Syed Fakhar Imam () (born 18 December 1942) is a Pakistani politician who served as Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, from April 2020 to April 2022. He also served as the 11th Speaker of National Assembly of Pakistan from 1985 to 1986.
He has previously worked as the Chairman of Pakistan's Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir. He was educated at Aitchison College Lahore & Clifton College in England.
His wife Syeda Abida Hussain was also a minister in the government of Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Syeda Sughra Imam is also a politician. He was preceded by Malik Meraj Khalid as Speaker of National Assembly of Pakistan. He was elected to the national assembly and joined PTI.
On 6 April 2020 he was appointed as Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research.
Political career
He began his political career by being elected as the Chairman District Council, Multan (1980) and was appointed as Federal Minister for Local Government and Rural Development from 1981-83.
Fakhar Imam also served as Chairman of Sports Committee to promote spirit of sports among youth and the educational institutions of Pakistan.
In the non-party General Elections in February 1985, he was elected to the National Assembly from Multan District.
11th Speaker of National Assembly – (March 22, 1985) In 1985 Syed Fakhar Imam, by 119 votes, defeated Khawaja Safdar, father of Khawaja Asif the chosen candidate of Chief Martial Law Administrator and President General Zia Ul Haq and Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo for the position of Speaker of the National Assembly.
Later, Syed Fakhar Imam was removed from the position through a no-confidence motion against him.
Representation of Kashmir as Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir - (2019) As a Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir (2019), Fakhar Imam was an advocate of the cause of Kashmir on numerous forums.
On October 16th, 2019, in a strongly worded statement to the General Assembly of the 141st Inter Parliamentary Union in Belgrade, Fakhar Imam warned the Global Parliamentary Community that the besieged Valley of Indian Occupied Kashmir may endanger global peace beyond repair if not addressed comprehensively. As a Head of the Pakistan Parliamentary Delegation, he presented a comprehensive account of Indian atrocities in Kashmir and requested world attention for resolving the long pending issue in accordance with the UN resolutions of 1948-49.
On 27th May 2019: Syed Fakhar Imam expressed his deep sorrow and grief on the sad demise of Ambassador Yusuf Buch who died in New York after a long illness. Mr. Chairman said that late Yusuf Buch was a true Kashmiri, and a distinguished diplomat who served the country for a long time and the people of Pakistan particularly Kashmiri cannot forget his services while working in the United Nations for the Kashmir cause.
Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research - (April 6th, 2020 –April 10th, 2022) President Dr Arif Alvi administered oath to Syed Fakhar Imam as Federal Minister for National Food Security on 6th April 2020 in a ceremony held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.
Progress & Challenges faced as Minister for National Food Security and Research
Curbed the worst Locust attack in decades through coordination with Federal, Provincial and local agencies including senior officials and personnels of the Pakistan Army.
The production of cotton in Punjab touched 4.5m bales at an increase of approximately 8.5 per cent from last year while the overall cotton production is likely to reach 8.46 million bales.
Agriculture policies after many years were made part of discussions, which resulted in the record production of four major crops namely; Wheat production 27.5 million tonnes. Rice production 8.9 million tonnes. Maize production 8.5 million tonnes. Sugarcane production 88.7 million tonnes. The government's enhancement of MSP from Rs 1,400 to Rs 1,800 produced a good result in wheat production, which helped the country in harvesting the highest crop (27.5 million tons). Several factors helped in achieving this historic production including favourable weather conditions, availability of certified seed (513,000 tons), availability of fertilizers etc. Rs 10,594.31 million were being spent on projects launched under Agriculture Transformation Plan. About one lakh Kisan Cards were issued to the farmers and a subsidy to the tune of Rs 475 million were disbursed in 2021-2022.