxford, Bhutto gained credibility from her father's high profile, even though she was initially a reluctant convert to politics.
On December 18, 1987 she married Asif Ali Zardari in Karachi. The couple had three children: Bilawal, Bakhtwar, and Aseefa.

She has twice been Prime Minister of Pakistan, from 1988 to 1990, and from 1993 to 1996. On both occasions she was dismissed from office by the Presidents for alleged corruption.

Benazir Bhutto's father, former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was dismissed as Prime Minister in 1975, on charges of corruption. Later, in a 1977 trial on charges of conspiracy to murder the father of dissident politician Ahmed Raza Kasuri, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was sentenced to death.

Bhutto, who had returned to Pakistan after completing her studies, found herself placed under house arrest and spent most of her five-year jail term in solitary confinement in the wake of her father's imprisonment and subsequent execution. During stints out of prison for medical treatment, Bhutto set up Pakistan People's Party office in London in exile and began a campaign against General Zia-ul-Haq.
She had succeeded her mother Nusrat as leader of the Pakistan People's Party and the pro-democracy opposition to the Zia-ul-Haq regime.

She returned to Pakistan in 1986, attracting huge crowds to political rallies. After Gen Zia died in an explosion on board his aircraft in 1988, she became one of the first democratically elected female prime ministers in an Islamic country.

Young and glamorous, she successfully portrayed herself as a refreshing contrast to the overwhelmingly male-dominated political establishment in Indian subcontinent. At the height of her popularity - shortly after her first election - she was one of the most high-profile women leaders in the world.

Bhutto's government was dismissed in 1990 following charges of corruption, for which she never was tried. Zia's protégé Nawaz Sharif subsequently came to power. Bhutto was re-elected in 1993, but was dismissed three years later amid various corruption scandals by then President Farooq Leghari, who used the Eighth Amendment discretionary powers to dissolve the government. The Supreme Court upheld President Leghari's dismissal by a 6-1 ruling. In 2006, Interpol issued a request for her arrest and that of her husband.

Corruption charges

After her second fall from power, her name came to be seen by some as synonymous with corruption and bad governance. During both her stints in power, the role of her husband, Asif Zardari, proved highly controversial.

Zardari played a prominent role in both her administrations, and has been accused by various Pakistani governments of stealing millions of dollars from state coffers.

It is argued that Bhutto's downfall was accelerated by the alleged greed of her husband.

Bhutto has also steadfastly denied all the corruption charges against her, which she says are politically motivated. Until an amnesty in October 2007, she faced corruption charges in at least five cases, all without a conviction.

During her years outside Pakistan, Bhutto lived with her three children in Dubai, where she was joined by her husband after he was freed in 2004.
Her second coming

Bhutto returned to Pakistan on October 18 after President Musharraf signed into law an ordinance granting her and others an amnesty from corruption charges. It was observed that the US had prevailed on the military regime to accept her as an ally in its efforts to isolate religious forces and their surrogate militants.

Some in Pakistan believe her recent secret talks with the military regime amount to betrayal of the democratic forces as these talks have shored up President Musharraf's grip on the country.
Bhutto legacy no more
Benazir Bhutto was the last remaining bearer of her late father's political legacy. Her brother, Murtaza - who was once expected to play an increasingly important role as a party leader - fled to the then-Communist Afghanistan after his father's fall.

From there, and various Middle Eastern capitals, he mounted a campaign against Pakistan's military government with a militant group called al-Zulfikar.

He won elections from exile in 1993 and became a provincial legislator, returning home soon afterwards, only to be shot dead under mysterious circumstances in 1996.

Benazir's other brother, Shahnawaz - also politically active but in less violent ways than Murtaza - was found dead in his French Riviera apartment in 1985.

While at University, Imran Khan was also the captain of the Oxford University cricket team in 1974. He and his mother, Shaukat Khanum, come from a cricketing family – the Burkis, with two of his cousins, Javed Burki and Majid Khan, also having played Test cricket for Pakistan.

He is the finest cricketer Pakistan has ever produced, who is among the finest all-rounders and greatest fast bowlers the game has ever seen. He played Test cricket for Pakistan between 1971 and 1992, and was captain of the national team when they won their maiden World Cup in 1992.

After retiring from cricket, Imran Khan founded the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre in Lahore.

In 1997, he started a socio-political movement known as the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice). The main focus of his party is to bring justice to the people of Pakistan, largely via an independent judiciary. The party has Islamic overtones and is inspired partly by Imran Khan’s renewed commitment to Islam.

As a politician, his vision is to turn Pakistan into a just society, based on humane values, by creating an independent and honest judiciary that will uphold democracy, protect human rights and ensure the rule of law and, by promoting a merit based system that provides equal opportunity for upward social mobility to the working classes. His political ideal is the famous poet-philosopher, Allama Dr Muhammad Iqbal.

Talking to Daily Telegraph of England about his political goal, Imran Khan said: “I want Pakistan to be a welfare state and a genuine democracy with a rule of law and an independent judiciary. We need decentralisation, empowering people at the grassroots.”

He became a Member of Parliament for Mianwali in the October 2002 elections. He is very critical of the judicial system in Pakistan, which he says prevents accountability for the elite class. Initially he supported 1999 military coup of General Pervez Musharraf but late came in to the forefront against General Musharraf.

In 2005, as leader of his party Imran led a protest rally against the US-led coalition for allegedly desecrating the Holy Quran and made statements denouncing the Musharraf-Bush coalition. During the visit of US President George W Bush to Pakistan in 2006, he was the only politician to attempt to hold a rally against Bush. The rally was stopped and Imran Khan was detained by the police.

Imran Khan is also a special representative of Unicef and Chancellor of Bradford University. His honours include Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence) in 1993 by the Pakistani government; Honorary Fellow of Keble College, Oxford and Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1983.

In 1995 he married Jemima Khan, the daughter of the late British billionaire Sir James Goldsmith. Jemima Khan embraced Islam before she married Khan. They announced their divorce on June 22, 2004. They have two sons named Suleman Khan (born on November 10, 1999) and Qasim Khan. He is alleged to have a daughter out of wedlock with Sita White, daughter of Lord Gordy White, a few years before he married Jemima Goldsmith. A US judge ruled him to be the father of Tyrian White after he failed to appear for a DNA test.

Although there are little achievements to credit of Imran Khan in the political arena, there is a long list of his achievements in the sport of cricket. He has the third highest best-ever bowling rating of 922 (1983) in Test cricket history behind S F Barnes’s 932 (1914) and G A Lohmann’s 931 (1896).

Imran Khan is pioneer of the art of reverse swing. He was one of the fastest bowlers ever to grace the game. Michael Holding, the great West Indian fast bowler and commentator, when asked in an interview with Cricinfo who the best bowlers he came up against were, said: “In my time, it was Dennis Lillee and Imran Khan. They had pace and they could do things with the ball. You had others who got a lot of wickets, but you wouldn’t say that they were fast. Imran … could intimidate people out with his pace and also get them with movement, especially into the right-hander.”

In the cricket world, Imran Khan is renowned for is leadership skills as a captain. Under his captaincy, Pakistan won the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Under his captaincy Pakistan drew three series with West Indies at a time when everybody else was being whitewashed by West Indies. He always led from the front and five of six Test hundreds and 14 of his 18 fifties came in 48 Tests as captain. His average during that time was 52.34, higher than the averages of Ian Chappell, Clive Lloyd, Steve Waugh, Gavaskar and Javed Miandad. Imran averaged 20.26 with the ball and four of his six 10-wicket hauls came as captain.

As a captain, he transformed the Pakistan team, previously known for its exceptional talent but lack of coherence into a well-moulded unit. He played his last Test match for Pakistan in January 1992 against Sri Lanka at Faisalabad and last ODI being the World Cup final against England at Melbourne in March 1992 resulting in the World Cup glory and triumph for Pakistan.

In 2000, Wisden organised a panel to vote for Wisden Cricketers of the Century who were judged to be the most prominent players of the 20th century, as selected by a 100-member panel of cricket experts appointed by Wisden Cricketers’ Almanac in 2000. In order of votes, the Wisden Cricketers of the Century, Imran Khan was number 10 on the list.

Along with Garfield Sobers, Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Richard Hadlee, he achieved the ‘All-rounder’s triple’ (3000 runs and 300 wickets) in 75 Tests, the second fewest behind Botham’s 72, though statistically and qualitatively Imran Khan is superior to Botham in every aspect of the game except perhaps slip catching. He was one of the fastest bowlers of the world during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and in the later half of his career, one of the best batsmen in the Pakistan cricket team. He has the second highest average of all time for a Test batsman batting at number 6.

In April 2007, Imran Khan was voted as the greatest all-rounder in a readers’ poll by Cricinfo. He received 37 per cent of the votes, beating Sir Garfield Sobers who was second with 14 per cent out of the 20 all-rounders Cricinfo had selected. Incidentally Cricinfo panel chose Sobers as the greatest all-rounder independent of the poll. According to the panel, Imran Khan was Sobers’ closest rival amongst the quartet of great all-rounders (Imran, Botham, Hadlee, Kapil).

After retiring from cricket, Imran Khan founded the state-of-the-art Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Lahore on December 29, 1994. One of the leading institutions for free cancer treatment in the world, it is an international standard institution and is free for poor people. The World Health Organisation awarded the United Arab Emirates Foundation Prize for 2004 to Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital. He is building another cancer hospital in Karachi.

Imran Khan is also the Chairman of the Mianwali Development Trust, which is building the Namal College in Mianwali as an associate college of Bradford University. The first phase of the college buildings has been completed.

Imran Khan, perhaps first Pakistani, is the Chancellor of the University of Bradford since December 7, 2005. He said the fifth Chancellor of the university and is also a patron of the Born in Bradford research project.

After imposition of the state of emergency by General Musharraf on November 3, 2007, Imran Khan was put under house arrest but his succeeded in slipping away. However, he was arrested from the University of Punjab campus in Lahore a few days later with help of the Islami Jamiat-e-Talba, student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. On November 19, 2007, he let out the word through his party members and family that he had begun a hunger strike. He was one of the 3,000 political prisoners released from imprisonment on November 21, 2007.

In 1976 and 1980, Imran Khan was awarded the Cricket Society Wetherall Award. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2004 Asian Jewel Awards in London, UK.

Asfandyar Wali Khan has served as Member of Provincial Assembly, Member of National Assembly, and Senator in Pakistan's Parliament. In the recent 2008 elections he has been elected as ember of National Assembly member from NA-7 Charsadda-I with 56,950 votes, which is 72.77% of the total vote.

He served as leader of the Pakhtun Student Federation prior to being elected to the Provincial Assembly in the 1990 election, while in the 1993 election he was elected to Pakistan's National Assembly - a seat to which he was re-elected to in the 1997 election. He was defeated in the 2002 election, when tactical alliance was formed by all the anti-ANP groups against him. After Asfandyar Wali’s defeat he resigned as President of his party, only to be re-elected unopposed in the subsequent party election. In 2003 he was elected to the Senate as Senator for a six year term.

The Government’s operation in South Waziristan makes him feel real bad. He firmly believes that Al-Qaeda is not, by any means, a product of the Pukhtoon society. It's a foreign element. What is strange about this operation is that those who offered shelter have been arrested, and those who took refuge remain elusive. He believes that it’s better to see who is responsible for bringing them here. They come from countries ranging from Morocco to Indonesia. Who harbored them for so long? All this must have certain consequences. He feels that allowing someone else to use your land has its implications. That is why; Pakistan today is facing those political and geographical consequences. He feels that when Pakistan brought these aliens here and looked after them for so long, we had in fact invited trouble.

Asfandyar Wali Khan believes that “As you sow, so shall you reap”. He detests the false notion of the tribal areas being all bad. He says that all the Al-Qaeda leaders have been apprehended from Faisalabad and Karachi. The whole region has been affected. This is not about the tribal areas alone.

Ever since its inception, the ANP has always had a representation in the National Assembly and the Senate of Pakistan. ANP has never called for a separate homeland. What it has asked for is more provincial autonomy, which is within the restraints and provisions of the federal constitution of Pakistan.

Asfandyar Wali urges the world community that they should take on board the Pukhtoons if they desired peace and stability in the region. Terrorists are killing journalists, religious scholars, tribal elders, doctors, engineers and common citizens, but the movement of Baacha Khan was against terrorism; this feeling makes Asfandyar Wali proud of his grandfather whose legacy he is carrying forward. He is for the Pakhtun cause; and wants the world to respect and regard Pakhtuns as a respectable entity.

Nevertheless, the establishment feels that Asfandyar Wali and the ANP are probably not contributing their bit towards the true national cause; for in the establishment’s opinion ANP is potentially capable of reversing the Talibanization trend in the tribal areas. Even if the establishment’s viewpoint is true, it is the handling of any situation that matters. Anything mishandled is in fact ruined. The problem at hand can only be solved if the establishment acts sensibly enough to recognize the high stakes involved, such as the growing influence of religious extremists in the region and the increasing number of suicide attacks within Pakistan itself.

Asfandyar Wali has a rightful claim when he tries to make the establishment realize that ‘Pakhtuns’ are something to be owned up, as dearly as the people of any other province. He and his party – ‘The Awami National Party’ have an ideology that they hold dear, and it gives them a sense of belonging to what they are.

Born in Lahore in 1950, Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif is younger brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Shahbaz Sharif, who graduated with distinction from Lahore, is a keen businessman and played a vital role in success of the Ittefaq Group of Companies, which was founded by his father and uncles. He was elected as president of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 1985.

He was elected to the Punjab Assembly in 1988 elections and National Assembly in 1990. He was again elected to the Punjab Assembly in 1993 and was named leader of the opposition in the house when Manzoor Wattoo was the chief minister of Punjab.

After his election to the Punjab Assembly for the third time in 1997 elections, Shahbaz Sharif was elected leader of the house and sworn in as the chief minister of Punjab on February 20, 1997. He held the office till October 12, 1999 when the military under staged a coup under General Pervez Musharraf and toppled the government of his brother. He was arrested from the Prime Minister in Islamabad along with his brother.

As the chief executive of the Punjab province, he was known as a strict disciplinarian. During his tenure, he tried to eliminate the culture of bureaucratic hurdles in the uplift process and focused on health, education, agriculture and industrial sectors. He launched a successful operation against ghost schools by involving army. He also took action against use of illegal means in examinations across the province. The entry test and self-finance systems in medical colleges were introduced during his tenure as the Punjab chief minister. He never compromised on quality of work in development sector and several projects in Lahore are a proof of his commitment in this regard. Even his opponents described as the best administrator the Punjab ever has.

Exiled to Saudi Arabia along with the whole Sharif family on December 20, 2000, he was elected unopposed as president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on August 3, 2002. He spent two years in Saudi Arabia and then moved to the United States for medical treatment and instead of returning to Jeddah, where his family was staying, he went to London. He attempted to come back to Pakistan on May 11, 2004 but was again deported to Saudi Arabia within a few hours. He was re-elected as PML-N president for second term on August 2, 2006. He was once considered a strong future candidate for office of the prime minister of Pakistan.

He represented Pakistan at various international forums including the United Nations, where his views and speaking powers were appreciated. His keynote speech at the International Labour Conference held in Geneva in 1981 was praised by the worker associations, activists and democratic people around the world.

He returned to Pakistan along with other family members on November 25, 2007 and landed at the Allama Iqbal Airport in Lahore.

Shahbaz Sharif’s first marriage with his cousin Begum Nusrat Shahbaz was contracted in 1973 with the approval of his father Mian Muhammad Sharif. The couple has two sons, Hamza Shahbaz and Salman Shahbaz, and three daughters. His second marriage was with Aaliya Honey in 1993-94. At that time he was living in London. They have one daughter, Khadija. He contracted his third marriage with Tehmina Durrani. This is the third marriage of both Shahbaz Sharif and Tehmina Durrani.

Nawab Raisani followed his father footsteps late Nawab Ghaus Bakhsh Raisani, who was Governor of Balochistan and federal minister. He got his early education from Quetta. He obtained MA degree in Political Science from University of Balochistan. After finishing his education, he was appointed as D.S.P in the Police Force of Balochistan. After his father's assasination, he became chief of Sarawan and Raisani tribe. Nawab Raisani was member of Member of Provincial Assembly of Balochistan Assembly in 1988, 1990, 1993 and 2002. He joined Pakistan Peoples Party in 1994. In 2002, he opposed a tribal jirga under the Khan of Kalat that the provincial government had arranged, saying he would not back a process of the military government.[3] He has been a supporter of Balochistan autonomy[4]. Nawab Raisani was trying negotiation with other political to form a coalition government in Balochistan. On 6 April 2008, political analysis’s declared that in his opposition is only Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind is standing and he is excepted to win in majority to become Chief Minister of Balochistan. On 9th April 2008, he was announced 13th Chief Minister of Balochistan. He took oath from Governor of Balochistan Zulfikar Ali Magsi.

is the Jam of Lasbela and is the former Chief Minister of Balochistan province.
Lasbela is a political bastion of the Jams, ex-rulers of the former princely state of the same name. Jam Ghulam Qadir Khan, the Last ruler of the former state, had twice served as the chief minister of Balochistan. Mir Ghulam Qadir Jam’s son, Jam Mohammad Yousaf, a PMLQ leader, has also been the provincial chief minister. Jam Yousaf has also served as federal minister. Apart from one instance, the Jams have been consistently winning provincial assembly and federal parliament seats.

Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was born in Lahore on December 25, 1949. He is the eldest son of Muhammad Sharif, a joint owner of the Ittefaq Group of Industries.

Nawaz Sharif got his schooling from Saint Anthony's High School. After graduating from Government College Lahore, he obtained his Law Degree from the Punjab University.

Nawaz Sharif remained a member of the Punjab Provincial Council for some time. He joined the Punjab Cabinet as Finance Minister in 1981. He was able to raise the allocation of funds for the development of rural areas to 70 percent of the Annual Development Program in the Province. He also held the portfolio of Sports and was able to reorganize the sports activities in the Province.

In the general elections of 1985, Nawaz Sharif won with an overwhelming majority, both in the National and Provincial Assemblies. On April 9, 1985, he was sworn-in as Chief Minister of Punjab. On May 31, 1988, he was appointed caretaker Chief Minister, after the dismissal of Assemblies by General Zia. Nawaz Sharif was again elected as Chief Minister after the 1988 general elections. A massive uplift of Murree and Kahuta was undertaken during his term as Chief Minister of Punjab.

On November 6, 1990, Nawaz Sharif was sworn-in as Prime Minister of the country, after his alliance, I. J. I. won the October 1990 elections. However, Nawaz Sharif could not complete his term of five years, and was dismissed by the President in April 1993. He was reinstated by the superior Judiciary, but had to resign along with the President in July 1993.

During his tenure as the Prime Minister, efforts were made to strengthen the industries with the help of private sector. Projects like Ghazi Brotha and Gawadar Miniport were initiated. Land was distributed among landless peasants in Sindh. Relations with the Central Asian Muslim Republics were strengthened and E. C. O. was given a boost. In an attempt to end the Afghan crisis, the "Islamabad Accord" was reached between various Afghan factions. His most important contribution was economic progress despite American sanctions on Pakistan through the Pressler Amendment.

Pakistan Muslim League again won the elections held in February 1997, and Mian Nawaz Sharif was re-elected as Prime Minister with an overwhelming majority.

Taking advantage of his absolute majority in the National Assembly, he added a landmark in the constitutional history of Pakistan by repealing the controversial Eighth Amendment. This Thirteenth Constitutional Amendment stripped the President of his powers, under Article 52(b) of the Eighth Amendment, to dismiss the Prime Minister and dissolve the National Assembly. He added another milestone to the Constitution when his Parliament adopted the anti-defection Fourteenth Amendment Bill. His development venture of the Lahore-Islamabad motorway has also been appreciated by a segment of the society, while others have criticized it for being an extravagance for a developing country.

On October 12, 1999, the civilian Government headed by Nawaz Sharif was overthrown by a military coup.

Security is tight around Pervez Musharraf. For cutting his links with the Taleban, he has new friends in the west, but new enemies nearer home. The tension between his country and India never fully abates, and native extremists have made their displeasure felt in no uncertain terms with their treatment of American journalist Daniel Pearl.

Personal danger

For the Pakistani president, an awareness of personal danger is nothing new. Born in India to Muslim parents, young Pervez was three years old at the time of the Partition in 1947. When his family moved to a Karachi ghetto, they fled on the last safe train out of New Delhi.

The middle son of a diplomat, short, stocky Pervez was not the brightest of his family, but enjoyed personal glory in school athletics. Fellow soldiers later noted that "there wasn't a game he couldn't play", and he even triumphed in body building competitions.

Although Musharraf is Pakistan's first leader to be a Muslim refugee, more typically, he enjoyed a rite of military passage. During his country's 1965 war against India, he was noted for sticking to his post under shellfire. By the 1971 war, Musharraf was a respected "risk taker and inspiring leader" to his commandos in battle.

Military leader

He led the armed forces for both Benazir Bhutto and later Nawaz Sharif, but it was Sharif who caused Musharraf's "reluctant" seizure of power in 1999.

Following Musharraf's withdrawal of Pakistani troops from Kargil in Kashmir, he was on a flight home from Sri Lanka. He claims that Sharif ordered his dismissal and the plane's diversion into the hands of Musharraf's enemies.

From the cockpit, Musharraf assembled his military forces. He was filmed at Karachi airport, dressed in combat fatigues, with cigarette and pistol.

Three days later, dressed in a suit, he made his first address as the country's new leader. But for the lifetime soldier, political manoeuvres do not come as easily as military ones.

Western pressure

Under western pressure, Musharraf has followed a moderate line. Fundamental groups are banned, the press is free and open elections are to be held in the next fortnight. But Musharraf has re-written the constitution to maintain power, he claims "belief in the essence of democracy", but counters that "democracy doesn't have set rules for every country".

For this most regimented of men, change will not come easily. And with enemies on every side, he will have to summon all his battlefield qualities. Asked if he currently has the most difficult job in the world, he responds, "I think, at the moment, yes."