Omar Ayub Khan (Urdu: عمر ایوب خان; born 26 January 1970) is a Pakistani politician who is currently serving as the Leader of the Opposition. He was the last Federal Minister for Economic Affairs under the Prime Ministership of Imran Khan from April 2021 until April 2022.[3] He previously served as Federal Minister for Energy from 11 September 2018 to 16 April 2021. He had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from August 2018 till January 2023. He is the grandson of the former President of Pakistan, Field Marshal Ayub Khan and the son of Gohar Ayub Khan, who was also a politician. Previously, he served as a member of the National Assembly from 2002 to 2007 and again from 2014 to 2015. He also served as the Minister of State for Finance in the federal cabinet from 2004 to 2007. He has served as secretary general of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf since he assumed the role on 27 May 2023. He resigned from the party role on 27 June 2024 though his resignation was declined by party members.
Omar Ayub Khan | |
|---|---|
| عمر ایوب خان | |
 | |
| 12th Leader of the Opposition | |
| Assumed office 2 April 2024 | |
| President | Asif Ali Zardari |
| Prime Minister | Shehbaz Sharif |
| Preceded by | Raja Riaz |
| Federal Minister for Economic Affairs | |
| In office 17 April 2021 – 10 April 2022 | |
| President | Arif Alvi |
| Prime Minister | Imran Khan |
| Preceded by | Khusro Bakhtiar |
| Federal Minister for Petroleum | |
| In office 18 April 2019 – 17 April 2021 | |
| President | Arif Alvi |
| Prime Minister | Imran Khan |
| Preceded by | Ghulam Sarwar Khan |
| Succeeded by | Hammad Azhar |
| Federal Minister for Power | |
| In office 11 September 2018 – 17 April 2021 | |
| President | Arif Alvi |
| Prime Minister | Imran Khan |
| Preceded by | Awais Leghari |
| Succeeded by | Hammad Azhar |
| Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan | |
| Assumed office 29 February 2024 | |
| Constituency | NA-18 Haripur |
| In office 13 August 2018 – 17 January 2023 | |
| Constituency | NA-17 (Haripur) |
| In office January 2014 – June 2015 | |
| Constituency | NA-19 (Haripur) |
| In office 2002–2007 | |
| Constituency | NA-19 (Haripur) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 January 1970[1] Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan |
| Political party | PTI (2018–present) |
| Other political affiliations | PMLN (2012–2018) Pakistan Peoples Muslim League (2009–2012) PML-Q (2001–2009) PMLN (1993–2001) |
| Parent |
|
| Relatives | Ayub Khan (grandfather)[2] Yousuf Ayub Khan (cousin) Arshad Ayub Khan (cousin) Akbar Ayub Khan (cousin) |
Early life and education
Khan was born on 26 January 1970[1] to Gohar Ayub Khan, a politician and retired army officer belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League (N). He is the grandson of dictator Ayub Khan, former Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army who was a self-appointed President of Pakistan from 1958 to 1969.[4]
He obtained his early education at Army Burn Hall College and completed his high schooling at Aitchison College.[5] In 1993, he completed his BBA, followed by his MBA in 1996, both from the George Washington University.[1]
Political career
2002 Election
He was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan from Constituency NA-19 (Haripur) as a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q) in 2002 Pakistani general election. He received 81,496 votes and defeated Pir Sabir Shah.[6] Khan was inducted into the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and was appointed the Minister of State for Finance[7] where he served from 2004[1] to 2007.[2]
2008 Election
He ran for the seat of the National Assembly from Constituency NA-19 (Haripur) as a candidate of PML (Q) in 2008 Pakistani general election, but was unsuccessful. He received 50,631 votes and lost the seat to Sardar Muhammad Mushtaq Khan.[8]
2013 Election
He joined Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) in 2012.[2]
He ran for the seat of the National Assembly from Constituency NA-19 (Haripur) as a candidate of PML (N) in 2013 Pakistani general election, but was unsuccessful. He received 116,308 votes and lost the seat to Raja Aamer Zaman.[9]
He was re-elected to the National Assembly from Constituency NA-19 (Haripur) as a candidate of PML (N) in the by-election held in 2014 [2][10] and also served as Chairman Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs. In 2015, he was unseated as he became ineligible to continue in office as constituency election was invalidated by voting irregularities due to rigging.[11]
2018 Election
In February 2018, he joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).[2]
He was re-elected to the National Assembly from Constituency NA-17 (Haripur) as a candidate of PTI in 2018 Pakistani general election.[12] He received 172,609 votes and defeated Babar Nawaz Khan.[13]
On 11 September 2018, he was inducted into the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Imran Khan[14] and was appointed Federal Minister for Power.[15][16]
On 24 April 2019 after the PM reshuffled the cabinet team, he was given the additional charge of the Ministry of Petroleum, which was previously held by Ghulam Sarwar Khan.[17]
In mid-April 2021 Prime Minister Imran Khan reshuffled the Cabinet, again transferring Omar Ayub Khan from Minister of Energy to Minister of Economic Affairs.[18]
2024 Election
Khan was reelected to the National Assembly as a PTI-affiliated independent following the party's banning. On 16 February, senior PTI official Asad Qaiser said that Imran Khan had nominated Ayub Khan as the party's nominee for prime minister, despite him being in hiding over charges relating to the May 9 riots in 2023.[19]
Leadership in the PTI, Opposition Leader
Omar Ayub Khan was a key member in organizing the Imran Khan-led 2022 Long March, a protest against the PML(N) government and the military establishment’s role in politics, in the long march he was severely wounded and bruised by police.[20]
Ayub played a leadership role in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) following Imran Khan’s removal from office. Ayub was given a high leadership role in the upcoming 2024 Pakistani elections, in which he served as the PTI-Independents candidate for prime minister, campaign head and Secretary-General.[20][21] Omar Ayub participated by holding press conferences and taking a party leadership role alongside Gohar Ali Khan. Ayub is a key advocate for Imran Khan and claims that the 2024 elections were rigged. Following the 2024 elections which Omar Ayub and the PTI alleged were rigged, Ayub was elected as 12th Leader of Opposition by PTI-SIC parliamentarians.[22][23] As Leader of the Opposition, he has furthered the claims that the elections were rigged, as well as delivered pro-Imran Khan and anti-Military establishment in politics speeches inside the National Assembly of Pakistan.[24][25][26]
On June 27 2024,[a] Omar Ayub Khan announced his resignation as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's chairman of the central finance board and party secretary general, announcing on Twitter that his resignation letter addressed to Imran Khan and Barr. Gohar Ali Khan had been accepted. He remarked that he would continue as opposition leader in the NA and as a party worker, citing as opposition leader he was not able to fulfil the role of party general secretary, calling for another appointment in his place.[28][29] The resignation came amidst reports of 27 PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad MNAs resigning from the National Assembly in protest against party leadership and criticism from other party leaders including Sher Afzal Marwat, Shahryar Afridi, Shandana Gulzar and ex-PTi leader Fawad Chaudhry. According to such reports, 21 of these MNAs displayed their intention to established a "forward bloc" due to party leaderships failure to release Imran Khan from jail.[29][30][31][32] The next day on June 28, a PTI parliamentary party meeting resolution called for rejecting Omar Ayub's resignation supporting Ayub's running of the party during "testing times" and "unanimously" expressing confidence in him. The party meeting was attended by Gohar Ali Khan, Omar Ayub Khan, Asad Gohar, Ali Muhammad Khan and others.[33][32]