Makhdoom Muhammad Javed Hashmi

Makhdoom Muhammad Javed Hashmi (born 1 January 1948) is a Pakistani politician from Multan known for his decades-long career spanning the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) and, briefly, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Born into an agriculturist family, he first entered the National Assembly in 1985 and became one of the most prominent political voices of Multan and South Punjab.

Javed Hashmi served as Minister of State for Youth and Student Affairs under President Zia-ul-Haq in 1978 and later held federal cabinet posts under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, including Minister of State for Youth Affairs in 1993 and Federal Minister for Health and Environment from 1997 to 1999. He was elected to the National Assembly from Multan in 1985, 1988, 1990 and 1997.

After the 1999 military coup against the Sharif government, Hashmi became President of PML-N and a vocal critic of President Pervez Musharraf’s rule. In October 2003 he was arrested after reading out a letter alleging army involvement in politics, and was sentenced to 23 years in prison on charges including inciting mutiny, a verdict widely criticised as politically motivated. The Supreme Court of Pakistan declared his trial a mistrial and he was released on bail in 2007 after more than three years in custody, during which he authored the book “Yes! I’m a Rebel.”

In December 2011 Javed Hashmi left PML-N to join Imran Khan’s PTI, serving as the party’s President from 2012 to 2014 and winning seats from both Islamabad and Multan in the 2013 general election. He was ousted from PTI in September 2014 after publicly criticising the party’s protest movement against the elected government. In 2018 he rejoined the PML-N, reconciling with Nawaz Sharif, and has remained associated with the party as a senior leader.