Syed Hamid Saeed Kazmi | |
|---|---|
سید حامد سعید کاظمی | |
| 28th Minister for Religious Affairs and Inter-faith Harmony | |
| In office 14 November 2008 – 14 December 2010 | |
| President | Asif Ali Zardari |
| Prime Minister | Yusuf Raza Gillani |
| Preceded by | Khurshid Shah |
| Succeeded by | Khurshid Shah |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1957-10-03)3 October 1957 (age 68) |
| Nationality | Pakistani |
| Political party | TLP (2025-present) |
| Other political affiliations | PPP (1992-2022: 2025) PTI (2022) IND (2018) |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent | Ahmad Saeed Kazmi (Father) |
| Alma mater | Bahauddin Zakariya University |
Syed Hamid Saeed Kazmi (Urdu:سید حامد سعید کاظمی; born 3 October 1957) is a Pakistani politician who served as the 28thFederal Minister for Religious Affairs of Pakistan from 2008 to 2010 as part of thePakistan People's Party government.[1] He hails fromMultan.[2]
Kazmi was born in a well-to-do religious family. His father,Ahmad Saeed Kazmi, was a prominentSufi and Islamic scholar. He is one among eleven siblings.[3] Kazmi is married and has two daughters and two sons.[4] His father SyedAhmad Saeed Kazmi son of Syed Muhammad Mukhtar Ahmad Shah Kazmi belonged toAmroha, India. They migrated to Multan in 1935. The family relates withImam Musa Kazim through 35 steps, and this is why he is called Kazmi.[3]
He obtained aMaster of Arts degree inUrdu withGold Medal from theBahauddin Zakariya University in 1985.[4]
He was elected to theNational Assembly as a candidate of thePakistan People's Party (PPP) fromNA-192 Rahim Yar Khan-I in the2008 Pakistani general election. He received 65,395 votes and defeated Makhdoom Syed Ahmad Alam Anwar of thePakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML(Q)).[5]
Kazmi was sentenced to sixteen years imprisonment on the basis of charges of corruption by a lower court. The lower court has written in its 87 pages of decision that Hamid Kazmi was not found corrupt at any level but as he was the head of the ministry and by him mismanagement was done. But he appealed against it in theIslamabad High Court.[6] On 20 March 2017, he was acquitted in the Hajj corruption scandal, along with former ex-DG, Hajj Rao Shakeel, and Joint secretary for Religious Affairs, Aftab Aslam.[7]
He turned down a request fromAsif Ali Zardari to contest againstShah Mahmood Qureshi, the vice chairman of thePakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), as a candidate of the PPP fromNA-156 Multan-III in the2018 Pakistani general election. He instead opted to run as an independent fromNA-175 Rahim Yar Khan-I.[8]
He ran for the National Assembly as an independent candidate from NA-175 Rahim Yar Khan-I in the 2018 Pakistani general election, but was unsuccessful. He received 39,514 votes and was defeated bySyed Mobeen Ahmed, a candidate of the PTI.[9]
He joined the PTI on 15 June 2022.[10]
He is a critic of thePakistani Taliban. On 2 September 2009, while he was theFederal Minister for Religious Affairs, Kazmi survived an assassination attempt by suspected Taliban gunmen. He was shot by motorcycle borne gunmen as he was leaving his office. His driver and guard were killed in the attack.[11][12]