Azam Khan Swati

Swati was born in Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and belongs to the Mitravi section of the Swati tribe, the biggest land-owning family of the districts Mansehra and Battagram. His ancestors were the Sultans of the Pakhal Kingdom (1190-1519) of Swat and Hazara and he himself is the current Khan of Sherpur.

Because his family members, including his father, his uncles and his cousins, were already involved in local politics, he himself became politicized early on, competing in school and college debates and being elected president of the student council numerous times.[5] His brother Laiq Muhammad Khan is also a politician.

In terms of education, Swati earned his B.A from the Post Graduate College, Abbottabad; his M.A (Economics) from the University of Peshawar; his LL.B (Bachelor of Law) as a Gold Medalist from the University of Karachi; his M.A (Political Science) also from the University of Karachi (Pakistan); his LL.M (Master of Laws) from the University of Houston Law Center, USA; his Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD) from the South Texas College of Law; and his Texas State Bar Certified Attorney at Law.[5]

Having migrated to the United States in 1978, Swati began by working in a convenience store for $2.50 an hour job. Over the years he eventually himself became the ower of several C-stores. In 1997, he founded the Pak-Oil Company and acquired jobber-ship for Exxon and other major oil and gas companies, being involved in fuel distribution and wholesale business. He also invested in real estate in Texas' Golden Triangle and neighbouring Louisiana.[5]

Swati would remain active both in business, eventually owning more than 100 convenience stores, apartment buildings and restaurant franchises in East Texas and Louisiana, and also in law, as an attorney in Houston, Texas, before renouncing his American citizenship in 2003, having returned to Pakistan in 2001 and joined its politics.[6]

Swati became active in politics in the 1970s, when he was a practicing lawyer in Karachi and jailed many times for protesting against the military dictatorship of Zia-ul-Haq.[5] This is the reason why he would move to the United States in 1978.

After moving back to Pakistan in 2001, he'd be elected as district nazim of Mansehra, noted for not accepting any salary or security protocol. He would then become a senator on a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam ticket, having joined the party in 2002. During these years he'd also help establish the Hazara University.[5]

Between 2008 and 2010, Swati had pursued the Hajj corruption case in the Supreme Court relentlessly, which ultimately forced the government to sack former religious affairs minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi.

In 2011, he joined Imran Khan's PTI.

In December 2020, he was appointed Federal Minister for Railways.