Omar Asghar Khan
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Omar Asghar Khan (July 3, 1953 - June 25, 2002) was a Pakistani social worker, economist and politician. He joined the Pakistan Army in 1971 and left it at the rank of a captain in 1973. He then gained an M-Phil in Economics from Cambridge University, United Kingdom and returned to Pakistan in 1979. From 1980-83 he taught economics at the University of the Punjab, in Lahore. According to Sungi, “Omar's popular efforts to promote progressive political thought among students instigated a physical attack on him by the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba. In 1983 General Zia-ul-Haq's repressive regime ordered Omar's dismissal from the Punjab University.”
After his dismissal from the university Omar joined his father, retired Air Marshal Asghar Khan’s political party, the Tehreek-I-Istiqlal. In 1988 and 1990 he lost the national elections. Omar established/conceptualized many social organizations in the country:
- In 1982 establish the Pakistan Institute of Labor Education and Research.
- In 1987 established Socio-Economic and Business Consultants (SEBCON).
- In 1989 established Sungi Development Foundation.
- In 1998 conceptualized and initiated the People’s Assemblies Process.
After a bloodless coup in Pakistan, in November 1999, Omar joined General Pervaz Musharraf’s cabinet as Federal Minister for Environment, Local Government & Rural Development, Labor, Manpower, and Overseas Pakistanis. In December 2001 he resigned from the cabinet and launched a new political party the Qaumi Jamhoori Party to contest the general elections, But died before the elections under mysterious circumstances on June 25, 2002.
