Leghari Tribe
The Leghari Tribe is one of the largest Baloch Tribes in Pakistan. The Leghari Baloch are "Rind Baloch", its main mother tongue is Balochi, other languages like Siraki and Sindhi is spoken by this tribe according to their locality. Leghari’s are the decedents of Mir Rindo Khan. More than two centuries ago they conquered a large part of what is today Dera Ghazi Khan District and established themselves at Choti Zareen (Lower Choti). The Leghari Tumandars (or Sardars i.e Tribal leaders) ruled a vast territory and collected tax from as far off as Barkhan in Balochistan. The Leghari people dwell in all four provinces of Pakistan and other parts of the world as well. During the break up of one unit the Leghari’s wanted to be part of Balochistan but the Mazari’s prevailed and DG Khan was made part of Punjab. The Tribal Headquarter of Leghari Tumandars is Nimro (Balochi Name) or Fort Munroo, which has a status of tribal Belt and is situated on the Koh Suleman mountain range.
A segment of the Leghari tribe migrated to Sindh on the invitation of the Kalhora rulers. They were accompanied by many other Baloch clans like the Jatois, Khosa, Chandios, etc. The famous Talpur Mirs (rulers) of Sindh are also a clan of the Leghari tribe. The Leghari tribe in Sindh is mostly settled in Ghotki, Sukkur, Sanghar, Nawab Shah, Hyderabad, Dadu, Badin, Mirpurkhas, Thatta and Larkana Districts.
Chiefs of Leghari Tribe
The Leghari Sardars (chiefs) belong to the Aliani clan of the Leghari tribe. They are settled in Dera Ghazi Khan (Choti) and Rahim Yar Khan (Rahimabad). The late sardar (chief) of the Leghari tribe in Punjab was Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari (former President of Pakistan).
Political Representation
The Leghari tribe probably has the largest "family" representation in the parliament (National & Provincial Assemblies, and District Governments) of Pakistan. Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari - Late (former President Of Pakistan), his son Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecom, Farooq Leghari's nieces, Sumera Malik and Ayla Malik (granddaughters of Malik Amir Mohammed Khan of Kalabagh), Muhammad Jaffar Khan Leghari and his wife Mina Leghari were members of the National Assembly of Pakistan. Mohammad Jamal Khan Leghari was also a member of the Senate of Pakistan. Rafique Haider Khan Leghari was the Nazim of Rahimyar Khan and was a Minister in the Punjab government. Maqsood Ahmed Khan Leghari was the Nazim of Dera Ghazi Khan. Muhammad Khan Leghari, Muhammad Mohsin Khan Leghari and Muhammad Yusuf Khan Leghari were members of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab. . Muhammad Arshad Khan Leghari is currently a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan (MNA). He won his seat in the 2008 general elections and in 2013.
Nadir Akmal Khan Leghari was member of the Provincial Assembly of the Sindh, Secretary General of PML Q and the Minister for Irrigation in the Government of Sindh. He joined Pakistan Tahreek a Insaf and was the president for Sindh chapter. Dr. Javaid Laghari was a member of the Senate of Pakistan from Sindh while Ms. Sajeela Leghari, Ms. Sharifunnisa Laghari and Dr. Manzoor Leghari were members of the Provincial Assembly of the Sindh. There were other parliamentarians from Badin, Dadu etc. The first Prime Minister of Sindh under the Talpur rule was Nawab Wali Mohd Khan Leghari.
Leghari Family in Pakistan's services
The Legharis are not only active in Politics but have also served in various branches of the Government. Notable amongst them; Atta Mohammad Khan Leghari (Late) was an ICS officer and held various prestigious appointments and was Member Board of Revenue. Manzoor Ahmed Khan Leghari also held various administrative positions as a DMG officer. Mohammad Rahim Khan Leghari was chief of the Bahwalpur State Police and later served as Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Pakistan Police Service. Ghulam Asghar Khan Leghari served in Bahawalpur State Police and later retired as a DIG of Pakistan Police. Noor Illahi Khan Leghari (Late) is a retired Inspector General of Police who served as the Director General of the Intelligence Bureau and Chairman of Pakistan International Airlines Corp (PIA), he passed away on 4 Dec, 2015. Mushtaq Ahmed Khan Leghari is a retired Air Marshal from the Pakistan Air Force who also served as Pakistan's Ambassador to the UAE. Colonel Rafiq Ahmed Khan Leghari served as the Military Secretary to the Governor of Balochistan and the Governor of Punjab respectively. He also served as Joint Director of the Intelligence Bureau and later was elected member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab. Aftab Ahmed Khan Leghari served as Member WAPDA. Ziauddin Khan Leghari is a retired DIG of Police. Nazir Ahmad Khan Leghari served as DG Local Government and retired as Joint Director Industries, Govt. of Punjab. Liaquat Ali Khan Leghari retired as a Commissioner of Income Tax while Fayyaz Ahmed Khan Leghari served as IG of Police.