Ali Asghar Khan (politician)
Ali Asghar Khan (;) is a prominent politician and social activist from Hazara region in Pakistan. He belongs to Abbottabad the centre of Hazara region in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Early life- family and education
Ali Asghar Khan was born in Karachi, the second son of Air Marshal Asghar Khan and Amina Shamsie. His father was recognised as man of principles in Pakistani politics,. His brother Omar Asghar Khan was also a politician, social activist and development practitioner.
Khan received his early education from Habib Public School, Karachi and Abbottabad Public School, Abbottabad. An architect by trade, he got his professional education from the Royal Institute of British Architects, U.K.
Political career and social work
For the last nine years he has served as the Executive Director of the Omar Asghar Khan Foundation which focuses on political advocacy across the country, particularly in the Hazara region.
He is founder of Tehreek Huqooq e Hazara (Movement for Rights of Hazara) and is also ACTIVE in national politics.
He participated very actively in movement for the rule of law known as Lawyers' Movement since its early protests against the Musharraf regime in March 2007 till the restoring the judges in March 2009. Ali Asghar Khan took this movement into rural areas of Hazara and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through organising corner meetings and public hearings. In acknowledgement to his contribution in the movement, Ali Asghar Khan was part of a select group of ten individuals invited by the movement's leaders to hoist the national flag at the Chief Justice's residence on 22 March 2009.
Like his father and brother, Khan is struggling for the rights of people especially in Hazara. In 2009, Khan initiated a national campaign named Aman Ittehad (United for Peace) which is working in all four provinces including FATA and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Ali Asghar Khan has remained involved in politics since his teens when he began taking part in democratic movements in mid 70s. He was first arrested at the age of 17 in Lahore for breaking the infamous Section 144 and participating in a pro- democracy rally, something that was to be repeated a number of times during the Pakistan National Alliance's movement led by his father Asghar Khan. He later went on to contest the general elections unsuccessfully from NA-17 Abbottabad.
In February 2013, Ali Asghar Khan got elected as President Hazara Region of the Pakistan Tehrik Insaf previously he was party's Central Vice-President, he is also a member of the Central Executive Committee of the party since 2011. Khan was willing to contest in general elections scheduled on 11 May 2013, as party candidate from NA-17 constituency but he could not get consideration by the parliamentary board of Pakistan Tehrik Insaf.