Rao Hashim Khan

Rao Muhammad Hashim Khan (Urdu: راؤمُحمّد ہاشِم خان) was one of the oldest and most senior members of the Pakistan People's Party. He hails from District Pakpattan which is considered a stronghold of the Rao Family, who settled in this area after the independence of Pakistan in 1947.

Rao Hashim Khan راؤ ہاشم خاں
Rao Hashim Khan in 2002
Chairman of the 10th PAC, Pakistan
In office 28 August 1995 – 5 November 1996
President	Farooq Leghari
Prime Minister	Benazir Bhutto
Preceded by	Mr.Hamza – NA-73
Succeeded by	Mr.Hamza – NA-73
Constituency	NA-128 (Pakpattan)
Member of Parliament
In office 15 October 1993 – 5 November 1996
President	Wasim Sajjad(Acting) Farooq Leghari
Prime Minister	Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi(Acting) Benazir Bhutto
Preceded by	Mian Mehmood Ahmed Khan of IJI
Succeeded by	Mian Mehmood Ahmed Khan of Nawaz League
Constituency	NA-128 (Pakpattan).
In office 26 March 1977 – 5 July 1977
President	Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry
Prime Minister	Quaid-e-Awam ZA Bhutto
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Constituency	NA-138 Pakpattan(Sahiwal-VII)
In office 14 April 1972 – 7 March 1977
President	Quaid-e-Awam ZA Bhutto Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry
Prime Minister	Quaid-e-Awam ZA Bhutto
Preceded by	Position established
Constituency	NW-98 Pakpattan(Sahiwal-VI)
Personal details
Born	15 March 1923 Balyali Bhiwani, East Punjab, British India (Present-day Haryana, India)
Died	14 July 2003(2003-07-14) (aged 80) Lahore, Pakistan
Nationality	Pakistan
Political party	Pakistan Peoples Party
Spouse	Shabbir-un-Nisa
Relatives	Rao family
Alma mater	Aligarh Muslim University Govt. College, Lahore.
Occupation	Lawyer, Politician.

Life

Early life

He was born to Rao Chaudhri Muhammad Ali who was a government official and his wife Hameeda Begum in 1923. In his early life he attended Government College Lahore for his Secondary Education. While there he took an active part in extracurricular and sports activities in college particularly in boxing and went on to take part in the National Level Inter Collegiate Boxing Championship in India. In addition while there he befriended Nobel Laureate Dr. Abdus Salam as well as legendary Bollywood actor Dev Anand. Being comparatively secular he befriended numerous Hindu and Sikh class fellows while still being an integral part of the Muslim student varsity at the college. Later on he enrolled in the Aligarh Muslim University and gained his degree in Law. After becoming a lawyer he moved back to his hometown of Hisar and established a thriving practice there mostly in Criminal Law.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Thus having established a name for himself as a successful lawyer in the city and being one of the most prominent members of his tribe in the area, he was invited by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to contest on the ticket of the newly formed Pakistan People's Party in the 1970 elections.

He was an elected member of Pakistan National Assembly thrice since 1970. He took part in the 1970 and 1977 elections and was victorious.^[1][2] In 1988 he was unable to secure his seat in the National Assembly, but was nominated Chairman of the Land Commission. In 1993 he emerged victorious again and was elected Chairman of 10th PAC, Pakistan on 28 August 1995.^[3][4]

Later life, retirement, and death

He lost in the 1997 elections.^[5] After the 2002 elections he retired from active politics and was succeeded by his sons Rao Mohammad Naseem Hashim and Rao Mohammad Jamil Hashim. He was survived by six sons and one daughter. He died on Saturday July 14, 2012 and was buried in his (Chak Bedi) native village in Pakpattan.^[6]