Born on August 28, 1974, in Sialkot, Pakistani politician Usman Dar recently left Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party, ending a decade-long association with the ex-Prime Minister.
Dar, who faced scrutiny for claiming a Master of Business Administration from the discredited Schiller International University in 1997, omitted this degree from his 2018 general election nomination papers, declaring only his graduation degree from the University of the Punjab.
At 49 years old, married to Ms Saima with two sons, Dar held various positions within PTI, including serving as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Youth Affairs and Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme.
In October 2023, Dar accused Imran Khan of orchestrating the May 9 riots and conspiring against Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir. He claimed Khan organized a long march-cum-sit-in to prevent Munir’s appointment and planned the May 9 riots to have the Army chief removed.
Dar alleged that Khan directed PTI supporters to build a narrative against the state and used them as ‘human shields’ to avoid arrest, stating that the May 9 riots were pre-planned in a meeting chaired by Khan.
PTI countered Dar’s claims, asserting that he was taken to anchorperson Kamran Shahid’s residence the night before the interview, which couldn’t be independently verified.
Following Dar’s interview, his mother issued a video challenging PML-N leader Khawaja Asif, who defeated Dar in the 2018 election, to face her in politics, gaining traction on social media.