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Sibtain Khan

Muhammad Sibtain Khan
محمد سبطین خان
Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab
In office
29 July 2022 – 24 February 2024
DeputyDost Muhammad Mazari
Wasiq Qayyum Abbasi
Preceded byParvez Elahi
Leader of the Opposition in the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab
In office
13 June 2022 – 27 July 2022
Preceded byHamza Shahbaz
Succeeded byHamza Shahbaz
Provincial Minister of Punjab
for Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries
In office
7 January 2020 – 1 April 2022
In office
29 August 2018 – Jan 2019
Provincial Assembly of the Punjab
In office
15 August 2018 – 14 January 2023
ConstituencyPP-88 Mianwali-IV Piplan
Personal details
Born (1958-08-30) 30 August 1958 (age 66)
Piplan, Mianwali, Punjab, Pakistan
Political partyPTI (2012–present)
Other political
affiliations		PML(Q) (2001–2008)
IND (1997–2001)
Beautiful view of Punjab Assembly Lahore - panoramio.jpg
Punjab Assembly Lahore

Muhammad Sibtain Khan is a Pakistani politician who is the former Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, he remained in office from 29 July 2022 till 24 February 2024.[1] He had been the Provincial Minister of Punjab for Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, in office from 29 August 2018. In January 2019, he was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau Lahore due to corruption charges and due to this, he was removed from his post of Provincial Minister of Punjab for Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries. He remained in prison for one year and released on bail in December 2019.

He had been a member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab from August 2018 till January 2023. He served as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries from 7 January 2020 to April 2022.

Previously he was a member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab between 1990 and May 2018 for three non-consecutive terms.

Early life and education

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He was born on 30 August 1958 in the village Piplan, Mianwali, Punjab.[2]

He has the degree of Master of Arts in Political Science which he obtained in 1982 from University of the Punjab.[2]

Political career

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He started his political career in 1985 as a member of the Pakistan Muslim League.[3]

He was elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as an independent candidate from PP-39 (Mianwali-IV) in the 1990 Punjab provincial election. He received 29,582 votes and defeated Malik Ghulam Shabbir Joya, a candidate of Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI).[4] He served a Provincial Minister of Punjab for Prison from 1990 to 1993.[2]

He ran for the seat of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as an independent candidate from PP-39 (Mianwali-IV) in the 1993 Pakistani general election, but was unsuccessful. He received 18,671 votes and lost the seat to Malik Ghulam Shabbir Joya, a candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML(N)).[4]

He again ran for the seat of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as an independent candidate from PP-39 (Mianwali-IV) in the 1997 Punjab provincial election, but was unsuccessful. He received 15,390 votes and lost the seat for the second time consecutively to Malik Ghulam Shabbir Joya, a candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML(N)).[4]

He was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML(Q)) from PP-46 (Mianwali-IV) in the 2002 Punjab provincial election. He received 36,815 votes and defeated Zafar Saeed Rana, an independent candidate.[5] In January 2003, he was inducted into the provincial Punjab cabinet of Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and was appointed as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Mines and Minerals[6] where he remained until 2007.[2]

He ran for the seat of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of the PML(Q) from PP-46 (Mianwali-IV) in the 2008 Punjab provincial election but was unsuccessful. He received 27,319 votes and lost the seat to Muhammad Feroz Joya, an independent candidate.[7]

He was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from PP-46 (Mianwali-IV) in the 2013 Punjab provincial election. He received 53,110 votes and defeated Muhammad Feroz Joya, a candidate of the PML(N).[8][9]

He was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of the PTI from PP-88 (Mianwali-IV) in the 2018 Punjab provincial election. He received 56,016 votes and defeated Muhammad Feroz Joya, a candidate of the PML(N).[10]

On 27 August 2018, he was inducted into the provincial Punjab cabinet of Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar[11] without any ministerial portfolio.[12] On 29 August 2018, he was appointed as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries.[13]

In January 2020, he was reappointed as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries.

On 27 July 2022, the PTI nominated him for the role of Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab, which was vacated due to the election of former Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi to the chief ministership. The election for the post of Speaker was conducted on 29 July 2022, in which he was successful. He received 185 votes for the post, while his opponent, Malik Saif ul Malook Khokhar of the PML(N), received 175 votes.[14]

Controversies

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Arrest on corruption charges and jail term (2019)

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In June 2019, Khan, then serving as Punjab's Minister for Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Lahore. The arrest stemmed from allegations related to the illegal awarding of a multi-billion rupee iron ore exploration contract in 2007 during his tenure as Minister for Mines and Minerals. The contract was allegedly granted to Earth Resource Pvt Ltd without a competitive bidding process, despite the company's lack of prior mining experience. The Punjab Mines Department reportedly did not consider other companies and agreed to contribute only 20% to the project, rendering the joint venture illegal. Furthermore, the project's details were not disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. Following his arrest, Khan was presented before an accountability court for physical remand.[15]

In July 2019, the court ordered that Khan three co-accused be sent to jail on judicial remand until July 17. The court expressed dissatisfaction with NAB's justification for further physical remand, noting that similar grounds had been presented previously. Khan had resigned from his ministerial position following his arrest in June 2019.[16] He remained incarcerated until he was granted bail by the Lahore High Court on September 19, 2019, marking approximately 94 days in custody.[17]

In October 2024, an accountability court in Lahore transferred Khan's corruption case to the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE). The court determined that, following amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance, the NAB no longer had jurisdiction over cases involving amounts less than Rs500 million.[18]

References

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  1. ^ "PML-N's Malik Ahmed Khan gets 224 votes to become new Punjab Assembly speaker". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
  2. ^ a b c d "Punjab Assembly". www.pap.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Sibtain Khan – Leadership". Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Punjab Assembly election result 1988-97" (PDF). ECP. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  5. ^ "2002 election result" (PDF). ECP. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  6. ^ Hanif, Intikhab (4 January 2003). "25-member Punjab cabinet takes oath". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 10 June 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  7. ^ "2008 election result" (PDF). ECP. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  8. ^ "Notification - Results Punjab Assembly 2013 election" (PDF). ECP. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  9. ^ "List of winners of Punjab Assembly seats". The News. 13 May 2013. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  10. ^ "PP-88 Result - Election Results 2018 - Mianwali 4 - PP-88 Candidates - PP-88 Constituency Details - thenews.com.pk". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  11. ^ Malik, Mansoor (28 August 2018). "Punjab cabinet sworn in: Only 15 out of 23 ministers given portfolios". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  12. ^ "Aleem Khan steps away from business before taking oath as minister". www.pakistantoday.com.pk. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  13. ^ Reporter, The Newspaper's Staff (30 August 2018). "Another three ministers get portfolios". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  14. ^ Waqar, Ali; Farooq, Umer (2022-07-29). "PTI's Sibtain Khan elected new Punjab Assembly speaker". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  15. ^ "Punjab minister Sibtain Khan arrested by NAB in Lahore". Dawn. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  16. ^ "Former minister sent to jail on judicial remand". The Express Tribune. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  17. ^ Butt, Tariq (9 October 2019). "Physical remand of NAB accused: Accountability courts exercise discretion". The News International. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  18. ^ "Sibtain case transferred to ACE". Dawn. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2025.