Ghias Mela

Chaudhry Ghias Ahmed Mela (17 September 1961 – 27 June 2015) was a Pakistani politician who was a three time Member of National Assembly (1997–1999, 2002–2007, 2008–2013) from Sargodha. He hails from the Mela village of Kot Momin Tehsil, in Sargodha District and was an agriculturist by profession. He was a member of the PML-Q and held the post of senior vice president of the party until March 2015, when he joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

He had also served as the Chairman of the standing committee for housing under the PML-Q regime (2002–2007) and as Federal Minister of State for the Ministry of Human Resource Development (2012–2013).

Early life
Ghias was born in Kot Momin Tehsil of Sargodha District on 17 September 1961 to Chaudhary Khuda Baksh Mela.

Personal life
Ghias was married and has a family consisting of two sons and a daughter.

One of his sons, Usama Ghias Mela, is the District President of the Sargodha Wing of Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

Education
Ghias completed his early education from Lawrence College Ghora Gali and Lahore American School. His higher education includes a BBA degree and an MBA degree from the University of Evansville, Indiana.

Political career
Ghias became a member of District Council Sargodha in 1991.

Ghias was named the Federal Minister of State for Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development in June 2012, (previously termed Ministry of Labour and Manpower), under the prime ministership of Raja Pervez Ashraf.

1997 General Election
He became a Member of the National Assembly in the 1997 General Elections for the first time from constituency NA-48 Sargodha II.

2002 General Election
Ghias received 62,306 votes and won a seat in the National Assembly in the 2002 General Elections on a PML-Q ticket from constituency NA-65 Sargodha-II.

2008 General Election
Ghias received 53,518 votes and won a seat in the National Assembly in the 2008 General Elections on a PML-Q ticket from constituency NA-65 Sargodha-II.

2013 General Election
Ghias received 60,558 votes and was a runner-up in the 2013 Pakistani general election.

Death
He went overseas for treatment to Texas for his heart which was enlarging due to a vena cava blockage as a result of chronic smoking. Soon after successful heart surgery, he was shifted to the ventilator for a few hours for a better oxygen supply. His lungs failed to perform ample function and Ghias died at 7:00 AM on 27 June 2015 due to cardiac arrest.

Funeral
His funeral was held in Kot Khuda Baksh Mela village on 1 July 2015, and he was buried in the graveyard of his forefathers. The funeral was attended by PML-Q Chief Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Shujaat Hussain, Chaudhry Aamir Sultan Cheema, Khalid Ranjha, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Chaudhry Abdul Razzaq Dhillon, and other local politicians and civilians.