Sumaira Malik is a Pakistani politician who served as a Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from the constituency NA-69 (Khushab-I) consecutively three times in 2002, 2008, and 2013 respectively.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Sumaira Malik Awan or Sumera Malik [1]Dawn was born on Thursday, 19 December 1963 (age 59 years; as of 2022) in Kalabagh, Mianwali district, Pakistan. Her zodiac sign is Sagittarius. Sumaira completed her graduation at the Islamia University of Bahawalpur in Pakistan. [2]Sumaira Malik Sumaira enrolled herself at the University of the Punjab in Lahore, where she earned a Master of Arts in Political Science. [3]Dawn
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 6″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Family
Sumaira Malik belongs to the Qutab-shahi Awan family in Pakistan.
Parents & Siblings
Sumaira Malik’s father, Malik Allahyar Khan, was a politician. There is not much information available about her mother.
Picture of Sumaira Malik’s father, Malik Allahyar Khan
Sumaira Malik with her mother
Her younger sister, Ayla Malik, a Pakistani journalist and politician, served as a Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan on a reserved seat for women from 2002 to 2007.
Sumaira Malik’s younger sister, Ayla Malik
She also has a sister, who is married to one of the sons of her maternal uncle Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari.
Husband & Children
Sumaira is married to Malik Tahir Sarfraz, a former federal secretary from Khushab. Together, they have a son, Malik Salar Muhammad Khan, a politician.
Sumaira Malik with her husband, Malik Tahir Sarfraz (right), and son, Malik Muhammad Uzair (left)
Sumaira also has a son, Malik Muhammad Uzair Khan from Muhammad Hashim Khan. [4]National Assembly of Pakistan
Sumaira Malik with her son, Malik Salar Muhammad Khan
Other Relative
Sumaira is the granddaughter of the Nawab of Kalabagh, Malik Amir Mohammad Khan. Notorious for his brutality in his heydays, Amir Mohammad Khan served as the Governor of West Pakistan in the 1960s. He was killed by his son Asadullah Khan on 26 November 1967 over a family property dispute. [5]Dawn
Malik Amir Mohammad Khan
Sumaira Malik is the niece of Pakistan’s former President Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari.
Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari
Religion
Sumaira Malik follows Islam. [6]Sumaira Malik PTI – Facebook
Ethnicity/Tribe
Sumaira belongs to the Awan tribe. [7]Wikipedia
Address
Sumaira resides in H.No.5, St.14-A, F-7/2, Margallah Road, Islamabad.
Career
2002 Pakistani general elections
Sumaira began her political career in 2002 and joined the National Alliance Party. In the 2002 Pakistani general elections, she contested from the NA-69 (Khushab-I) Constituency and was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan by defeating Umer Aslam Khan, a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q) by a margin of 71,925 votes. In September 2004, she was officiated as the Minister of State for Tourism in the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s government, Pakistan Muslim League (Q). She also headed the Ministry of Women Development and Ministry of Youth Affairs during her tenure.
2008 Pakistani general elections
In the 2008 Pakistani general elections, Sumaira, as a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q), was re-elected from the NA-69 (Khushab-I) constituency by defeating Umer Aslam Khan, an independent candidate.
2013 Pakistani general election
In the 2013 Pakistani general elections, she won from the NA-69 (Khushab-I) constituency as a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (N) by defeating Umer Aslam Khan, a candidate of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. In 2014, the 2013 general elections for the NA-69 (Khushab-I) constituency were declared null and void after Sumaira was disqualified by the Supreme Court due to the possession of a fake degree. Later, the by-elections were conducted in which Sumaira’s son, Malik Muhammad Uzair Khan won the seat by defeating a candidate of the party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
2018 Pakistani general elections
In the 2018 Pakistani general elections, Sumaira lost from the NA-69 (Khushab-I) constituency to Malik Umer Aslam Khan, a candidate of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf by a margin of 30,047 votes.
Controversies
Accused of possessing a fake degree
In the 2013 general elections, Sumaira Malik was elected as the Member of the National Assembly (MNA) on a ticket of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) from the NA-69 (Khushab-I) constituency. After her third consecutive victory, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court by a rival candidate from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Malik Omar Aslam in which he alleged that Sumaira had held a fake graduation degree in arts and accused her of hiring a person, who impersonated her in the degree examinations. He claimed that Sumaira had completed her graduation in 1981, but she obtained a fake graduation degree from the University of Punjab to lawfully maintain her eligibility in contesting the general elections. In October 2013, the Supreme Court accused her of not being enough qualified to contest the elections as per the constitutional provisions and her victory in the 2013 general elections was declared null and void. Further, she was disqualified by the apex court from contesting elections in future under Article 62(1) (f) of the Constitution due to possession of a fake degree. The Supreme court passed the verdict, which read,
She has obtained a bachelors degree by way of impersonation and depending upon the same educational qualification as it is normally disclosed by the candidates in the nominations papers, she had proved herself not to be truthful person. For the foregoing reasons, the instant appeal is allowed. Resultantly therefore, on account of such qualification she would not be entitled to contest the election in future as well, and if she does contest elections and is declared successful, the Election Commission shall be bound to de-notify her from ab-initio.” [8]Pakistan Today
However, on 9 June 2018, the Supreme Court granted permission to Sumaira to contest the 2018 Pakistani general elections and revoked the decision of lifetime disqualification of her from contesting the parliamentary elections after the in-depth forensic analysis of her degree, which showcased that it was authentic.
Violation of secrecy of the ballot paper
On 22 December 2016, Sumaira was appointed as the chairperson of the Khushab district council. On 28 December 2016, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) revoked her appointment after a petition was filed by Ameer Haider Sangha alleging that one of the voters had flaunted his ballot paper at the time of polling. However, on 7 July 2017, the Islamabad High Court restored Sumaira as the chairperson of the district council Khushab. On 8 May 2018, the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared the chief elections null and void and ordered them to re-contest the election all over again. Sumaira, who served as the district council chief of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) was disqualified and eventually, she had to vacate her post. The petition filed by Amir Haider led to the second consecutive disqualification of Sumaira, by the Supreme Court, in a span of five years. [9]Daily Pakistan
Assets/Properties
As of 2003, Sumaira’s net assets were valued at approximately Rs 75.3 million, which includes agricultural land, houses, two cars, 50 tola gold, prize bonds, shares, and cash in two bank accounts. [10]Dawn
Facts/Trivia
- In February 2022, Sumaira was appointed as the vice president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.
- Sumaira has applied the prefix of Dr before her name as she is a PhD degree holder per her Twitter account. [11]Dr. Sumaira Malik – Twitter
- Sumaira served as the spokesperson of the Imran Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
- Sumaira was the first elected candidate to the lower house of the parliament from Constituency NA-69 (Khushab-I) from the National Alliance in the 2002 general election. [12]Pakistani Observer
- In March 2022, Sumaira was invited as one of the chief guests at the first convocation of the University of Central Punjab (Bhawalpur).
- In 2022, multiple old phone call recordings of the Pakistani politician Imran Khan, indicating his sexual relations with Ayla Malik, went viral on social media. In the leaked audio, Imran Khan can be heard having an inappropriate conversation with a woman, who is supposed to be Sumaira’s sister, Ayla. However, Imran Khan’s political party Tehreek-e-Insaf denied the news and claimed that the audio tapes were fake and fabricated. Ayla, who was believed to be the woman on the other end, also denied the news and said that the voice was not hers. Sumaira addressed the audio tape as fake and tweeted in support of her sister Ayla Malik, which read,
میری بہن عائلہ ملک کے متعلق ریلیز کی گئی جعلی آڈیوز کی سختی سے مذمت کرتی ہوں اور سپریم کورٹ سے سخت نوٹس لینے کا مطالبہ کرتی ہوں
— Sumaira Malik (@SumairaMaIikMNA) December 21, 2022
References
