 Mr Bakhtiar has been active in Pakistan’s political arena from the late 1990s and still remains a major player.He was elected to the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) from Constituency PP-236 (Rahim Yar Khan-V) in 1997 Pakistani general election.He received 19,736 votes and defeated Makhdoom Ashfaq Ahmad, a candidate of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).