LAHORE: Former Chief Minister of Punjab and senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Mian Manzoor Wattoo passed away on Tuesday, family sources confirmed. He had been unwell for quite some time. His Namaz-e-Janaza will be held on Wednesday at 2p.m. in his native village Wasaway Wala, District Okara. Mian Manzoor Wattoo, aged 86, served as Chief Minister of Punjab in 1993 and remained an influential figure in Pakistan’s political landscape for several decades. He began his political career in 1983 when he was elected Chairman of the District Council Okara in the non-party elections held during the era of General Zia-ul-Haq. He entered parliamentary politics with the Pakistan Muslim League (PML), serving as a member from 1985 to 1993. In 1985, he was elected MPA and then Speaker of the Punjab Provincial Assembly on a PML ticket. From 1993 to 1995, Wattoo was associated with the Pakistan Muslim League (Junejo faction). Later after the tug of war between him and Nawaz Sharif, the then restored (by Supreme Court) prime minister and head of his own faction of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), all assemblies were dissolved and only after a fresh election, Wattoo was elected chief minister Punjab again on PML-Junejo ticket, ruling a coalition comprising mainly PPP, PML-Junejo, minorities and independents. In 1995, he founded his own party, the Pakistan Muslim League (Jinnah). Between 2002 and 2008, he remained part of the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam). In 2008, he joined the Pakistan Peoples Party and remained affiliated with it until 2018. He briefly joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in 2018 but parted ways with the party in 2020, subsequently rejoining the PPP. Mian Manzoor Wattoo is remembered as a seasoned politician who played a significant role in Punjab’s politics over several decades. Condolences have poured in from political leaders and party workers across the country, expressing deep grief over his passing and paying tribute to his services to public life. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025