BAHAWALPUR: Senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar has passed away after a prolonged illness, his family confirmed.
According to family members, Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar had been unwell for several weeks. He suffered a brain haemorrhage and underwent surgery as part of his treatment.
The family confirmed his passing but did not disclose further details regarding his illness.
Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar was the father of Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Malik Zaheer Iqbal Channar. His death has been mourned by family members and political colleagues.
Born on 15 March, 1950, Iqbal Channer had degree of Bachelor of Laws which he received in 1971 from Wilayat Hussain Islamia Law College in Multan.
He was first elected to the Punjab Assembly as a PML-N candidate from Constituency PP-272 (Bahawalpur-VI) in the 2002 general elections.
He was re-elected to the Punjab Assembly as a candidate of PML-N from Constituency PP-272 (Bahawalpur-VI) in the 2008 elections. Following the election, he was inducted into the provincial cabinet of Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif where he served as Provincial Minister for Special Education from June 2008 until June 2010. In June 2010, he was appointed as the Provincial Minister for Prisons.
He was re-elected to the Punjab Assembly in the 2013 general elections. This time he was made Minister for Cooperatives.
Iqbal Channer was elected to the National Assembly as a PML-N candidate NA-168 Bahawalpur-V in the 2024 general elections.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed grief and sorrow over the demise of MNA Malik Iqbal Channer.
Commiserating with the bereaved family, he prayed for the departed soul. Paying tribute to the late leader’s political, social, and public services, the Prime Minister said that Malik Iqbal Channer’s demise is a great loss of a sincere public representative. He said Malik Iqbal was a dedicated and ideological worker of the PML-N.