Owais Ahmed Ghani

Owais Ahmed Ghani
27th Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
In office 7 January 2008 – 9 February 2011
Chief Ministers	Shamsul Mulk Haider Khan Hoti
Preceded by	Ali Jan Aurakzai
Succeeded by	Syed Masood Kausar
18th Governor of Balochistan
In office 11 August 2003 – 5 February 2008
Chief Ministers	Jam Mohammad Yousaf Mohammad Saleh Bhootani
Preceded by	Abdul Qadir Baloch
Succeeded by	Zulfiqar Ali Magsi
Personal details
Born	(1951-02-05) 5 February 1951 (age 73) Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Relations	Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar (uncle) Abdul Waheed Kakar (cousin) Safwat Ghayur (cousin)
Occupation	Politician Mechanical engineer

Owais Ahmed Ghani (Urdu: اویس غنی احمد) is a Pakistani politician who served as the governor of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan in 2008-2011, having previously governed the southwestern province of Balochistan for four and a half years (2003-2008).

He is a mechanical engineer by profession.^[1]

Early life and education

Ghani belongs to the Pashtun-Kakar tribe of and was born on 5 February 1951 in Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He is the nephew of Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar, one of the founding fathers of Pakistan, son of his brother Sardar Abdul Ghani who was a career police officer. He is the cousin of General Abdul Waheed Kakar, former Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan as well of the martyred Commandant of the Frontier Constabulary, Safwat Ghayur.

He studied mechanical engineering at the University of Peshawar, graduating in 1971.

Political career

He became active in politics in 1996 being one of the founding members of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf led by cricketing hero Imran Khan. Following the party's rout in the 1997 general elections he subsequently left the party in protest against the joining of several controversial figures into the party. In 1999, he joined the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial cabinet serving as provincial minister for Industry from 1999 to 2002.^[2]

He was in 2002 appointed as Federal Minister for environment following the resignation of Omer Asghar Khan. Following the 2002 general elections he was appointed Governor of Balochistan. His period as Balochistan governor was controversial, especially following the murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti and Baloch protests against Federal rule. Ghani admitted there were problems with the law and order situation and drugs in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, due to instability in neighboring Afghanistan.^[3]

He became governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in January 2008 after the former governor, Ali Jan Aurakzai, stepped down. Ghani gained a reputation for being tough with militants during his tenure as governor of Balochistan,^[4]

He is the third man (the first being Rahimuddin Khan and the second being Miangul Aurangzeb) in the history of Pakistan to have held the governorship of two provinces.

Books

• Pakistan 2013: Views on Statecraft, Politics and Governance, Lahore : Sang-e-Meel Publications, 2013, 239 p.
• Where the Hunting Eagles Soar, Rawalpindi : Brass Tacks Publishing, 2015, 90 p. English translation of selected poems from Allama Iqbal.^[5]
• Constitutional Framework For An Islamic Welfare State In Pakistan, Rawalpindi : Brass Tacks Publishing, 2015, 173 p.

References

1. Profile by the university of Heidelberg
2. Ordinance on sick units soon.
3. Pakistani city feels like Taliban enclave - CNN
4. Key Pakistan governor steps down - BBC News
5. Prof Dr Mansoor Akbar Kundi (16 January 2016), "The wisdom and vision of Iqbal in English", The News on Sunday. Retrieved 28 January 2020.

Political offices
Preceded by Abdul Qadir Baloch	Governor of Balochistan 2003 – 2008	Succeeded by Amanullah Khan Yasinzai Acting
Preceded by Ali Jan Aurakzai	Governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 2008 – 2011	Succeeded by Syed Masood Kausar