Syed Fakhar Imam

Syed Fakhar Imam (Urdu: سید فخر امام) (born 18 December 1942)[1] is a Pakistani politician who served as Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, from April 2020 to April 2022.[2] He also served as the 11th Speaker of National Assembly of Pakistan from 1985 to 1986.[3]

Fakhar Imam
Fakhar Imam
Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research
In office
6 April 2020 – 10 April 2022
PresidentArif Alvi
Prime MinisterImran Khan
Preceded byKhusro Bakhtiar
Succeeded byTariq Bashir Cheema
Chairman of Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir
In office
1 March 2019 – 6 April 2020
Succeeded byShehryar Khan Afridi
Federal Minister for Education
In office
9 November 1990 – 18 July 1993
PresidentGhulam Ishaq Khan
Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif
Federal Minister for Law
In office
9 November 1990 – 18 July 1993
PresidentGhulam Ishaq Khan
Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif
Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs
In office
9 November 1990 – 18 July 1993
PresidentGhulam Ishaq Khan
Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif
Leader of the Opposition
In office
3 May 1987 – 29 May 1988
11th Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan
In office
22 March 1985 – 25 March 1986
DeputyWazir Ahmed Jogezai
Federal Minister for Local Government and Rural Development
In office
9 March 1981 – 8 December 1983
Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
Assumed office
13 August 2018
ConstituencyNA-150 Khanewal-I
In office
1997 – 12 October 1999
ConstituencyKhanewal
In office
1990–1993
ConstituencyNA-121 Khanewal-I
In office
1985–1988
ConstituencyNA-111 Multan-I
In office
9 March 1981 – 24 March 1985
ConstituencyMartial Law Government
Personal details
Born (1942-12-18) 18 December 1942
Political partyPakistan Tehreek e Insaf
SpouseAbida Hussain
ChildrenSyeda Sughra Imam

He has previously worked as the Chairman of Pakistan's Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir.[4] He was educated at Aitchison College Lahore & Clifton College in England.

His wife Syeda Abida Hussain was also a minister in the government of Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Syeda Sughra Imam is also a politician. He was preceded by Malik Meraj Khalid as Speaker of National Assembly of Pakistan. He was elected to the national assembly and joined PTI.

On 6 April 2020 he was appointed as Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research.

Political career

He began his political career by being elected as the Chairman District Council, Multan (1980) and was appointed as Federal Minister for Local Government and Rural Development from 1981-83.[5]

Fakhar Imam also served as Chairman of Sports Committee to promote spirit of sports among youth and the educational institutions of Pakistan.[6]

In the non-party General Elections in February 1985, he was elected to the National Assembly from Multan District.[7]

11th Speaker of National Assembly – (March 22, 1985)

In 1985 Syed Fakhar Imam, by 119 votes, defeated Khawaja Safdar, father of Khawaja Asif[8] the chosen candidate of Chief Martial Law Administrator and President General Zia Ul Haq and Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo for the position of Speaker of the National Assembly.

Later, Syed Fakhar Imam was removed from the position through a no-confidence motion against him. [9]

Representation of Kashmir as Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir - (2019)

As a Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir (2019), Fakhar Imam was an advocate of the cause of Kashmir on numerous forums.

On October 16th, 2019, in a strongly worded statement to the General Assembly of the 141st Inter Parliamentary Union in Belgrade, Fakhar Imam warned the Global Parliamentary Community that the besieged Valley of Indian Occupied Kashmir may endanger global peace beyond repair if not addressed comprehensively. As a Head of the Pakistan Parliamentary Delegation, he presented a comprehensive account of Indian atrocities in Kashmir and requested world attention for resolving the long pending issue in accordance with the UN resolutions of 1948-49.[10]

On 27th May 2019: Syed Fakhar Imam expressed his deep sorrow and grief on the sad demise of Ambassador Yusuf Buch who died in New York after a long illness. Mr. Chairman said that late Yusuf Buch was a true Kashmiri, and a distinguished diplomat who served the country for a long time and the people of Pakistan particularly Kashmiri cannot forget his services while working in the United Nations for the Kashmir cause.[11]

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research - (April 6th, 2020 –April 10th, 2022)

President Dr Arif Alvi administered oath to Syed Fakhar Imam as Federal Minister for National Food Security on 6th April 2020 in a ceremony held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.[12]

Progress & Challenges faced as Minister for National Food Security and Research
  • Curbed the worst Locust attack in decades through coordination with Federal, Provincial and local agencies including senior officials and personnels of the Pakistan Army.[13]
  • The production of cotton in Punjab touched 4.5m bales at an increase of approximately 8.5 per cent from last year while the overall cotton production is likely to reach 8.46 million bales.[14]
  • Agriculture policies after many years were made part of discussions, which resulted in the record production of four major crops namely;
    • Wheat production 27.5 million tonnes.[15]
    • Rice production 8.9 million tonnes.[16]
    • Maize production 8.5 million tonnes.[17]
    • Sugarcane production 88.7 million tonnes.[18]
  • The government's enhancement of MSP from Rs 1,400 to Rs 1,800 produced a good result in wheat production, which helped the country in harvesting the highest crop (27.5 million tons). Several factors helped in achieving this historic production including favourable weather conditions, availability of certified seed (513,000 tons), availability of fertilizers etc.[19]
  • Rs 10,594.31 million were being spent on projects launched under Agriculture Transformation Plan. About one lakh Kisan Cards were issued to the farmers and a subsidy to the tune of Rs 475 million were disbursed in 2021-2022.[20]

Representation of Pakistan
  • Represented Pakistan in the 7th D-8 Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Food Security. 12-13 January 2022.[21]
    • The People’s Republic of Bangladesh hosted the 7th D-8 Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Food Security virtually from 12-13 January 2022, under the theme: ‘Promotion of Climate Smart Agriculture: Key issues for D-8 Member States’. Ministers of Agriculture/ Forestry / Food / Livestock / Rural Development and Heads of Delegation of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Malaysia, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and the Republic of Turkiye participated at the meeting.
  • Conference “Food security in Asia: Prospects of cooperation in the framework of CICA” (online), 15 September 2021, Syed Fakhar Imam presented the audience with Pakistan’s National Food Security Policy and shared the achievements of Pakistan in the sector of agriculture, in particular, in the production of staple foods.[22]
  • Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam inaugurated the two-day “National Agricultural Exhibition” being arranged at the University of Sargodha on February 27 and 28, 2022.[23]
  • He was the keynote speaker in the seminar on ‘Food Security for Pakistan’ organised by the Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS) in 2023, whereas in his keynote address on ‘Role of Agriculture Sector and Food Security in Pakistan’, Syed Fakhar Imam pointed out that national security, international security and food security were all interlinked and could not be separated from each other.[24]

He also emphasised on updated curriculum in the 5 major universities of Agriculture in Pakistan.[25]

References
  1. "Syed Fakhar Imam". Pakistan Herald. Archived from the original on 2020-09-19. Retrieved 2017-07-29.
  2. Staff Reporter (April 8, 2020). "Fakhar Imam takes oath as Federal Minister". nation.com.pk.
  3. "Speakers / Presidents". National Assembly of Pakistan. Archived from the original on 4 February 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  4. "Govt to appoint Fakhar Imam as Kashmir Committee chairman - Pakistan Today". www.pakistantoday.com.pk.
  5. Pakistan Affairs (Special Independence Day Issue) - Volumes 33-37.
  6. "Pakistan Sports Board" (PDF). sports.gov.pk/.
  7. "7TH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FROM 1985 TO 1988 LIST OF MEMBERS & ADDRESSES" (PDF). na.gov.pk.
  8. MUSHTAQ, ABDUL. "ROLE OF OPPOSITION IN CONTROLLING GOVERNMENT POLICIES IN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF PAKISTAN (1985-88)". International Journal of Political Science, Law and International Relations (IJPSLIR).
  9. "Politics of Opposition in Pakistan (1977-88)" (PDF). prr.hec.gov.pk.
  10. "FAKHAR LASHES OUT AT INDIAN ATROCITIES IN IOK AT THE IPU". na.gov.pk.
  11. "SYED FAKHAR IMAM CONDOLED THE DEATH OF FORMER AMBASSADOR YUSUF BUCH". na.gov.pk.
  12. "Fakhar Imam takes oath as Federal Minister". www.nation.com.pk.
  13. "Anti-locust operation completed over 26.26 million acres: NLCC". www.brecorder.com.
  14. "Fakhar urges researchers to come up with solutions aimed at boosting agri output". www.brecorder.com.
  15. "Minister for finalising MSP for wheat crop". www.brecorder.com.
  16. "Pakistan: Grain and Feed Update". www.fas.usda.gov.
  17. "Economic achievements of PM Imran Khan-led PTI govt (Part III)". news360.tv.
  18. Pakistan Economic Survey 2021-22.
  19. "Minister for finalising MSP for wheat crop". www.brecorder.com.
  20. "Minister says 100,000 tons of phosphate urea to be imported from China". www.brecorder.com.
  21. "The 7th D-8 Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Food Security successfully held". developing8.org.
  22. "Conference "Food security in Asia: Prospects of cooperation in the framework of CICA" (online), 15 September 2021". www.s-cica.org.
  23. "Minister to inaugurate national agri expo today". www.brecorder.com.
  24. "Food Security for Pakistan". casstt.com.
  25. "Call for agriculture reforms, population control to ensure food security". tribune.com.pk.
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