11 Facts About Kausar Niazi

Kausar Niazi, born as Muhammad Hayyat Khan and commonly known as Maulana Kausar Niazi, was a prominent Pakistani politician and a religious scholar.

Kausar Niazi was an active member of one of Pakistan's leading religious parties, the Jamaat-i-Islami in the 1950s and in the 1960s.

Kausar Niazi was highly vocal in his support for JI's criticism of General Ayub Khan's dictatorship from 1958 to 1969.

However, after Ayub Khan replaced his young foreign minister, Z A Bhutto in 1966, Niazi supported Bhutto's rebellious stand against Ayub Khan over the 1965 ceasefire against India.

Kausar Niazi contested the Pakistani general election, 1970 from a constituency in Sialkot area even though he was originally from the Mianwali District.

The constituency in Sialkot where Kausar Niazi was contesting had a large Ahmadiyya population.

Kausar Niazi decided to have many meetings with the leaders of the Ahamdiyya community.

Kausar Niazi served as the minister of Religious and Minorities Affairs until 1976 and was later appointed the Federal Information Minister.

Maulana Kausar Niazi said that Zia-ul-Haq had deposed and ultimately destroyed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Kausar Niazi later visited India as the goodwill emissary of the acting Prime Minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi.

Kausar Niazi died in 1994 after a prolonged illness and was buried at H-8 Graveyard in Islamabad.