Dr Tahirul Qadri

Dr Tahirul Qadri was born on Feb 19, 1951 and hails from Jhang, Pakistan. It is believed that Qadri, a Canada-based religious scholar, was exposed to Christianity and Islam at an early stage of his life as he attended a Christian school in Jhang. He studied Hadith and the fundamental principles of Islam from the Muhaddith al-Hijaz.

Later on in his academic career, he studied law at the University of Punjab and graduated with an undergraduate degree in the same discipline in 1974 as a valedictorian. He also taught at Punjab University and pursued his doctorate in Islamic law.

Political career Qadri founded a political party called the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) in May 1989. The main objective of the party was to provide law and order measures for the general public, respect for human rights, elimination of poverty and quality education for all. In 1990, members from the PAT contested for the general elections and later on Qadri was elected as a member of the National Assembly. However, he resigned from his seat on Nov 29, 2004.