Ghulam Ahmad Bilour

Ghulam Ahmad Bilour (Urdu: غلام احمد بلور; born 25 December 1939) is a Pakistani politician who served as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2008 to 2018. He additionally served as Federal Minister for Railways twice and as Federal Minister for Local Government and Rural Development once.

Ghulam Ahmad Bilour
غلام احمد بلور
Minister for Railway
In office
4 November 2008 – 18 March 2013
PresidentAsif Ali Zardari
Prime MinisterYousuf Raza Gillani
Preceded bySardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan
Succeeded byDr. Abdul Malik Kasi
In office
10 September 1991 – 18 July 1993
PresidentGhulam Ishaq Khan
Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif
Preceded byMir Hazar Khan Bijarani
Succeeded byAhmad Faruque
Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
In office
30 August 2013 – 31 May 2018
ConstituencyNA-1 (Peshawar-I)
In office
17 March 2008 – 17 March 2013
ConstituencyNA-1 (Peshawar-I)
In office
14 February 1997 – 12 October 1999
ConstituencyNA-1 (Peshawar-I)
In office
1988 – 16 October 1993
ConstituencyNA-1 (Peshawar-I)
Member of the Senate of Pakistan
In office
1975–1977
Personal details
Born (1939-12-25) 25 December 1939
Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
NationalityPakistani
Political partyAwami National Party
RelationsBashir Ahmad Bilour (brother)
Ilyas Ahmed Bilour (brother)[1]
Haroon Bilour (nephew)

Early life and education

Bilour was born on 25 December 1939[2][3] in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.[4][2] He received his early education from Khudad Model School and Islamia School Peshawar,[5] He then studied at Edwardes College[5][6] and married soon later.[5]

He hails from Bajaur Agency,[5] and comes from a well-known and wealthy business family.[6] He is popularly known as Haji Sahab[6] in Peshawar.[5]

Political career

Bilour participated in the election campaign of Fatima Jinnah[5] in the 1965 Pakistani presidential election.[6]

He began his political career after joining the Awami National Party (ANP) in the 1970s,[5][6] and was elected to the Senate of Pakistan in 1975.[2]

He ran for the seat of the National Assembly of Pakistan in the 1988 Pakistani general election from Constituency NA-1 (Peshawar-I), but was unsuccessful and lost the seat to Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao.[6] However he re-ran for the seat in by-elections held following the 1988 and was elected to the National Assembly by winning it for the first time.[2][5]

He was re-elected to the National Assembly for the second time in the 1990 Pakistani general election[2] from Constituency NA-1 (Peshawar-I) after defeating Benazir Bhutto.[6] Following the election, he was appointed as the Federal Minister for Railways, a position he held from 1991 to 1993.[2]

He ran for the seat of the National Assembly of Pakistan in the 1993 Pakistani general election from Constituency NA-1 (Peshawar-I), but was unsuccessful and lost the seat to Syed Zafar Ali Shah.[6]

He was re-elected to the National Assembly in the 1997 Pakistani general election from Constituency NA-1 (Peshawar-I).[2][6] He didn't contest for seat of the National Assembly in the 2002 Pakistani general election.[6]

DAWN reported that he has been jailed several times during his political career.[6] Most notably in 2007 when he was nominated in the murder case of Syed Qammar Abbas. Bilour denied the charge.[6] Earlier in 1997, Syed Qammar Abbas was nominated in a murder case of the son of Bilour.[7]

He was re-elected to the National Assembly from Constituency NA-1 (Peshawar-I) in the 2008 Pakistani general election.[2][6] Following the election, he was appointed as the Federal Minister for Local Government and Rural Development.[5][2] He was then appointed Federal Minister for Railways in November 2008.[2]

DAWN reported that Bilour during his tenure as Minister for Railways was criticised and was alleged for corruption.[6] In 2012, Bilour was named as an accused in a multi-billion scrap scandal, which was investigated by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).[8]

He ran for the seat of the National Assembly of Pakistan in the 2013 Pakistani general election from Constituency NA-1 (Peshawar-I),[9] but was unsuccessful and lost the seat to Imran Khan[10] However he re-ran for the seat in by-elections held in July 2013[11] and was elected to the National Assembly by winning it.[12]

He ran for the seat of the National Assembly from Constituency NA-31 (Peshawar-V) as a candidate of ANP in 2018 Pakistani general election but was unsuccessful. He received 42,476 votes and lost the seat to Shokat Ali, a candidate of PTI.

He ran for the seat of the National Assembly from Constituency NA-31 (Peshawar-V) as a candidate of ANP in 2022 Pakistan by-elections but was unsuccessful. He received 32,252 votes and lost the seat to Imran Khan.

Calling for assassinations

In 2012, during his tenure as Federal Minister for Railways, he offered a US$100,000 reward for the assassination of the maker of an anti-Islam film, the Innocence of Muslims. He also sought the support of members of the Taliban and al Qaeda[6] and was quoted saying "that if members of the banned militant organisations kill the maker of the blasphemous movie, they will also be rewarded."[13] Following the statement of Bilour, he was criticised and his party ANP distanced itself from the statement of Bilour, however ANP decided not to take any action against Bilour.[6] In response the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan said they were allowing Bilour an "amnesty" from their hit list because his views "represent the true spirit of Islam."[14][15]

In 2015, during his tenure as a member of the National Assembly, he announced a $200,000 bounty for the [head of the] owner of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo that published blasphemous caricatures [and] $100,000 compensation for the families of those [who] killed [11 people] during the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris.[16][17]

References
  1. Shah, Sabir (16 July 2018). "The unending tragedies of Peshawar's Bilour family". The News. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  2. "Bilour assumes charge as Railways Minister". Aaj News. 7 November 2008. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  3. "If elections are held on time…". thenews.com.pk. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  4. "Detail Information". 23 March 2011. Archived from the original on 23 March 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. "Personifying the art of politics". The News. Jang. May 2008. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. "Ghulam Ahmad Bilour". DAWN.COM. 13 April 2013. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  7. Report, Bureau (7 May 2007). "PPP leader Qamar Abbas shot dead". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  8. "Embezzlement: Bilour named in multi-billion railways scrap scandal - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  9. Report, Bureau (27 March 2013). "ANP names its candidates". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  10. "Imran Khan wins his Peshawar seat - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 11 May 2013. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  11. Report, Bureau (8 July 2013). "Bilour again in the run for Peshawar seat". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  12. Yusufzai, Ashfaq (23 August 2013). "Bilour springs back to win fifth time". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  13. "Pakistan minister announces $100,000 bounty on anti-Islam film maker". DAWN.COM. 22 September 2012. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  14. Shahzad, Asif (26 September 2012). "Pakistan Taliban: 'Amnesty' for bounty minister". Yahoo! News. AP. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  15. "Taliban remove Bilour from hit-list for anti-Islam film bounty". DAWN.COM. 26 September 2012. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  16. "Bilour offers bounty for Charlie Hebdo owner - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 3 February 2015. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  17. "Bilour's publicity stunt: A reward for the heirs of Charlie Hebdo attackers". DAWN.COM. 3 February 2015. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
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