Farhatullah Babar
{{Short description|Pakistani politician}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix = Parliamentarian
|name = Farhatullah Babar
|honorific-suffix =
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|office = Spokesperson of Presidential Office
|term_start = 9 September 2008
|term_end = 9 September 2013
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|viceprimeminister =
|deputy =
|lieutenant =
|monarch =
|president = Asif Ali Zardari
|primeminister = Yusuf Raza Gillani
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|governor_general =
|succeeding =
|predecessor = Major-General Rashid Qureshi
|successor =
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|order2 =
|office2 = President of the Pakistan Engineering Council
|term_start2 = 1983
|term_end2 = 1994
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|birth_place = Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan
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|birthname = Farhatullah Babar
|nationality = Pakistani
|other party = Pakistan Peoples Party
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|residence = Islamabad, Pakistan
|alma_mater = University of Engineering and Technology of Peshawar
(BEng and MEng)
University of Peshawar
(BA and MA)
|occupation = Politician, engineer
|cabinet = Bhutto Ministry
Gillani Ministry
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Farhatullah Babar (Urdu, Pashto: {{Nastaliq| فرحت اللہ بابر}}) is a Pakistani leftist politician, engineer and former senator. He is a prominent member of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), having served as a spokesperson for the party.{{cite news|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2010/03/17/peddling-peril/|title=Peddling Peril|work=Foreign Policy|date=17 March 2010|accessdate=18 May 2020|first=David|last=Albright}}{{cite book|author=Abubakar Siddique|title=The Pashtun Question: The Unresolved Key to the Future of Pakistan and Afghanistan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PkVeBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA108|year=2014|publisher=Hurst|isbn=978-1-84904-292-5|pages=108–}} He is a supporter of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM).
He remained a member of the Senate of Pakistan for two terms, from 2003 to 2006 and from 2012 to 2018.
Background and professional career
Babar was born to Karamatullah Khan. He graduated with a B.Eng. in civil engineering from the University of Peshawar in 1965, followed by a M.Eng. in civil engineering in 1985. In 1963, he completed a course in Pashto with honours and later undertook a French language course in 1981.
Babar worked as a chemical engineer. He served as the president of the Pakistan Engineering Council from 1983 to 1994, and also worked for some time at the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. He also served as a manager in the Trans Arabia project with the Royal Saudi Air Force, based in Riyadh.
Political career
Babar served as a spokesman and speech writer for Benazir Bhutto when she was in office as prime minister in the 1990s. Later, he also served as the press secretary of her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, when he was elected as Pakistan's president in 2008. Prior to this appointment, Babar was elected as a member of the Senate of Pakistan from PPP between 2003 and 2006.{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617025336/http://www.senate.gov.pk/ShowMemberDetail.asp?MemberCode=111&CatCode=6&CatName=Senate+Tenure+%28+2003+%2D+2006%29|title=Farhatullah Babar|archivedate=17 June 2011|accessdate=18 May 2020|url=http://www.senate.gov.pk/ShowMemberDetail.asp?MemberCode=111&CatCode=6&CatName=Senate+Tenure+%28+2003+%2D+2006%29|work=Senate of Pakistan}} He served another term as senator from 2012 to 2018.{{cite web|url=http://www.senate.gov.pk/en/profile.php?uid=811&catid=261&subcatid=2&cattitle=Members%20of%20Senate|title=Farhatullah Babar|work=Senate of Pakistan|accessdate=18 May 2020|date=2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707035723/http://www.senate.gov.pk/en/profile.php?uid=811&catid=261&subcatid=2&cattitle=Members%20of%20Senate|archivedate=7 July 2017|url-status=live}} He is regarded as a senior member among the PPP's leadership.{{cite news|url=https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/leader-arrest-galvanizes-pashtun-rights-movement-in-pakistan/30408778.html|title=Leader’s Arrest Galvanizes Pashtun Rights Movement In Pakistan|work=Gandhara RFERL|date=30 January 2020|accessdate=18 May 2020|first=Abubakar|last=Siddiqui}}
As a senator, Babar was known for his activism and legislative work relating to human rights, democracy, religious freedom, political transparency, provincial autonomy, and matters involving civil-military relations.{{cite news|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/561801-pakistans-voice-conscience-2|title=Pakistan’s voice of conscience|work=The News|date=25 September 2016|accessdate=18 May 2020|first=Adnan|last=Rehmat|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517095318/https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/561801-pakistans-voice-conscience-2|archivedate=17 May 2020|url-status=live}} He was the managing editor of the Peshawar-based English daily, The Frontier Post.
On 17 September 2007, Benazir Bhutto accused then-president Pervez Musharraf's allies of pushing Pakistan into crisis by refusing to restore democracy and sharing power. A nine-member panel of Supreme Court judges deliberated on six petitions seeking to disqualify Musharraf as a presidential candidate. Bhutto had stated that her party may join forces with other opposition parties, including Nawaz Sharif's.{{cite news|url=https://www.nysun.com/foreign/pakistani-court-hears-on-musharraf/62792/|title=Pakistani Court Hears on Musharraf|first=Sadaqat|last=Jan|work=New York Sun|accessdate=18 May 2020|date=17 September 2007}} The Attorney General of Pakistan, Malik Mohammad Qayyum, stated that, pendente lite, the Election Commission was "reluctant" to announce the schedule for the presidential vote. Babar stated that the Constitution could bar Musharraf from being elected again because he also held the army chief's post: "As General Musharraf is disqualified from contesting for President, he has prevailed upon the Election Commission to arbitrarily and illegally tamper with the Constitution of Pakistan."
In May 2018, Babar was one of the 30 people nominated by the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) for a jirga, which was held to negotiate between the PTM and the Pakistani government. His nomination was requested by the PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen during his phone call with the PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.{{cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1410548|title=PPP nominates Farhatullah Babar for jirga mediating between PTM, government|date=28 May 2018|accessdate=18 May 2020|work=Dawn|first=Nadir|last=Guramani}}
Books
- The Zardari Presidency (2008-2013) — Now It Must be Told (Lightstone Publishers, 2025){{Cite web |last=Salman |first=Peerzada |date=2025-05-27 |title=‘Zardari is neither angel nor villain, he’s human’ |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1913544 |access-date=2025-05-27 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2025 |title=The Zardari Presidency (2008-2013): Now It Must Be Told |url=https://www.libertybooks.com/the-zardari-presidency-2008-2013-now-it-must-be-told-9789697163045 |website=Liberty Books}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208205219/http://www.ppp.org.pk/Party/Party%20Issues/P_articles50.html|title=An Orwellian state?|first=Farhatullah|last=Babar|work=Pakistan Peoples Party|date=13 January 2007|url=http://www.ppp.org.pk/Party/Party%20Issues/P_articles50.html|archivedate=8 February 2007}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Babar, Farhatullah}}
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Pakistan People's Party politicians
Category:Pakistani chemical engineers
Category:Pakistani civil engineers
Category:Pakistani democracy activists
Category:Pakistani expatriates in Saudi Arabia
Category:Pakistani human rights activists
Category:Pakistani senators (14th Parliament)