Usman Dar

Usman Dar (Urdu: عثمان ڈار) is a Pakistani politician who was Special Adviser to the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan on Youth Affairs. He was in office from 3 December 2018 till his resignation from the parliament on 10 April 2022. He also held the position of Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme during his term.

Personal life
Usman Dar was born on 28 August 1974 in Sialkot, Pakistan. He belongs to a Punjabi speaking Kashmiri family. He is a married man with two kids.

Education
Dar has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of the Punjab.

In his nomination papers for 2013 general election, Dar claimed to have received the degree of Master of Business Administration from the Schiller International University, London in 1997.

In November 2017, Schiller International University was found to be a degree mill and Dar's MBA degree was found to be dubious after the Department for Education of the United Kingdom said that it does not recognise the university.

Dar did not declare his MBA degree in his nomination papers for 2018 general election and only mentioned his graduation degree from the University of the Punjab.

Political career
He ran for the seat of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as an independent candidate from PP-122 (Sialkot-II) in the 2008 Punjab provincial election but was unsuccessful. He received only 54 votes and lost the seat to Chaudhry Muhammad Akhlaq.

He ran for the seat of the National Assembly of Pakistan as a candidate of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from NA-110 (Sialkot-I) in the 2013 Pakistani general election but was unsuccessful. He received 71,573 votes and lost the seat to Khawaja Muhammad Asif.

He ran for the seat of the National Assembly as a candidate of the PTI from NA-73 (Sialkot-II) in the 2018 Pakistani general election but was unsuccessful. He received 115,464 votes and lost the seat to Khawaja Muhammad Asif.

On 10 October 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan appointed Dar as Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme. On 12 October, a resolution was submitted in the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab against the appointment of Dar due to his dubious degree. The resolution also noted that appointment was "clear violation of merit and unacceptable as he had suffered a massive defeat in the general elections". On 13 October, Pakistan Today also noted that Dar's appointment as chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme violates 2014 order of Lahore High Court.

On 3 December 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan appointed him as his Special Assistant to PM on Youth Affairs. On Oct 4, 2023, after 4 months of disappearance due to 9 May Protest, Usman Dar appeared in an interview and declared to leave Pakistan Tahreek Insaf and Politics.