Murad Saeed (Urdu: مراد سعید; born 17 August 1986) is a Pakistani politician who served as Federal Minister for Communications and Federal Minister for Postal Services from December 2018 to April 2022.

Murad Saeed
مرادسعید
Federal Minister for Communications and Postal Services
In office
17 December 2018 – 10 April 2022
Prime MinisterImran Khan
Preceded byHimself as State Minister
Minister of State for Postal Services
In office
26 October 2018 – 17 December 2018
Prime MinisterImran Khan
Succeeded byHimself as Federal Minister
Minister of State for Communications
In office
18 September 2018 – 17 December 2018
Succeeded byHimself as Federal Minister
Prime MinisterImran Khan
Minister of State for States and Frontier Regions
In office
11 September 2018 – 18 September 2018
Prime MinisterImran Khan
Succeeded byShehryar Afridi
Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
In office
13 August 2018 – 17 January 2023
ConstituencyNA-4 (Swat-III)
In office
1 June 2013 – 31 May 2018
ConstituencyNA-29 (Swat-I)
Personal details
Born (1986-08-17) August 17, 1986 (age 37)
Kabal Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Nationality Pakistani
Political party PTI (2013–present)

Previously, he served as Minister of State for Communications and Minister of State for Postal Services from 18 September 2018 and 26 October 2018, respectively to December 2018. He had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, from August 2018 till January 2023. Previously, he served as Minister of State for States and Frontier Regions from 11 September to 18 September 2018.[1]

He has also been a member of the National Assembly from June 2013 to May 2018. His term as minister ended on 10 April 2022 when the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan was successful.

According to analysts, Saeed is seen as a strong contender for taking up the mantle for party leadership in future.

Early life and education edit

Murad Saeed was born on 17 August 1986 at Kabal, Swat.[2]

Saeed holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of Peshawar.[3]

He has two younger sisters.

Political career edit

Student politics edit

Saeed was the founder of Insaf Student Federation, the student wing of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa[3] and remained its central president for four years.[4]

National Assembly edit

Saeed was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan as a candidate of PTI from Constituency NA-29 Swat in 2013 Pakistani general election.[5][6][3]

He was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PTI from Constituency NA-4 (Swat-III) in 2018 Pakistani general election.[7] He received 71,600 votes and defeated Saleem Khan, a candidate of Awami National Party (ANP).[8]

Ministerial positions edit

On 11 September 2018, he was inducted into the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Imran Khan[9] and was appointed as Minister of State for States and Frontier Regions.[10][11] On 18 September, his ministerial portfolio was changed and he was appointed as Minister of State for Communications.[12] On 26 October 2018, he was given the additional ministerial portfolio of Postal Services[13] and was appointed as Minister of State for Postal Services.[14]

On 17 December 2018, he was elevated as Federal Minister [15] and was appointed as Federal Minister for Communications, and Federal Minister for Postal Services.[16]

Murad Saeed obtained the best ministry award during his Ministerial tenure.[17] [18]

Controversies edit

Degree authenticity edit

In 2015, the University of Peshawar requested the Peshawar High Court to disqualify Saeed from his National Assembly seat for making a false declaration of his Bachelor of Science degree while filing nomination papers for the 2013 general elections.[19][20] The University of Peshawar maintained that there are problems found in his make-up examination and said that Saeed's transcripts do not have its official stamp for his B.Sc. degree in Environmental Sciences.[21] However, Murad Saeed refuted these allegations and said that the vice chancellor belonged to a political opponent's party, the Awami National Party.[22] Saeed approached the Peshawar High Court to prove that he had attended University of Peshawar from 2005 to 2009 for his undergraduate degree and passed all his courses.[3] In March 2018, the Peshawar High Court dismissed the petition and closed case against Murad Saeed.[23]

Fights in the National Assembly edit

Saeed made national news in March 2017, when a scuffle broke out between him and fellow MNA Mian Javed Latif. Saeed reportedly attempted to assault Javed Latif outside the National Assembly building after Latif made lewd remarks in the assembly about Imran Khan and called him a traitor and a rebel. Latif later apologized for his lewd remarks.[24][25][26][27] The issue was resolved later by the National Assembly Jirga.[28]

In April 2018, Saeed again made national news after a scuffle broke out between him and Abid Sher Ali inside the National Assembly.[29]

References edit

  1. ^ "Latest News, Breaking News, Pakistan News, News Headlines". BOL News. 2019-01-10. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
  2. ^ "Detail Information". www.pildat.org. PILDAT. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ a b c d "Murad Saeed: Determination forged in the fire of conflict – The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 2 June 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  4. ^ "PTI tasks Murad Saeed to organise youth wing". The Nation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  5. ^ "PTI, PML-N in race for two Swat NA seats". The Nation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  6. ^ "Pakistan General Elections 2013 – Detailed results". DAWN.COM. 12 May 2013. Archived from the original on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Murad Saeed of PTI wins NA-4 election". Associated Press Of Pakistan. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  8. ^ "NA-4 Result – Election Results 2018 – Swat 3 – NA-4 Candidates – NA-4 Constituency Details – thenews.com.pk". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  9. ^ "PM Imran's cabinet expanded by six | The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  10. ^ Reporter, The Newspaper's Staff (13 September 2018). "State ministers for revenue, frontier regions notified". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  11. ^ "Govt announces portfolios of new ministers". www.pakistantoday.com.pk. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  12. ^ "PM changes State Minister Murad Saeed's portfolio". ARYNEWS. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  13. ^ "Minister given task of revamping postal services". brecorder. 28 October 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  14. ^ "Federal cabinet of Prime Minister Imran Khan – 7 November 2018" (PDF). Cabinet Division. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  15. ^ "Murad Saeed sworn in as Federal Minister after PM Imran elevated him". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  16. ^ "Notification" (PDF). www.cabinet.gov.pk. Cabinet. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  17. ^ "Here's How Murad Saeed Got the Best Minister Award". 12 February 2022.
  18. ^ "Murad Saeed's ministry tops best-performance list".
  19. ^ "Varsity seeks dismissal of MNA's petition for degree". DAWN.COM. 11 April 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  20. ^ "PHC moved for Murad Saeed's disqualification". DAWN.COM. 29 April 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  21. ^ "PTI MNA in trouble over make-up examination". DAWN.COM. 22 April 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  22. ^ "PTI MNA Murad Saeed dismisses allegations of dubious degree". DAWN.COM. 6 March 2015.
  23. ^ "Writ petition against MNA Murad Saeed dismissed". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  24. ^ "PML-N MNA 'apologises' for lewd remarks". DAWN.COM. 10 March 2017. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  25. ^ "PML-N MNA apologises for slanderous remarks against PTI lawmaker's family – The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 10 March 2017. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  26. ^ "PTI's Murad Saeed punches PML-N MNA". www.thenews.com.pk. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  27. ^ "Latif, Saeed face suspension from NA". DAWN.COM. 14 March 2017. Archived from the original on 16 March 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  28. ^ "NA Jirga amicably resolved issue of Javed Latif and Murad Saeed". Radio Pakistan. Archived from the original on 16 March 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  29. ^ "Watch: Murad Saeed lunges 'towards Abid Sher Ali' amid budget session – The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.