But who really is Jawad Sohrab Malik? And how did he make it to the level of the State Minister of Pakistan?
Jawad Sohrab Malik is the scion of a well-established and renowned business and political family of Pakistan, based out of Islamabad. He is also a nephew of Mohammad Mian Soomro who served as Governor Sindh, Chairman Senate, Minister for Privatisation, and also in acting capacity as both Prime Minister and President of Pakistan.
He is the grandson of former Nazima of Jacobabad, Begum Saeeda Soomro. His mother Maliha Malik currently has a strong hold on local politics in Jacobabad, and is extremely active.
Jawad Sohrab Malik is a qualified lawyer from London who obtained his law degree from the University of Cardiff. After finishing his law education, Jawad Sohrab focussed full time on his businesses with the aim to modernise and innovate. He has been successfully running a vast business empire stretched to London, Pakistan and Dubai. The businesses include real estate development, trading, information technology, and various other sectors.
The businessman divides his time between London and Islamabad. He is known to have developed good contacts internationally including with the American members of Congress, British parliamentarians, global business elite, Gulf royal families and political parties in Pakistan across the board.
Jawad Sohrab Malik was hailed as a pandemic hero when Pakistan was locked down during the Covid outbreak. Through his charitable organisation called Sohrab Foundation, Jawad Malik has been serving the country by providing relief to the most disadvantaged sections of the society. His work was recognised at the national level and was awarded by Pakistan Army for his contribution in the relief work.
Jawad Sohrab Malik led the fight for justice for his slain brother Barrister Fahad Malik. The London law graduate was killed in August 2016 in cold blood by a notorious Islamabad land-grabbing gang. Jawad Sohrab spearheaded the legal campaign for justice, fighting several odds and facing real threats from powerful mafia elements, without giving up.
It was due to his efforts that the matter of his brother's killing was discussed in the UK Parliament and at the influential UK Home Affairs Parliamentary Committee, where the UK Home Secretary spoke about the killing and demanded justice for the family. Eventually, all the killers were sentenced to life imprisonment.
For several months now, Jawad Sohrab Malik has been working with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet on several tasks since Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition came to power, after Imran Khan lost a vote of no confidence in the parliament in April 2022 that paved the way for his ouster.
Jawad Sohrab Malik has been made the SAPM with the status of State Minister to help improve governance, and he has been handed over focal tasks related to the functioning of the coalition government, in addition to other 'special assignments' as directed by the Prime Minister.