Ahad Khan Cheema is a retired Pakistani bureaucrat who is the current Federal Minister of Economic Affairs, appointed on 11 March 2024.^[1][2][3] Previously, he has served as a chief executive officer (CEO) of the Quaid-e-Azam Thermal Power Company and director-general of the Lahore Development Authority.^[4] In 2018, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested Cheema on charges related to irregularities in the Ashiana Housing Scheme project during his time as chairman of the LDA.^[5] The investigation also involved former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad and Shehbaz Sharif.^[5] Cheema was released on bail in 2021 after spending three years in jail and was acquitted of all charges by the NAB in 2023.^[5] He took retirement from civil service in January 2023.^[6]

Ahad Cheema was born into a Punjabi Jat family of the Cheema clan in Hafizabad, Punjab, Pakistan to an agricultural family.^[4]

He studied Economic and Political Science at the University of the Punjab and later the London School of Economics.^[7]

After completing his education, he joined Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) in 2001.^[4][6]

Cheema has served in executive positions as chief executive officer (CEO), director or board member of companies such as Pakistan Telecommunication Co. Ltd, Pak Arab Refinery Ltd and Quaid-e-Azam Thermal Power (Pvt) Ltd.^[7]

In 2005, Cheema was selected by Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi to manage the Parah Likha Punjab project, a World Bank-supported initiative aimed at increasing literacy in Punjab.^[4]

Cheema has been part of Shehbaz Sharif's ministry since 2008, when Sharif first became the Chief Minister of Punjab.^[5] During Sharif's tenure as Chief Minister, Cheema served as the Deputy Commissioner of Lahore as well as the Director General of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA).^[5]

In 2012, Cheema was chosen by the chief minister to oversee and monitor the Lahore Metro Bus System (MBS) project.^[4] As the director general of the LDA from March 2012, Cheema completed the project in a record time of 11 months.^[4] In recognition of his outstanding services in constructing the Lahore metro, he received the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz from the President of Pakistan.^[4] Later, due to this project, he became known in bureaucratic circles as the "metro man".^[4]

In 2023, Cheema was appointed as the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Establishment Division following Shehbaz Sharif's appointment as Prime Minister of Pakistan.^[5] He continued to serve in this role during the caretaker government after Sharif's term ended in the Kakar caretaker ministry.^[8] However, the Election Commission of Pakistan ordered the caretaker government to remove Cheema from the caretaker cabinet following a petition filed against him.^[5] The President of Pakistan approved his removal in December 2023.^[5]

On 11 March 2024, Cheema assumed the role of Federal Minister of Economic Affairs within the cabinet led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.^[1] Notably, Cheema was appointed to the federal cabinet prior to being elected as a member of parliament.^[9]

In 2018, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested Cheema on charges related to irregularities in the Ashiana Housing Scheme project during his time as chairman of the LDA.^[5] The investigation also involved former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad and Shehbaz Sharif.^[5] Cheema was released on bail in 2021 after spending three years in jail and was acquitted of all charges by the NAB in 2023.^[5] He took retirement from civil service in January 2023.^[6]

On March 25, 2024, Michael A. Thompson, the Australian principal of Aitchison College, resigned, citing interference by the Governor's House in college administration. Reports suggest his resignation was influenced by a dispute over fee waivers, involving Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman granting leave and a three-year fee waiver to the sons of Cheema.^[10]

In June 2022, Cheema's wife, a civil servant, requested a fee waiver for their sons due to her transfer to Islamabad. She sought a leave of absence, but the principal denied the fee waiver, citing policy. Governor Rehman intervened on March 21, 2024, granting the sons a leave of absence with a full fee waiver, sparking the principal's resignation and raising concerns about political interference in the college's administration.^[10]