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Sardar Usman Ahmed Khan Buzdar (; born 1 May 1969) is a Pakistani politician who was Chief Minister of Punjab from 20 August 2018 to 30 April 2022. Buzdar was a member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab from August 2018 till January 2023 representing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Belonging from a Baloch people family, he is a minor feudal and the Tumandar of the Baloch tribe Buzdar, since April 2019. He served as Tehsil Nazim of Tehsil Tribal Area from 2001 to 2008.
He quit the PML-Q after 2008 general election and joined a forward bloc. According to another report, he remained politically affiliated with PML-Q until 2011.
He joined the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) prior to the 2013 general election and ran for the seat of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of PML-N from Constituency PP-241 (Dera Ghazi Khan-II), but was defeated by Khawaja Muhammad Nizam-ul-Mehmood.
Prior to the 2018 general election, Buzdar along with other rogue PML-N members joined Janoobi Punjab Suba Mahaz, a bloc that advocated for the creation of South Punjab province. When Janoobi Punjab Suba Mahaz merged with the PTI in May 2018, Buzdar became a member of that party. He won the election to the Punjab Assembly constituency PP-286 Dera Ghazi Khan-II on a PTI ticket.
He was running for a seat in the Provincial Assembly from PP-286 in the 2024 Punjab provincial election, until he abruptly was removed from the party by chairman Imran Khan on 1 August 2023. He later withdrew from 2024 election and his brother ran for seat as an independent candidate.
On 19 August 2018, he was elected as the Chief Minister. He received 186 votes against his opponent Hamza Shahbaz Sharif who secured 159 votes. He was sworn in on 20 August 2018.
After assuming the office as the Chief Minister of Punjab, Buzdar held consultations with Imran Khan and formed a 23-member cabinet. The 23-member cabinet was sworn in on 27 August 2018. The second part of his cabinet, consisting of 12 provincial ministers was sworn in on 13 September 2018 increasing the size of the cabinet to 35. Chaudhry Sarwar was made Governor of Punjab on 5 September 2018.
In 2020 He launched the Insaaf Medicine Card under the Punjab Sehat Sahulat Program for various diseases including AIDS, hepatitis, and tuberculosis. In January 2022 Buzdar introduced a Rs 400 billion health-card program for Lahore Division. In May 2021, Buzdar announced a Rs 13.80 billion universal health insurance program for Layyah District; introducing Rs 725,000 health insurance for families every year and five days medicine provided to patients. A mother & child hospital costing Rs. 5.73 billion was also completed. According to the Qlantic Journal of Social Sciences (QJSS), despite reaching 5 million people in Punjab, the Sehat Sahulat Program only benefitted 93,000 people in 2019, a success rate of 0.2 percent. The paper also said that the offices of CEO and COO of the Punjab Health Insurance Initiative Management Company (PHIIMC) had been left vacant for two years and was being run on an "ad hoc basis". In addition, the journal said that as the program did not cover OPD and emergency services, saying as a result the program "has proven to have been largely useless for the masses."
On 28 March, Buzdar announced a Rs10 billion relief package for financial support of 2.5 million families of daily-wage earners, each family was entitled to Rs 4000 assistance excluding the beneficiaries of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). Punjab govt relief package not for BISP beneficiaries: Awan , The News, 29 March 2020 Provincial taxes were lowered by Rs 18 billion while the Punjab Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control Ordinance, 2020, was introduced to allow the government to implement public health measures under the cover of law. Buzdar said that the Punjab government had decided to grant a 90-day imprisonment rebate to prisoners in jails across the province which would benefit some 3,100 prisoners. The government said it would provide a month's additional salary to all healthcare workers across Punjab. Punjab gov passes Infectious Disease Prevention & Control Ordinance 2020, Bol Network, 29 March 2020
Punjab Minister for Finance Hashim Jawan Bakht said that the economic package would help the health sector and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) cope with the crisis with an immediate funding of Rs. 11.5 billion. Buzdar also said laboratories around the province would test 3,200 people every day for coronavirus and 10,000 doctors and paramedics were being recruited to fight the pandemic. Centre decides to open roads across country, The Express Tribune, 30 March 2020
On 30 April 2022, he left office of Chief Minister when Hamza Shahbaz took oath as newly elected Chief Minister.
According to police reports, around 1982 about 60 acres of state land was “bogusly mutated” in favour of Fateh Muhammad Buzdar’s sons, therefore Usman Buzdar and his two younger brothers. An inquiry was later launched into the case, states the FIR, which found that the land was indeed “malafidely, illegally, and through fraud, in connivance with revenue officials” given to Usman Buzdar, Umar Buzdar and Tahir Buzdar in 1982, while the deed was finalised in 1986. The transfer was also illegal, as all three brothers at the time were minors. At the time the ages of the brothers were: Usman Buzdar, 13, Umar Buzdar, 12, and Tahir Buzdar, 3. The complainant had asked for the allotment to be cancelled and the land to be returned. The court would later deem Buzdar innocent in the matter.
During his tenure as Nazim, Buzdar was accused of making 300 bogus appointments. An application was filed against him in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in September 2016, however NAB failed to carry out investigation. Buzdar's brother denied the accusation, claiming NAB was unable to find evidence against Buzdar, after which the case was closed.
According to documents submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan in 2018, Buzdar declared his assets worth Rs. 25 million. He declared that he owns three tractors and two cars worth Rs 2.4 million and worth Rs 3.6 million, respectively.
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