Pervez Khattak

Pervez Khan Khattak (پروېز خان خټک; born 1 January 1950) is a Pakistani politician who served as the Minister of Defence from August 2018 until April 2022.

Pervez Khattak was born on 25 January 1950 in the village of Manki Sharif to government contractor Hastam Khan Khattak, who was considered among the leading builders in the pre-partition subcontinent.

He belongs to the Khattak tribe of Pashtuns.

Pervez Khattak received his early education at the Manki Sharif Primary School, and later at Pak-AIMS.

He was also a political worker for PPP in the past.

Pervez Khattak married twice.

He is a father to three sons and two daughters.

His eldest son Ishaq Khattak, after completing his education, is managing the company that his grandfather had established before the creation of Pakistan.

His son Ibrahim Khan Khattak is a member of the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Ismail Khan Khattak is receiving education in United Kingdom.

His cousin Nasrullah Khan Khattak was also Chief Minister of KP during Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's rule as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

He started his political career in 1983 as a member of the district council.

He has served as once the Irrigation Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 1988 and twice as the Ministry of Industries and Production (Pakistan) in 1993 and 2010.

He ran for the National Assembly of Pakistan in the 1990 Pakistani general election from NA-4 Peshawar-IV as a candidate of the Pakistan Democratic Alliance, but was unsuccessful.

He received 25,722 votes and was defeated by Ajmal Khattak, a candidate of the Awami National Party (ANP).

He was elected to the Provincial Assembly of the North-West Frontier Province in the 2008 North-West Frontier Province provincial election from PF-13 Nowshera-II as a candidate of the Pakistan Peoples Party (Sherpao) (PPP-S).

He received 15,168 votes and defeated Mian Yahya Shah of the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML(Q)).

Prior to that, he served as the 22nd Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 2013 to 2018, elected to the Provincial Assembly from Nowshera District.

He was a senior member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf until July 2023, when he formed his breakaway faction, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P).

On 12 February 2024, he left the chairmanship of the PTI-P and took a break from politics tenders resignation as PTI-P chairman due to ‘health issues’.

Khattak has reformist views on Pakistan's political system and he prioritised accountability in his own government, increased education enrollment, instituted reforms in the police and security sector, anti-polio campaign and plans infrastructure projects; such as improving the transportation network.

He also planned to revive the local economy by helping to rebuild tourism in the area.

While for the long term, he planned industrialisation of the economy and a reduction in red tape.

Khattak relinquished his elected post as the Secretary-General of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on 25 September 2013 to Jahangir Tareen.

As Chief Minister, he faced serious issues like terrorism, extremism, economic downfall, social upheaval.

But under his leadership, the province embarked upon many ambitious plans that include institutional development, elimination of corruption, energy production, reforming all sectors of the Government with a special focus on Health, Education, Local Government, and Law and order.

A number of reforms were introduced in Police, Education, Health, Local Government, and Civil Work Departments.

During his tenure as Chief Minister, he remained committed to establishing good governance in the province through the promotion of transparency, accountability, devolution of power, improving service delivery, entrenching rule of law, empowering citizens with a special focus on women empowerment, strengthening of institutions, etc.

On 12 July 2023, his membership with the PTI was terminated due to his lack of response to a show-cause notice which was issued because of allegations that he was inciting other members to leave the party.

On 17 July 2023, Khattak announced his own breakaway party called the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTIP) at a gathering he had held with other senior politicians.

Mahmood Khan, another former Chief Minister of the province, was sat alongside Khattak at the time of the announcement.

According to a handout issued at this gathering, Khattak would be the chief of the PTIP while more than 57 former members of the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had joined.

The handout further explained that the cause of the new party's formation was difference and conflict with the PTI over the May 9 protests.

After his party's defeat in the 2024 elections, he left the chairmanship of the party and took a break from politics.

On 13 May 2013, Chairman PTI Imran Khan nominated Pervez Khattak as the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the top post in the province where PTI as of 25 July 2018 has 94 out of 145 seats.

In 2013, Khattak was elected CM with 4 votes, more than his nearest rival from JUI-F Maulana Lutfur Rehman who secured 3 votes.

He led a coalition government with PTI as the leading party while Jamaat-e-Islami and Awami Jamhuri Ittehad Pakistan were also a part of it.

Straight away after assuming office Khattak declared that he will pursue a non-confrontational approach with then Federal Government which was controlled by Nawaz Sharif, he hoped this détente would create a more stable environment for the KPK government to produce results.

However confrontation became inevitable with conflict over the direction of the Taliban situation and by October 2013 the provincial government became more independent and assertive from the federal government, threatening to close US Supply lines.

Khattak favored peace talks with the Taliban.

He had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from August 2018 till January 2023.