Jahangir Khan Tareen, born on July 4, 1953, in Comilla, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), hailed from a family with a police background. His educational journey began at Sadiq Public School, Bahawalpur, followed by graduation from FC College, Lahore, and obtaining an MBA degree from the University of North Carolina in 1974.
Lesser Known Facts:
- Tareen served as a lecturer in the Department of Public Administration at the University of the Punjab.
- He worked as a banker at Grindlays Bank, Lahore, for three years.
- Owner of the largest sugar mill business in Pakistan, JDW Sugar Mills.
- Tareen chaired the Punjab Task Force on Agriculture in 1997, on the request of then Punjab CM Shehbaz Sharif.
- Paternal cousin of Shaukat Tareen, a two-time finance minister of Pakistan.
Election 2024: In the upcoming 2024 elections, Tareen is set to contest from NA-149 Multan and faces a formidable opponent in PTI’s Malik Amir Dogar. Additionally, NA-155 is Tareen’s home constituency, where PML-N leader Siddique Baloch poses a challenge for securing the seat.
Political Career: Jahangir Tareen entered politics with PML-Q, winning a seat in the National Assembly during the 2002 general elections. Serving as a special adviser on agriculture and social sector initiatives to CM Parvez Elahi, he later became the Federal Minister for Industries and Production from 2004 to 2007.
Reelected in 2008 on a PML-F ticket, differences led to his resignation as an MNA. Joining PTI in November 2011, he became its general secretary in 2013. Although unsuccessful in the 2013 general elections, he won the NA-154 Lodhran by-elections in December 2015.
In 2017, the Supreme Court disqualified him for life under Article 62(1)(f) for false financial declarations. Initially a close aide to the PM in the first two years of the PTI government, disagreements arose over the sugar inquiry report, leading to the formation of the “Tareen Group,” which supported Hamza Shehbaz in the 2022 Punjab Assembly by-elections.
In June 2023, Jahangir Tareen founded his own political party, the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP).
