DERA GHAZI KHAN: Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa, former governor, senator and former senior adviser to the chief minister, remained active in politics of Dera Ghazi Khan for more than half a century before his death. He had started his political career in 1962 when he was a young man.

Khosa was laid to rest in his ancestral graveyard on Friday. His funeral prayers were attended by a large number of people from all walks of life. Some prominent people included Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan, former governor Rafique Rajwana, MNAs and MPAs, Khawja Amir Sharif of Kot Mithan Sharif, Khawjgan of Taunsa Sharif, Qaisrani tribe chief Mir Badshah Qaisrani and Leghari tribes chief Jamal Khan Leghari.

Zulfiqar Ali Khosa was born on Oct 20, 1935 in Dera Ghazi Khan. He was undergoing treatment at National Hospital in Lahore for a considerable period before his death on Thursday.

He was in his childhood when his father was murdered before his eyes. This murder created a gulf within the Khosa Tumandar family and made him resilient to further hardships. On his father’s death, Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa’s property came under the Court of Wards and the Leghari Tumandar family was appointed as his custodian until he reached puberty. He received his primary education from Queen Mary’s College, Lahore, during 1941-46 and from Chief’s (Aitchison) College, Lahore during 1946-54. He held the title of the 21st chief of the Khosa tribe, a Baloch tribe spread across Punjab, Balochistan and Sindh.

Khosa represented Punjab in the Senate of Pakistan and was elected to the Punjab Assembly for nine tenures: in 1970, 1977, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2008 and 2013. He was also elected to the West Pakistan Assembly in 1962. He contested for a National Assembly seat in the 2018 general election on a PTI ticket but lost. Earlier, he was very close to the Sharif family. When Shehbaz Sharif himself was facing courts, he had handed over the office of the CM to Khosa’s youngest son, Dost Muhammad Khosa. However, after that, things began to change, and his relationship with the Sharif family gradually broke. He had joined PPP too.

His services regarding establishment of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE ), Ghazi Medical College, Education University, higher secondary schools in Dera Ghazi Khan district and a degree college in Choti Zaireen will be remembered with gratitude.

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2026