1997: When Tariq Aziz defeated Imran Khan by a margin of over 45,000 votes

Veteran actor and television host Tariq Aziz passed away in Lahore on Wednesday.

He was 84 years old and was admitted to a private hospital last night after he fell critically ill. The cause of his death, however, has not yet been ascertained.

Born in 1936 in British India, Aziz received his early education in Jalandhar (now in India) before starting his career at Radio Pakistan in Lahore. When state-owned Pakistan Television (PTV) started its broadcast in 1964 from Lahore, he became the first male news announcer of the country.

In 1974, Aziz started the first-of-its-type game show, Neelam Ghar, from PTV. The show went on to register unprecedented heights. It was later rebranded as Tariq Aziz Show in 1996 before finally renamed Bazm-e-Tariq Aziz in 2006.

Aziz also tried his luck in movies. He starred in Insaniyat (1967) alongside Waheed Murad and Zeba, following which he played a leading role in Haar Gaya Insaan.

He received the Pride of Performance award in 1992 for his services.

TARIQ AZIZ VS IMRAN KHAN:

Unprecedented fame as a radio and television personality was, however, not it for Aziz who also went on to contest general elections in the 90s.

He was active in student politics during his college days and had joined the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in 1970. In those days, Aziz was called a “firebrand socialist” known for charging up crowds with revolutionary slogans at Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s rallies. However, later he parted his ways and went back to the entertainment world. In 1996, he joined the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and was later elected member of the National Assembly from Lahore.

Imran Khan, after founding Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in 1996 fielded himself from multiple seats in the 1997 general elections.

Only from Lahore, Imran contested from NA-94 and NA-95 seats where he suffered defeats at the hands of Tariq Aziz and then PML-N president Nawaz Sharif, respectively.

He received 4,595 votes against Aziz’s 50,227, paving way for Aziz’s election to the Lower House.

Aziz was also one of the political activists who were charged with attacking the Supreme Court of Pakistan building in 1997.