Malik Meraj Khalid (Urdu: ملک معراج خالد; 1 February 1916 – 13 June 2003), was a Pakistani advocate, left wing politician and Marxist philosopher who served as the Caretaker prime minister of Pakistan from November 1996 until February 1997.[1] He was noted as being one of the original philosophers and founders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).[2]
Born in 1916 to a poor farming family in Punjab, British India, he graduated in law from the Islamia College (Lahore) in 1942, starting his legal practice by establishing his own law firm in 1948. Inspired by the communist literature published in the Soviet Union, his initial public community work was aimed towards promoting literacy in his native village. In 1967, he was one of the founders of the PPP and ascended towards holding the highly important public offices. Responsible for administrating and maintaining the control of the Punjab Province after the war with India in 1971, Meraj Khalid was appointed as law minister in 1974 and served as the Speaker of the National Assembly in two non-consecutive terms.[1][2]
However, his tough and rigorous Hard Left ideas led to developing political differences with Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in the 1990s, by whom he was sacked in 1996 after levelling accusations against Benazir Bhutto's spouse Asif Zardari for the murder of Murtaza Bhutto.[1] Being appointed as caretaker prime minister, Meraj Khalid then worked to rally the anti–Benazir Bhutto forces, and his efforts contributed to Nawaz Sharif and the conservatives' landslide victory in the 1997 parliamentary elections.
- ^ a b c Arif Azad (31 July 2003). "Obituary Malik Meraj Khalid". The Guardian (newspaper). London. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ a b "Meraj Khalid passes away". Dawn (newspaper), 14 June 2003, retrieved 23 May 2020