Naeemul Haque – Profile, Political Career & Election History

Naeemul Haque – Prime Minister Imran’s special assistant died today (Saturday) in Karachi, he was one of the pioneer members of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

He was a veteran politician and banker and businessman by profession. He had been combatting blood cancer for the last two years and finally lost his life at the age of 70, in a private hospital of Karachi.

Naeemul Haque – Profile

Mr. Haque was born on July 11, 1949 in Karachi, he completed his M.A. in English Literature from University of Karachi (1970) and then pursued LLB from Sindh Muslim Law College Karachi (1971).

He practiced law with Khalid Ishaq before joining Jamil Nishtar’s team at the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP).

As a young banker, he was part of the team that established the NBP branch at UN Plaza in New York City, after which he moved to London in 1980 as a merchant banker for Oriental Credit Limited.

Naeem had thirty-five years’ of cumulative experience in banking, finance, corporate sector and law in Pakistan, London and New York.

During his career, he also served as an Advisor/Managing Director of Aero Asia Airlines, Chairman & CEO Metropolitan Steel Corp and Managing Director, Credit & Leasing Corporation.

Naeemul Haque – Political Career

During his professional tenure in London in early 1980s, he became close friends with Imran Khan, who used to play county cricket at that time.

Imran would frequently visit Naeem and his wife, Nazli Jamil (“Nazo”). Naeem and Imran Khan became especially close friends when the latter developed a debilitating stress fracture in 1983, and Naeem famously gave his exercise bike for Imran’s recuperation.

Naeem was driven by the purpose to serve Pakistan and believed that positive change could only be brought about in the country through a democratic, political system.

Naeemul Haque – PM Imran’s special assistant passes away 

In 1984, he joined Air Marshal Asghar Khan’s Tehreek Istiqlal party in London and moved back to Karachi a couple of years later to set up his leasing company business and pursue political aspirations.

In the post-Zia ul Haq era, he contested the 1988 elections from Tehreek Istiqlal ticket in Orangi. Even though he lost the election, he continued his interest in politics and kept up-to-date on economic-related matters.

PTI and Naeemul Haque

In 1996, he became one of the five founding members of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) along with his close friend Imran Khan. As a trusted aide, he helped Imran Khan manage the party affairs and overcome the election setbacks of 1997 and 2001.

After the death of his wife in 2008 from a bout of cancer, Naeem fully devoted his life to PTI, where he become the Central Information Secretary and President of Sindh.

He is credited with organizing the huge December 25, 2011 jalsa in Karachi that helped establish PTI’s popularity as a national party.

Naeemul Haque – Election History

In 2012, Naeem moved to Islamabad as Chief of Staff to the PTI Chairman and an integral part of the PTI Core Committee leading into the elections of both 2013 and 2018.

He worked extremely hard and directly with Imran Khan in organizing the party at the grassroots working across the board with workers and part office bearers.

He also intermittently served as the Information Secretary of the party during this period playing an important part on the party’s communication strategy.

Cancer Diagnosed

In January 2018 eight months before the general elections, Naeem was diagnosed with blood cancer. Like a true party loyalist, he soldiered on, working long hours prior to the elections while undergoing treatment.

Never one to shirk from important causes and managing people and operations, he remained at the forefront. As a member of the PTI core committee, he was an accessible, approachable and was popular among the workers.

When the 2018 victory finally came to PTI, he was appointed a Special Assistant on Political Affairs to the PM and was involved in a number of initiatives ranging from housing scheme, party operations, SDGs and appointments to name a few.

An honest man, he cared for ordinary people, the future of PTI and a progressive Pakistan, where the underprivileged have an equal chance to prosper.

Death

Naeemul Haque was shifted to the Private hospital in Karachi, today (15 February 2020) after his condition started deteriorating at home. Doctors tried to manage him in the intensive care unit but it seems that he has completed all the tasks, he was assigned. So he took his last breath and departed towards the divine world.