Hailing from Punjab province’s Gujrat district, Qamar Zaman Kaira is a senior leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party and recently served as Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting in the PPP-led coalition government. Born in Lalamusa on January 5, 1960, Kaira received his early education from his home town and obtained a Master’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Punjab.

He was first elected to the National Assembly in 2002 from NA-106 (Gujrat – III) and returned on the same seat in the 2008 general election. He has served as Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas, Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping and has also been in the role of acting governor for the Gilgit-Baltistan region. Apart from these offices, Kaira has served as PPP’s information secretary.

His appointment to the position of information minister came after Sherry Rehman’s 2009 resignation. However, he lost his ministry to Firdaus Ashiq Awan in 2011. Later, due to Awan’s differences with party members over handling of the ministry and subsequent resignation, Kaira was back in the information saddle in April 2012.

A few months later, Kaira filed his nomination papers for the prime minister’s post after the Supreme Court’s dismissal of Yousuf Raza Gilani. His name, along with that of Raja Pervez Ashraf, came to the fore after an arrest warrant was issued against Makhdoom Shahabuddin, the PPP leader originally selected by the party leadership to fill the vacant slot.

Kaira has been on the forefront during multiple crises faced by PPP during its tenure. In January 2013, he was part of a team of negotiators dealing with self-styled reformist Tahirul Qadri over the latter’s sit-in in Islamabad. His role was prominent during the recent security crisis in Balochistan as well as in other instances where Kaira defended his party as well as the 2008-2013 coalition government led by PPP.

— Research and text by Saher Baloch