Fawad Chaudhry
Fawad Chaudhry is a Pakistani lawyer and former politician who served as Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting from April 2021 to April 2022 in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government under Prime Minister Imran Khan.[1] A member of a Jat family from the Vains clan in Jhelum district, he practiced law and worked as a political analyst before joining PTI around 2011, rising to become a senior leader responsible for the party's media strategy and public communications.[1] Earlier in the same administration, he held the position of Federal Minister for Science and Technology, where he announced ambitious plans such as sending Pakistan's first astronaut to space by 2022.[2] Chaudhry's tenure as information minister was marked by efforts to counter perceived media biases and promote PTI's narrative amid political tensions, including clashes with regulatory bodies over censorship allegations. His outspoken style drew both support from PTI loyalists and criticism from opponents, who accused him of inflammatory rhetoric. Following the ouster of the PTI government in April 2022 via a no-confidence vote, Chaudhry faced multiple arrests on charges including sedition and incitement to violence, particularly linked to events after PTI rallies; PTI affiliates maintain these proceedings reflect selective prosecution by a military-influenced establishment targeting opposition figures.[3] By late 2023, he resigned from PTI, and the party formally disassociated itself from him in December 2024, citing unauthorized statements, amid his public critiques of the party's current leadership as compromised.[4]