Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa

Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa (20 October 1935 – 9 April 2026) was a Pakistani political and tribal figure from Dera Ghazi Khan. He belonged to the Khosa Baloch tribe and served in the West Pakistan Assembly, Punjab Assembly, Senate of Pakistan and as Governor of Punjab.

He was born on 20 October 1935 in Bahadurgarh, Dera Ghazi Khan District, Punjab. Following the death of his father, Dost Muhammad Khan Khosa, he became Tumandar, or tribal chief, of the Khosa tribe.

Khosa was educated at Aitchison College, Lahore, where he studied from 1946 to 1954. During his years at the college, he participated in several sports and served as captain of the swimming and riding teams. He also excelled in athletics, particularly the 400-metre and 800-metre hurdles, and was awarded the Victor Ludorum title in 1952. He later pursued legal studies.

He entered electoral politics in 1962, when he was elected to the West Pakistan Assembly from Dera Ghazi Khan. He was among the youngest members of the assembly at the time.

His political career subsequently became closely associated with Dera Ghazi Khan and the Punjab Assembly. He was elected to the Punjab Assembly in 1970, 1977, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2008 and 2013, representing constituencies in the Dera Ghazi Khan region. His service therefore extended across several different political periods in Pakistan's history.

Over the course of his provincial career, Khosa held several government responsibilities, including Finance and Education portfolios. He also served as Senior Adviser to the Chief Minister of Punjab.

In August 1999, Khosa was appointed Governor of Punjab. His tenure lasted from August to October 1999. The official Punjab government record lists him among the province's governors during this period.

Khosa later returned to electoral politics and was elected to the Senate of Pakistan from Punjab in 2012. He served as a senator from March 2012 until March 2018. The official Senate profile records his province as Punjab, his seat as a general seat and his party affiliation at the time as Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

In the 2018 general election, Khosa contested a National Assembly seat from Dera Ghazi Khan but was unsuccessful. He subsequently became associated with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf between 2018 and 2023.

His family was also prominent in the public life of Dera Ghazi Khan. His son, Sardar Dost Muhammad Khan Khosa, served as Chief Minister of Punjab in 2008. Other members of the wider Khosa family have served in politics, law, administration and the judiciary.

Khosa remained associated with the tribal and political history of Dera Ghazi Khan throughout his life. His public career spanned more than six decades, beginning with his election to the West Pakistan Assembly in 1962 and extending through provincial politics, the governorship of Punjab and the Senate of Pakistan.

Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa died in Lahore on 9 April 2026 at the age of 90. He was buried in his ancestral graveyard at Bahadurgarh, Dera Ghazi Khan.

His life and career form part of the modern political history of Dera Ghazi Khan and southern Punjab, particularly the intersection of tribal leadership, provincial representation and public service.