Former Punjab CM Manzoor Wattoo passes away

Former Punjab chief minister and speaker Manzoor Wattoo has passed away, his family confirmed on Tuesday.

Born on August 14, 1939, Wattoo began his political career in 1983 after being elected chairman of the Okara District Council. Two years later, in 1985, he entered the Punjab Assembly as a member and was chosen as its speaker.

Wattoo returned to the Punjab Assembly in 1988 as an independent legislator and subsequently aligned himself with Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League, which was part of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI). He was reelected speaker of the assembly.

In the 1993 elections, he secured seats in both the National Assembly and the Punjab Assembly on the IJI ticket. However, he chose to serve in the provincial legislature and was elected speaker for the third consecutive term.

Later that year, Wattoo successfully led a no-confidence motion that removed the Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz government of Ghulam Haider Wyne. With the backing of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Wattoo assumed office as Punjab’s chief minister, despite having the support of only a small group of dissenting lawmakers.

His alliance with the PPP ended in 1995, after which the then prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, appointed Arif Nakai as the new chief minister of Punjab. That same year, Wattoo established the Pakistan Muslim League-Jinnah following differences with his cousin, Hamid Nasir Chattha, who sought leadership of PML-Junejo.

In 1996, Wattoo won a seat in the National Assembly under the PML-Jinnah banner. He later faced corruption charges, resulting in a conviction and brief imprisonment.

After being cleared of the charges, Wattoo joined the Pakistan Muslim League–Quaid during General Pervez Musharraf's rule. Known to be close to Musharraf, he merged his PML-Jinnah faction into PML-Q on the former president's advice.

Following the 2008 general elections, which he contested as an independent and won from two National Assembly constituencies in Okara, he rejoined the PPP. He retained one seat, while his son Khurram Jehangir later won the other in a by-election on a PPP ticket.

In October 2012, Wattoo was appointed president of the PPP in central Punjab. He also served as federal minister for Kashmir affairs during the PPP-led government from 2008 to 2013.