Ayaz Sadiq

Sardar Ayaz Sadiq (Punjabi, ; born 17 October 1954) is a Pakistani politician who is currently serving as the 22nd Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, having taken oath on 1 March 2024.

Sadiq previously served as the 17th Speaker of the National Assembly from 2013 to 2018. Sadiq is also notable for overseeing voting on the motion of no-confidence against Imran Khan in April 2022; the next day, he oversaw voting for the election of the subsequent Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif. He is currently a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from NA-120 (Lahore-IV), having been elected to the Assembly in every election since 2002.

Early life and education
Sadiq was born on 17 October 1954 in Lahore into a Punjabi Arain family to Sheikh Muhammad Sadiq and Attiya Sadiq. His father and his grandfather Sheikh Sardar Muhammad have both been influential local figures.

He completed his education at Aitchison College, Lahore. Imran Khan, Nisar Ali Khan, Pervaiz Khattak, Sardar Akhtar Mengal and Zulfiqar Ali Magsi were among his class fellows at Aitchison College. Sadiq received a degree in commerce from Hailey College of Punjab University in 1975.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
Sadiq began his political career as a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the late 1990s when he was a close friend of PTI chairman Imran Khan. Sadiq ran for the seat of Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of PTI in 1997 Pakistani general election from Constituency PP-121 Lahore but was unsuccessful. He received 4,541 votes and lost the seat to Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N).

Pakistan Muslim League (N)
Sadiq left PTI in 1998 owing to differences with Imran Khan and joined PML (N) in 2001.

Sadiq was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan as a candidate of PML-N from Constituency NA-122 (Lahore-V) on 2002 general election, by defeating Imran Khan. Sadiq claimed "it was a big victory as his leader Nawaz Sharif in exile and Pervez Musharraf, a close aide of Imran Khan at that time, in power". During his tenure as the member of the National Assembly, he remained a member of the National Assembly's Standing Committees on Railways, Finance and Defence Production.

Sadiq was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PML-N from Constituency NA-122 (Lahore-V) in 2008 general election. During his tenure as the member of the National Assembly, he became the chairman of the National Assembly's Standing Committees on Railways.

Sadiq was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PML-N from Constituency NA-122 (Lahore-V) in the 2013 Pakistani general election, by defeating Imran Khan. In June 2013, Sadiq was elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan.

In 2015, Imran Khan alleged rigging in the constituency of Sadiq from where Sadiq won in 2013 election. Following which the Election Commission of Pakistan de-seated Sadiq and ordered re-polling in the constituency. In October 2015, Sadiq retained his National Assembly seat by defeating a PTI candidate in by-election and was re-elected to the National Assembly for the fourth time. In November 2015, Sadiq retained its position as the speaker of the National Assembly by getting re-elected for the second time and become the first person to have been elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly for the second time during the same government's tenure in Pakistan.

He was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PML-N from Constituency NA-129 (Lahore-VII) in 2018 Pakistani general election. On 15 August 2018, he was replaced by Asad Qaiser as speaker of the National Assembly.

He is generally considered a soft-spoken and cool-headed politician in Pakistan.

In 2020, he made claims relating to the 2019 India–Pakistan border skirmishes, in particular that foreign minister Qureshi was "trembling with fear" and insisted on releasing a pilot captured during the conflict, to avert an Indian invasion. This issue initiated a row, drawing sharp criticism from ISPR and the Pakistani government, terming his statements as "irresponsible" and demanding an apology. He addressed the controversy and added that his statement was misrepresented. Sadiq added that "Abhinandan had not come to Pakistan to distribute sweets; he had attacked Pakistan and it was a victory for Pakistan when his plane was shot down".

Amid the April 2022 political crisis in Pakistan, when the speaker and the deputy speaker resigned, he was asked to hold voting on a no-confidence motion against the prime minister of Pakistan.

Family
Sadiq married to Reema Ayaz in 1977, and has a daughter and two sons.

Sadiq is a son-in-law of former Chief Justice of Lahore High Court and the First Ombudsman of Pakistan Sardar Muhammad Iqbal.

Business and philanthropy
Sadiq is a businessman by profession. He along with members of his family runs a non-profit hospital Sardar Trust Eye Hospital in Lahore, the family having also founded the Sheikh Sardar Muhammad Girls High School in Lahore after partition encouraging women education; the school was later nationalised. It was the first Muslim Girls School established in the locality.