Ali had begun climbing up the ladder in politics since his election as councilor of municipal corporation Peshawar in 1983 and later became Nazim-e-Ala, senator and also headed several chambers of commerce.
PESHAWAR - While there are examples of commitment shown by activists of various political parties and having reached higher positions in their respective parties, Haji Ghulam Ali is one such name as he started activism for Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam at a young age and excelled afterwards. He is now being tipped as the next governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. An immediate relative of the JUI-F leader said he had been nominated as the KP governor.
The post of governor KP had been vacant since Shah Farman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) tendered his resignation as governor soon after the no-confidence motion succeeded against Imran Khan in the National Assembly. According to JUI-F leader Maulana Abdul Jalil Jan, they had been hearing about Ghulam Ali’s name being finalised for governorship but said that there has been no confirmed report on this yet. However, he stated that at the time of no-trust motion against ousted former prime minister Imran Khan, allied political parties, particularly PML-N, had promised the JUI-F that the post of KP governor would be given to it. Ghulam Ali shot to fame when, in the beginning of his political career, he got elected as councilor of the Municipal Corporation Peshawar in 1983 while contesting election using electoral symbol of flower. He continued to serve in the councilor office till 1990. Soon after his election as councilor, he joined the JUI-F when he was a young man. Later on, Ghulam Ali became a popular leader in the party. His son was married to a daughter of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. Ali is a famous businessman of Peshawar and founded the Tribal Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He had also won the election for Nazim-e-Aala of the provincial capital Peshawar against late ANP leader Haroon Bilour, and served on the portfolio till the year 2008.
During his tenure as Peshawar’s Nazim-e-Aala, he constructed Mufti Mehmood and Malik Saad Shaheed flyovers in the city. The government led by Asif Ali Zardari awarded Sitara-e-imtiaz to Ghulam Ali for his services in August 2012 when he was serving as president of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Later, he also became a senator from the JUI-F and completed his tenure from 2009 till 2015. As a president of FPCCI, Ghulam Ali got involved in the issues of the business community. He also served as a member of the China-South Asia Business Forum’s advisory board. A source in the business community said the Islamic Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s headquarters were once planned to be moved but Ghulam Ali persuaded the General Assembly to keep it in Pakistan. The Islamic Chambers of Commerce and Industry is a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Ali was chosen by the ICCI’s general assembly to serve as vice-president. He was also successful in gaining vice-president slot of the ECO Chambers in Pakistan at the 15th Executive Committee Meeting of the ECO Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Tehran. When contacted, Ghulam Ali said that his governorship had yet not been confirmed and that they were waiting for a meeting with JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman till filing of this report.
