Ismail Rahoo

Muhammad Ismail Rahoo is a Pakistani politician who was the Provincial Minister of Sindh for Agriculture, Supply and Prices, from 19 August 2018 till 11 August 2023. He had been a member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh from August 2018 till August 2023.

Previously, he was a member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh from 1990 to 1993, from 1997 to 1999 and again from March 2016 to May 2017. Between 1990 and 1999, he served in the provincial Sindh cabinet of Chief Minister Jam Sadiq Ali and Liaquat Ali Jatoi as provincial Minister of Sindh for mines, minerals and livestock, and excise and taxation, respectively. He served as President of PML-N Sindh from July 2014 to April 2017.

Early life and education
He was born on 20 May 1962 in Badin District, Pakistan to Fazil Rahu.

He has done Bachelor of Arts from the University of Karachi.

Political career
He ran for the seat of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh as a candidate of ANP from Constituency PS-49 (Badin-IV) in 1988 Pakistani general election but was unsuccessful. He received 8,111 votes and lost the seat to Dr Muhammad Ismail, a candidate of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

He was elected to Provincial Assembly of Sindh as an independent candidate from Constituency PS-49 (Badin-IV) in 1990 Pakistani general election. He received 16,312 vote and defeated Sikandar Ali Mandhro. Following his successful election, he was inducted into the Provincial Sindh cabinet of Chief Minister Jam Sadiq Ali and was appointed as provincial minister of Sindh for mines, minerals and livestock.

He ran for the seat of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh as an independent candidate from Constituency PS-49 (Badin-IV) in 1993 Pakistani general election but was unsuccessful. He received 15,542 votes and lost the seat to Sikandar Ali Mandhro.

In 1996, he quit his father’s party Awami Tehreek (Rahu group) and joined Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N).

He was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of Sindh as a candidate of PML-N from Constituency PS-49 (Badin-IV) in 1997 Pakistani general election. He received 17,077 votes and defeated Qazi Amjad Abid Abbasi, a candidate of PPP. Following his successful election, he was inducted into the provincial Sindh cabinet of Chief Minister Liaquat Ali Jatoi and was appointed as Provincial Minister of Sindh for excise and taxation.

He was arrested following the 1999 Pakistani coup d'état and was jailed for two years. In June 2001, he was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on corruption charges. The NAB had charged him for importing liquor from Rawalpindi to Karachi on bogus import permits, issued by the Sindh Ministry of excise and taxation which caused a loss of Rs 66 million to the provincial exchequer. In June 2002, the NAB fined him of Rs 20 million and sentenced him for seven years rigorous imprisonment. He was also disqualified from holding public office for 10 years. In May 2003, The Sindh High Court overturned his conviction after Rahoo filed an appeal to challenge his sentence.

According to Rahoo, he could not contest the 2002 general election due to being in detention at that time.

He ran for the seat of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh as a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q) from Constituency PS-59 (Badin-cum-T.M. Khan-III) in 2008 Pakistani general election but was unsuccessful. He received 19,604 votes and lost the seat to Muhammad Nawaz Chandio, a candidate of PPP.

He ran for the seat of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh as a candidate of PML-N from Constituency PS-59 (Badin-cum-T.M. Khan-III) in 2013 Pakistani general election but was unsuccessful. He received 36,966 votes and lost the seat to Muhammad Nawaz Chandio, a candidate of PPP. Rahoo alleged rigging was done in the constituency and challenged the election. In April 2015, an election tribunal de-seated Muhammad Nawaz Chandio and ordered a re-election in the constituency.

He was appointed as President of PML-N Sindh in July 2014. He was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of Sindh as a candidate of PML-N from Constituency PS-59 (Badin-cum-T.M. Khan-III) in by-election held in March 2016. He received 35,880 votes and defeated Mohammad Nawaz Chandio, a candidate of PPP.

In April 2017, he resigned as President of PML-N Sindh citing personal reasons. Reportedly, Rahu was cautioned numerous times by the PML-N leaders for being inactive. In May, he resigned from his Sindh Assembly seat and announced to join PPP.

He was re-elected to the Provincial Assembly of Sindh as a candidate of PPP from Constituency PS-74 (Badin-V) in 2018 Pakistani general election.

On 19 August, he was inducted into the provincial Sindh cabinet of Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and was made Provincial Minister of Sindh for agriculture with the additional ministerial portfolio of supply and prices.