Malik Muhammad Waris Kallu lost his battle against Covid-19 and breathed his last on March 12, one of the many casualties in the third wave. The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N’s) ‘electable’ from Khushab had been under treatment at a private hospital in Lahore after he contracted the infection.

He was born to Malik Muhammad Sher Kallu on November 1, 1951, in the Rodha village of Khushab district. Kallu obtained his LLB in 1976 from the Punjab University Law College in Lahore and passed his CSS examination in 1982.

The politician was once a career banker, serving as vice president and zonal chief of the United Bank Limited (UBL) during 1975-97. Later, he was a practicing lawyer, who served as a Member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab from 2002-07 and again from 2008-13. Kallu was the parliamentary secretary for colonies during 2003-07; and chairman of the Committee on Privileges from 2008 to 2013 and from 2013 to 2018. In 2018, he had returned to the Punjab Assembly for a fourth consecutive term.

Malik Waris Kallu died with his political boots on. His political career had started in the 2000s under the mentoring of former provincial minister, Malik Khuda Bakhsh Tiwana, the leader of his independent Awami Group. During his early years in politics, he was seen as Tiwana’s right hand.

In the 2002 general elections, Kallu polled 41,863 votes as an independent and defeated Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) candidate SardarShuja Muhammad Khan.

Kallu was recognised as a dignified and decent politician enjoying grassroots support. He was 70. His career as a banker had helped him develop an acute understanding of people’s needs and behaviours. Among his constituents, he was a remarkably humble and reasonable person. 

In 2008, he was re-elected to the Punjab Assembly for a second term, again as an independent candidate from his PP-42 (Khushab-IV) constituency. This time around, Kallu had received 42,903 votes and defeated Syed Zulqarnain Shah, another independent candidate.

Later, Kallu developed differences with Tiwana but remarkably retained support of the voters. His candid way of speaking, clean credentials and down-to-earth demeanour had earned him respect, not only in his constituency but also across party lines.

He was elected to the Punjab Assembly for the third time in 2013, this time as a PML-N candidate, securing 50,616 votes and defeating Malik Khuda Bakhsh Tiwana, his former mentor and ally. The race was remarkably close with less than 500 votes separating the two who each polled more than 50,000 votes.

Kallu was re-elected for the fourth term on a PML-N ticket from PP-84 (Khushab-III) in the 2018 general elections. The PML-N nominated him for the office of deputy speaker of the Punjab Assembly. He received 159 votes in the contest, losing to Dost Muhammad Mazari, who polled 187.

Kallu was recognised as a dignified and decent politician enjoying grassroots support. He was 70. His career as a banker had helped him develop an acute understanding of people’s needs and behaviours. Among his constituents, he was a remarkably humble and reasonable person.

For PML-N, he was a great electoral asset, never losing an election. Some would say that the party needed him more than the other way around. His two victories (in 2002 and 2008) as an independent candidate support that suggestion.

The writer is a journalist based in Lahore. He reports on politics, economy and militancy. He can be reached at shrnaqvi3@gmail.com