He joined
Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba and was the chief of
Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba from 1988 to 1991 and has been elected twice as MPA from
PK-95 constituency. He was elected to
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly in the 2002 election from the platform of
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal and was made finance minister in the provincial cabinet under the leadership of
Akram Khan Durrani. However, he allegedly resigned in protest against the deadly
US drone strike on a
madrassa in
Bajaur Agency which resulted in the deaths of 86 children. Though the then Ameer Jamat e Islami,
Qazi Hussain Ahmad, claimed that it was the party decision to vacate one of the two offices i.e. Ministry and Ameer Jamat e Islami Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, then N.W.F.P. His party boycotted the 2008 election. In 2013, he contested on Jamaat-e-Islami's ticket and was elected to the assembly. He remained the Deputy
Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami until 30 March 2014 when he was elected as the Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan. In accordance with party rules whereby intra-party elections are held every five years, he was re-elected as Ameer (chief) of Jamaat-e-Islami in March 2019, until March 2024. He remains immensely popular in his constituency and is known for his modesty among friends and foes alike. He resigned from the Ministry of Finance in June 2014 right after the budget because, according to party rules, one person cannot hold two offices at the same time. At that time, he was Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami and Senior Minister in KPK Assembly. He gained immense popularity when
Imran Khan and
Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri announced the Long March against Prime Minister Muhammad Mian
Nawaz Sharif. He acted as a neutral figure. He convinced the government and Imran Khan to negotiate and due to his efforts the government became stable. He said that the
Jamaat-e-Islami would not let democracy be derailed and, political differences aside, democracy would be saved. For his efforts, he received an award from the government of Pakistan on 14 August 2014 from President
Mamnoon Hussain. In 2015, he fought and won the election for senate. He is considered to be a senior member of the Parliament of Pakistan. During the 2018 general elections, he lost the national assembly seat NA-7 Lower Dir II to his rival candidate, Muhammad Bashir Khan of PTI, by a margin of 16,144 votes and was the runner up. == Writings ==