Rao Muhammad Hashim Khan (Urdu: راؤمُحمّد ہاشِم خان), was one of the oldest and most senior members of the Pakistan People's Party. He hails from District Pakpattan which is considered a stronghold of the Rao Family, who settled in this area after the independence of Pakistan in 1947.
Life
Early life
He was born to Rao Chaudhri Muhammad Ali who was a government official and his wife Hameeda Begum in 1923. In his early life he attended Government College Lahore for his Secondary Education. While there he took an active part in extracurricular and sports activities in college particularly in boxing and went on to take part in the National Level Inter Collegiate Boxing Championship in India. In addition while there he befriended Nobel Laureate Dr. Abdus Salam as well as legendary Bollywood actor Dev Anand. Being comparatively secular he befriended numerous Hindu and Sikh class fellows while still being an integral part of the Muslim student varsity at the college.
Later on he enrolled in the Aligarh Muslim University and gained his degree in Law. After becoming a lawyer he moved back to his hometown of Hisar and established a thriving practice there mostly in Criminal Law.[citation needed]
Career
Thus having established a name for himself as a successful lawyer in the city and being one of the most prominent members of his tribe in the area, he was invited by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to contest on the ticket of the newly formed Pakistan People's Party in the 1970 elections.
He lost in the 1997 elections.[5] After the 2002 elections he retired from active politics and was succeeded by his sons Rao Mohammad Naseem Hashim and Rao Mohammad Jamil Hashim. He was survived by six sons and one daughter.
He died on Saturday July 14, 2003 and was buried in his native village in Pakpattan.[6]
^(21 December 2007)PAKISTAN DECIDES: Sahiwal, Pakpattan, Vehari / Sahiwal, NA 160 to 163, Daily Times (Pakistan), Retrieved 20 November 2010 ("NA-164. ... (Muhammad Shah Khaga) became MNA from the PML-Q's platform in 2002 by defeating the PPP's Rao Hashim Khan, whose son Rao Jameel has now challenged him on behalf of the PPP. Rao Hashim was elected to the National Assembly in 1970, 1977 and 1993 from the PPP platform.")