Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar was a Member of the Working Committee of the All-India Muslim League, and was one of the members of the Muslim League delegation at Simla Conference in 1945. He was elected to the provincial Assemble in 1937, and became the Finance Minister in Sardar Aurangzab's provincial cabinet in 1943. He also became a Minister in the interim League Congress cabinet in 1946.
After independence, he served as Federal Minister of Industries for four years and remained also the Governor of Punjab for two years.