Veteran politician, former Punjab chief minister and senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo passed away after a prolonged illness here on Tuesday. He was 86.

His funeral prayers will be held after Zuhr on Wednesday (December 17) in his native village of Wasawaywala, Depalpur Tehsil, Okara.

He is survived by three sons and four daughters from two marriages.

Mian Manzoor Wattoo was regarded as one of Punjab’s most seasoned and astute politicians, with a political career spanning more than four decades. He began his public life during the Basic Democracies (BD) system in the era of Gen Ayub Khan, later serving as chairman of Okara district council before entering mainstream parliamentary politics.

At the provincial level, his political career formally took off when he was elected as a Member of the Punjab Assembly in 1985 and elected as its speaker. Over the years, he served as Speaker thrice, a distinction achieved by very few legislators.

With a career spanning more than four decades, the veteran politician remained associated with parties led by the Chaudhrys Bhuttos and Sharifs

In a rare and politically significant development, while serving as speaker, he successfully led a no-confidence motion against then Punjab chief minister Ghulam Haider Wynne in 1993 and was subsequently elected chief minister of Punjab, despite his party — the Pakistan Democratic Front (PDF) — having only 17 MPAs in the House. His election was made possible with the support of the Pakistan Peoples Party.

During his tenure as chief minister, the Nawaz Sharif-led federal government twice attempted to impose governor’s rule in Punjab, moves that were later struck down by the Lahore High Court, further highlighting the political turbulence of the period.

Mian Manzoor Wattoo’s political journey saw him associated with several major political parties. He remained part of the Air Marshal Asghar Khan-led Tehrik-i-Istaqlal from 1979 to 1983, Pakis­tan Muslim League (PML) from 1985 to 1993, joined PML (Junejo) from 1993 to 1995, followed by PML (Jinnah) — an offshoot of the Junejo group — from 1995 to 2002. He later aligned with PML-Q between 2002 and 2008.

In 2008, he joined the Pakistan Peoples Party, serving as its Punjab provincial president, and remained with the party until 2018. He briefly joined Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) from 2018 to 2020, before rejoining the PPP in 2020, expressing his desire to remain politically active within the party he had earlier helped form a provincial government.

In addition to his provincial roles, Mr Wattoo also served as a Member of the National Assembly from Okara and held office as a federal minister, contributing to national politics during the 1990s.

The Wattoo family retained political relevance for decades after 1985 and remained part of power corridors in different forms.

However, in the 2018 general elections, Mian Manzoor Wattoo contested from Okara as an independent candidate, while his son Khuram Jahangir Wattoo and daughter Rubina Shaheen Wattoo contested Punjab Assembly seats on PTI tickets, though both were unsuccessful.

His children are currently associated with the PTI, while Mian Manzoor Wattoo himself continued to show loyalty to the PPP in his later years.

Known for his political maneuvering, parliamentary skills and ability to navigate shifting political landscapes, Mian Manzoor Wattoo’s death marks the end of an era in Punjab politics.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2025