Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan
Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan in 2018
Spokesperson Government of The Punjab
In office
6 August 2022 – 14 January 2023
GovernorMuhammad Baligh Ur Rehman
Chief MinisterChaudhry Pervaiz Elahi
In office
13 August 2021 – 6 October 2021
GovernorChaudhry Mohammad Sarwar
Chief MinisterUsman Buzdar
Provincial Minister of Punjab for Colonies
In office
6 July 2019 – 21 December 2020
GovernorChaudhry Mohammad Sarwar
Chief MinisterUsman Buzdar
Provincial Minister of Punjab for Information and Culture
In office
2 December 2019 – 2 November 2020
GovernorChaudhry Mohammad Sarwar
Chief MinisterUsman Buzdar
In office
27 August 2018 – 5 March 2019
GovernorChaudhry Mohammad Sarwar
Chief MinisterUsman Buzdar
Member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab
In office
15 August 2018 – 14 January 2023
ConstituencyPP-17 Rawalpindi-XII
In office
2002–2007
ConstituencyRawalpindi
Provincial Minister of Punjab for Prisons
In office
3 November 2020 – April 2022
Personal details
Born (1970-05-21) May 21, 1970 (age 53)
Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan
Nationality Pakistani
Political party IPP (2023-present)
Other political
affiliations		 PTI (2016-2023)
PML-Q (2008-2016)
Jamaat-e-Islami (2001-2008)

Fayaz-ul-Hasan Chohan is a Pakistani politician who had been a member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab from August 2018 till January 2023. He was also the Official Spokesperson to the Chief Minister of Punjab[1] and President of the Directorate General Public Relations. He has previously served as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Information, Culture, Colonies and Prisons from 27 August 2018 till 30 March 2020.

Early life and education

He was born on 21 May 1970 in Lahore in a Chohan family of the Gujar tribe.[2]

He received the degree of Master's in Economics from the University of Punjab, Lahore, in 1994 and is a software engineer by profession.[2]

Political career

Associated with the Jamaat-e-Islami,[3] he was elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) from PP-14 (Rawalpindi-XIV) in the 2002 Punjab provincial election. He received 13,738 votes and defeated Rashid Naseem Abbasi, a candidate of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).[4] From 12 August 2003 till dissolution of assembly in 2007, he was the Chairperson of Standing Committee on Social Welfare, Women Development and Bait-ul-Maal and member of Standing Committee on Revenue, Relief & Consolidation.

He ran for the seat of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q) from PP-14 (Rawalpindi-XIV) in 2008 Punjab provincial election but was unsuccessful. He received 4,166 votes and lost the seat to Hanif Abbasi.[5]

He was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from PP-17 Rawalpindi-XII in the 2018 Punjab provincial election.[6] He received 40,919 votes and defeated Raja Abdul Hanif.[7]

On 27 August 2018, he was inducted into the provincial Punjab cabinet of Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and was appointed as Provincial Minister of Punjab for information and culture.[8]

He resigned as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Information and Culture on 5 March 2019 after intense criticism over his offensive remarks against the Hindu community.[9]

On 5 July 2019 he was re-inducted into Provincial Punjab Cabinet of Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and was appointed as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Colonies.

On 2 December 2019, he was again appointed as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Information and Culture. On 2 December 2020, he was removed from his post of Minister of Punjab for Information and Culture.

In November 2020, he was appointed as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Prisons.[10][11]

He served as the Official Spokesperson to the Chief Minister of Punjab and President of the Directorate General Public Relations, Government of Punjab.

He is running for a seat in the Provincial Assembly from PP-17 Rawalpindi-XII as a candidate of the IPP in the 2024 Punjab provincial election.[12]

On May 23, 2023, Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan decided to leave the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. [13]

Views

Shortly after becoming Provincial Minister of Punjab for information and culture in August 2018, he stirred a controversy when he used obscene language against TV channel staff during an interview on 30 August 2018.[14][15] The same day, he was videotaped passing "vulgar and derogatory misogynistic remarks" against female artists of Lollywood.[16][17][18] Both incidents earned him severe criticism.[19]

Fayyaz resigned in March 2019 from the Punjab provincial cabinet after some of his remarks in the wake of India-Pakistan conflict in 2019. In order to highlight how exalted his motherland Pakistan is vis-a-vis India, he downgraded Indians using vulgar and derogatory comments. This was particularly derogatory to the Hindu community of his country. He was asked for a clarification from Pakistan Punjab Province Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and Prime Minister Imran Khan.[20] Chohan apologised for his derogatory remarks and insisted that his remarks were aimed at Indian armed forces and Indian government and not against any Hindu community. Though Chohan apologized, he had to resign from the cabinet.[21] Later on, he served as provincial information minister for Punjab government until his removal on 2 November 2020 and appointment as Minister for colonies.[22]

References

  1. ^ "Fayaz-ul-Hassan Chohan | Office of the Chief Minister of Punjab, Government of the Punjab". cm.punjab.gov.pk. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
  2. ^ a b "Punjab Assembly". www.pap.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  3. ^ Faizan Bangash (3 December 2019), "Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan becomes Punjab Info Minister again", The News International. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  4. ^ "2002 election result" (PDF). ECP. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  5. ^ "2008 election result" (PDF). ECP. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  6. ^ "Pakistan election 2018 results: National and provincial assemblies". Samaa TV. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  7. ^ "Election Results 2018 – Constituency Details". www.thenews.com.pk. The News. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  8. ^ Malik, Mansoor (28 August 2018). "Punjab cabinet sworn in: Only 15 out of 23 ministers given portfolios". dawn.com. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  9. ^ Farooq, Umer (5 March 2019). "Fayyaz Chohan resigns as Punjab minister amid criticism over derogatory remarks against Hindus". dawn.com. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan appointed provincial minister for prisons".
  11. ^ Reporter, The Newspaper's Staff (2020-11-04). "Chohan gets additional charge of prisons dept". dawn.com. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  12. ^ "List of PTI Candidates for Provincial Elections In Punjab | 2023". Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. 2023-04-19. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  13. ^ NEWSDESK (2023-05-23). "Fayyaz Chohan quits PTI over party's 'policy of violence'". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  14. ^ "Punjab info minister loses cool during TV interview". Geo News. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  15. ^ "PTI minister's foul language puts Punjab govt in hot waters". The News. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  16. ^ "Video: Fayaz ul Hasan Chohan passes obscene remarks in Lollywood-related mixed gathering". Daily Pakistan Global. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  17. ^ "Punjab information minister bans 'vulgar' film posters, derides entertainment industry". dawn.com. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  18. ^ "Punjab information minister creates another controversy". www.geo.tv. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  19. ^ Malik, Mansoor (31 August 2018). "Chohan at the centre of bad press after remarks against stage actors". dawn.com. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  20. ^ "Pakistan minister Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan resigns over anti-Hindu remarks". India Today. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  21. ^ "Pakistan minister Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan resigns over anti-Hindu remarks". India Today. 5 March 2019.
  22. ^ Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan removed as Punjab's information minister, Geo News, 2 November 2020.
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