Naeem Bokhari

Naeem Altaf Bokhari (Urdu/Punjabi: نعیم بخاری; born June 5, 1948) better known as Naeem Bokhari is a Pakistani television personality and a Senior Advocate Supreme Court. He has also hosted Khabarnaak on a Pakistani news channel Geo News.^[1]

Early life

Bokhari was born in Lahore, Pakistan to Dr Syed Altaf Hussain Bokhari. He is the younger brother of Pakistani fast bowler Saleem Altaf Bokhari.

Personal life

He first married popular Ghazal singer Tahira Syed (1975- 1990). Bokhari has two children, a son, Hasnain and a daughter, Kiran with his first wife, both of whom are lawyers by profession. Kiran is married and working in New York City. Bokhari married Tamannah Khan in 1995 and has a son, Abbas and two daughters, Noor Zainab and Noor Fatimah from the second marriage

Television

In 2015 Bokhari joined Khabarnak, a talk show on Geo TV, replacing Aftab Iqbal.^[2] He hosted other talk shows, including Apne Andaz Se and Naeem Bokhari ke saath on which he interviewed many guests. He interviewed Imran Khan during his work at Khabarnak.^[3]

Chaudhry controversy

His open letter against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry^[4][5] published on Feb 16, 2007 created a controversy. This helped lead to the eventual dismissal of the Chief Justice by President Pervez Musharraf. The Punjab Bar Council reacted after March 9, 2007, when the controversy had reached a peak and dismissed his membership in Punjab Bar Council. Subsequently, his membership was renewed.

On 9 March 2007, President Musharraf fired Chaudhry. Most of the charges listed against him were contained in a letter written by Bokhari. A copy of the letter was placed before the CJP when he was called to the Army House that day. An office bearer claimed that the letter was written at the government's behest.

Most of the alleged charges against Chaudhry were related to his son Arsalan Iftikhar’s police career while he was a doctor in the Baluchistan government. When the reference against CJP was brought to the Supreme Judicial Council, those in the government who had been facilitating Iftikhar's son were ready to speak against him.

Bokhari’s letter contained the name of Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao, whose ministry had issued orders to treat Arsalan with extra care and then allowing him to get police training along with probationers of the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP Cadre). The letter mentioned that the junior VVIP got special treatment because of his father. Later, Arsalan was appointed to FIA on deputation after seeking the written consent of the Federal Interior Minister; Naeem Bokhari gave details.^[6]

References