Ashiq Ali

Ashiq Ali , also known as Lala Ashiq, is a Pakistani former footballer who played as a defender, and politician.

Early life Ashiq hailed from the Lyari locality of Karachi.

Club career Ashiq represented Karachi Division selection at the National Football Championship. Later on, he joined departmental side Pakistan Airlines in 1971.

In 1977, Ali was among several Pakistani footballers recruited by Bangladeshi club Dhaka Mohammedan, alongside Abdul Ghafoor, Afzal Hussain and Fazlur Rahman. Ghafoor was the only one to remain for the entire season. Fellow Pakistani international Amir Bakhsh subsequently arrived at Mohammedan in 1979, but illness prevented him from making an appearance.

International career

In 1970, Ashiq was first selected for the Pakistan national team which competed under the name of Pakistan Football Federation XI at the 1970 Jaam-e-Doosti Cup (Friendship Cup) in Iran. In 1973, Ashiq toured China with the national team for friendly matches.

Post-retirement After his retirement as player, Ashiq became involved in local politics in Karachi. He was nominated by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) as its candidate for chairperson of Union Committee-7 (UC-7) in Lyari during the 2015 Karachi local government elections. He subsequently served as UC chairman, as reported in 2016.