Zulfi Bukhari
Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari (born 3 December 1980), also known as Zulfi Bukhari, is a British Pakistani businessman and politician. He currently serves as Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan in the capacity of a Minister of State in Cabinet.
Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari Zulfi Bukhari | |
---|---|
Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Overseas Pakistanis & Human Resource Development (Minister of State) | |
Assumed office 14 September 2018 | |
President | Arif Alvi |
Prime Minister | Imran Khan |
Preceded by | Pir Sadaruddin Shah |
Chairman of National Tourism Coordination Board | |
Assumed office 13 March 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Imran Khan |
Chairman of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation | |
Assumed office 14 May 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Imran Khan |
Personal details | |
Born | 3 December 1980 |
Nationality | Pakistani, British |
Political party | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf |
Biography
Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari is a British Pakistani politician and businessman and a very close friend of Prime Minister Imran Khan. He is the producer of Pakistani film Cake which had been selected as Pakistan's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards but was not nominated. Zulfi Bukhari was ranked No.1 in Hello's top 100 for the year 2020.[1]
Business career
Zulfi Bukhari is a business tycoon and owns a number of properties in UK. He owns a number of companies across UK and Pakistan.
Politics
He is an active member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and a close aid to the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan since 2011. Zulfi Bukhari was head of Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan's campaign in NA-53 Islamabad. After the 2018 elections victory, Imran Khan announced his cabinet and Zulfi was appointed as a Minister of State. He holds the following offices:
- Special Assistant to PM on Overseas Pakistanis & HRD[2]
- Chairman Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation [3]
- Chairman of National Tourism Coordination Board [4]
COVID-19
Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari led the major operations to manage the inflows of Overseas Pakistanis. Pakistani diaspora has size greater than 10 million, hence the number of repatriations was one of the highest in the world. Zulfi Bukhari and his team successfully repatriated more than 450,000 Overseas Pakistanis over a period of four months.[5] Special flights of PIA and other airlines were coordinated at subsidised rates to bring Overseas Pakistanis back. Students stuck in China were brought via two special flights gratis.[6] The efforts of SAPM were endorsed by UAE, one of the major country hosting Overseas Pakistanis.[7]
There are allegations against him that he spread COVID-19 in Pakistan through allowing Shia Zaireen from Iran without being Quarantined. However, these are unreliable accusations by people trying to further instigate the Shia-Sunni sectarian divide.[8]
External links
- National Assembly of Pakistan
- PM Imran approves National Tourism Coordination Board
- Govt appoints Zulfi as acting chairman of tourism board
- Pakpedia profile
- Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
- Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation
- Eyebrows raised over Zulfi’s appointment
- Zulfi Bukhari admits being UK citizen by birth
- Zulfi Bukhari appointed chairman of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation
References
- https://images.dawn.com/news/1186234/ptis-zulfi-bukhari-is-hello-magazines-hot-100-cover-star
- PM Khan appoints Zulfi Bukhari as special assistant on overseas Pakistanis https://www.dawn.com/news/1433678
- Zulfi Bukhari appointed chairman of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation https://www.dawn.com/news/1482263
- PM forms board to promote tourism https://www.dawn.com/news/1469951
- Pakistan completes ‘99% of repatriation process’ https://tribune.com.pk/story/2257109/pakistan-completes-99-of-repatriation-process
- Pakistanis stranded in virus-hit China return as flight operations resume https://www.dawn.com/news/1532229
- https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/651119-uae-commends-zulfi-bokhari-for-repatriating-stranded-pakistanis-amid-coronavirus-crisis https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/651119-uae-commends-zulfi-bokhari-for-repatriating-stranded-pakistanis-amid-coronavirus-crisis
- "Who brought coronavirus to Pakistan from Iran?". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2020-10-16.