Fawad Chaudhry is a Pakistani politician, lawyer, and journalist from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. He served as the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, overseeing media affairs. He previously held the role of Federal Minister for Science and Technology. He has been an active member of the National Assembly and played a crucial part in the party’s core committee. He has also served as a Special Assistant in the federal cabinet, focusing on information, political affairs, and policy implementation.
Wiki/Biography
Fawad Ahmed Hussain Chaudhry aka Chaudhry Fawad Hussain aka Fawad Chaudhry was born on Tuesday, 7 April 1970 (age 53 years; as of 2023) in Dina village in the Punjab province of Pakistan. He did his schooling at F.G. School Mangla Cantt (1991). He pursued a law degree at Government College University, Lahore (GCUL) from 1993 to 1995. In 1998, he opened his company First Law Company which deals in law-related issues.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 10″
Weight (approx.): 90 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
He was born into a politically active Muslim-Jat family of the Vains (also spelt Bains) caste.
Parents & Siblings
His father’s name was Nassim Hussain Chaudhry who was a politician. He has a younger brother named Faraz Chaudhry.
Fawad Chaudhry’s younger brother, Faraz Chaudhry
Wife & Children
He has been married twice. His first wife’s name is Saima Ijaz. They later divorced each other, and he got married to Hiba Khan, an internet personality, in 2015. The couple has two daughters, and one of them is named Nisa Hussain.
Fawad Chaudhry with his second wife, Hiba Khan, and two daughters
Other Relatives
He had three uncles named Chaudhry Altaf Hussain, twice governor of Punjab province in Pakistan, Javed Hussain Chaudhry, and Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry, longest serving Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court, post-partition. His paternal grandfather’s name was Chaudhry Mohammad Awais who was a soldier in British Army. His maternal grandfather’s name was Chaudhry Shah Mohammad.
Fawad Chaudhry’s uncle, Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry, longest serving Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court, in the post-partition era
Signature
Career
Journalist
He worked as a political analyst and anchor for the Urdu News channel Neo News and hosted the program Khabar Kay Pechay. In 2015, he interviewed Syed Mustafa Kamal, the former Mayor of Karachi.
Fawad Chaudhry worked as a journalist before becoming a full-time politician
Politician
Early years
In the 2002 Pakistani general election, he contested as an independent candidate for the Provincial Assembly of Punjab from Constituency PP-25 (Jhelum-II); however, he was not successful in securing the seat and received 161 votes. The seat was won by Chaudhry Tasneem Nasir, a candidate from the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q), who garnered 38,626 votes.
Fawad Chaudhry (right) with Shah Mahmood Qureshi during a political rally
In 2008, he joined Pervez Musharraf‘s party All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) and was its media coordinator till 2012.
A selfie of Fawad Chaudhry (left) with Pervez Musharraf
In March 2012, he joined Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). In April 2012, he became a part of the federal cabinet under Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani. He was given the position of special assistant to the Prime Minister, handling information and political affairs. He held the status of a minister of state during this time. His tenure in the cabinet continued until June 2012 when Prime Minister Gillani was disqualified, leading to the dissolution of the federal cabinet.
Fawad Chaudhry (left) in a meeting with Yousaf Raza Gillani
In July 2012, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf assumed the role of Prime Minister, and Chaudhry was once again included in the federal cabinet. This time, he was appointed as the Special Assistant for Prime Minister on Political Affairs. He served in this capacity until March 2013, when his tenure came to an end.
Fawad Chaudhry (extreme left) during a session of the Pakistan National Assembly
In the 2013 Pakistani general election, he contested as a candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid e Azam Group (PML-Quaid) party for the National Assembly seat from NA-63 (Jhelum-II); however, he did not succeed in securing the seat and received a total of 34,072 votes and was defeated by Malik Iqbal Mehdi Khan.
Fawad Chaudhry (right) with Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
In the same election, he also ran as an independent candidate for the Provincial Assembly of Punjab from Constituency PP-24 (Jhelum-I). He received only 82 votes and lost the seat to Raja Muhammad Awais Khan.
Fawad Chaudhry (right) giving an award
Joining Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party
He became a member of Imran Khan‘s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in June 2016.
Fawad Chaudhry (right) with Imran Khan
He contested in the by-election held in August 2016 as a PTI candidate for the National Assembly seat from Constituency NA-63 (Jhelum-II); however, he did not win the seat. He received 74,819 votes and was defeated by Nawabzada Raja Matloob Mehdi in the election. In November 2016, he was appointed as the spokesperson of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. In March 2018, following the resignation of Shafqat Mahmood, he was given the additional charge of Secretary Information of PTI.
Fawad Chaudhry speaking during a program
In June 2018, he was selected as a candidate for the 2018 Pakistani general election from Constituency NA-67 (Jhelum-II); however, his nomination papers were rejected by an election tribunal after a petition was filed alleging that he had not paid the agriculture tax. Chaudhry filed an appeal in the Lahore High Court against the tribunal’s decision, and the court allowed him to contest the election. He emerged victorious in the 2018 general election from Constituency NA-67 (Jhelum-II) and garnered 93,102 votes, defeating Nawabzada Raja Matloob Mehdi, who represented the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) party.
Fawad Chaudhry waving his hand to his supporters during a political campaign rally
In the same election, he was also elected to the Provincial Assembly of Punjab as a PTI candidate from Constituency PP-27 (Jhelum-III) and received 67,003 votes, surpassing his opponent Nasir Mehmood from the PML-N party. Following his successful election to the National and Provincial Assemblies, Chaudhry expressed his interest in becoming the Chief Minister of Punjab during a televised talk show. On August 18, 2018, he was appointed as the Minister for Information and Broadcasting and assumed the position of Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting in Prime Minister Imran Khan’s federal cabinet, two days later, on 20 August 2018.
Fawad Chaudhry (right) during his stint as Science and Technology Minister
In April 2019, he was removed from his position as the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting and was appointed as the Federal Minister for Science and Technology. In April 2021, he was reappointed as the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting.
Fawad Chaudhry during his stint as Information and Broadcast Minister
Controversies
Launching a website for moonsighting
As the Federal Minister for Science and Technology, he launched Pakistan’s first official moon-sighting website and a calendar in May 2019. The website, called Moon Sighting Pakistan and accessible at pakmoonsighting.pk, aimed to put an end to the recurring moon-sighting controversy that arose before religious festivals. He sent the five-year Hijri calendar to the Council of Islamic Ideology which presented it to the federal cabinet for review. Despite facing criticism from some religious groups, he expressed his belief that the traditional Ruet-e-Hilal Committee was unnecessary.
Comments about India
He often gives controversial statements about India including Pulwama terrorist attack and Chandrayaan – 2 mission. After the Pulwama attack, he said in the Pakistan National Assembly that they attacked India. He said,
Humne Hindustan ko ghus ke maara (We hit India in their home). Our success in Pulwama, is a success of the people under the leadership of Imran Khan. You and we are all part of that success”
When the opposition leaders protested, he clarified and said that they hit India after the Pulwama attack and said,
Pulwama ke waqiyeh ke baad, jab humne India ko ghus ke maara(When we hit India in their home after the incident at Pulwama).”
After Chandrayaan-2 mission failed, he tweeted that India should not undertake such missions and termed ‘India’ as ‘Endia.’
Awwwww….. Jo kaam ata nai panga nai leitay na….. Dear “Endia” https://t.co/lp8pHUNTBZ
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) September 6, 2019
Dear Endia; instead of wasting money on insane missions as of Chandrayyan or sending idiots like #abhinandan for tea to across LoC concentrate on poverty within, your approach on #Kashmir ll be another Chandrayyan just price tag ll be far bigger.
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) September 7, 2019
Arrested for sedition
He was arrested on 25 January 2023 for allegedly threatening senior members of the Pakistan Election Commission and their families to stop them from carrying out their duties. The Islamabad police registered an FIR against him under several sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, based on the complaint of the ECP Secretary Omar Hamid Khan, who stated that Fawad Chaudhry had used threatening language against the commission and its members.
Fawad Chaudhry after his arrest
Fawad Chaudhry was released on bail on 1 February 2023, with the condition that he would not repeat any such words that incite violence against a constitutional institution. Both the ECP and prosecution opposed Fawad’s bail and requested the court to reject it.
Arrested for inciting violence
On 9 May 2023, Imran Khan was arrested by Police following which the supporters of his party held violent protests in the country. Fawad was arrested by the police under the “Maintenance of Public Order” regulation during the protests. On 16 May 2023, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb of the Islamabad High Court ordered his release after Fawad submitted an undertaking that he would not incite any violence. When he came out of the Court, he spotted some cops coming towards him and came out of his SUV in a hurry and ran inside the Court to evade arrest. His political rivals mocked him for his antics and made fun of him.
#Hilarious #PakiDrama Political drama continues in Pakistan as the Islamabad High Court orders the release of PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry. However, moments after his release, the police make another attempt to arrest him.
Fawad manages to evade them and ran to the court premise,… pic.twitter.com/EzxpSiWpeD
— Jammu-Kashmir Now (@JammuKashmirNow) May 16, 2023
Facts/Trivia
- He likes to play sports, particularly cricket, during his leisure time.
Fawad Chaudhry likes to play cricket
- He has been a vocal advocate for Pakistan’s space program. Under his leadership, the country successfully launched its first-ever remote sensing satellite, the Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite (PRSS-1), in 2018, which has been instrumental in various sectors such as agriculture, disaster management, and urban planning.
- He likes smoking cigars.
Fawad Chaudhry likes to smoke a cigar
