Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Qaid Azam ("the Great Founder"), the founder of the state of Pakistan, was a Shia. In Pakistan,
Shias have been elected to top offices and played an important part in the country's independence, history and nation building. Former President Iskander Ali Mirza, Yahya Khan, the
Bhuttos,
Asif Ali Zardari,
Haidar Abbas Rizvi,
Syeda Abida Hussain,
Syed Fakhar Imam,
Mushahid Hussain Syed,
Faisal Saleh Hayat,
Syed Mehdi Shah,
Farzana Raja,
Faisal Raza Abidi,
Fahmida Mirza,
Zulfiqar Mirza. Yasir Wilayati and several other top ranking Pakistani politicians and generals such as
Mushaf Ali Mir,
Tanveer Naqvi,
Yahya Khan,
Muhammad Musa and
Iskander Mirza.