Anusha Rahman

Anusha Rahman Ahmad Khan (Urdu: انوشہ رحمان احمد خان‎; born 1 June 1968) is a Pakistani politician who served as Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, in Abbasi cabinet from April 2018 to May 2018. Previously she served as the Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication of Pakistan from June 2013 to July 2017 in the third Sharif ministry and again from August 2017 to April 2018 in the Abbasi ministry. She had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2008 to May 2018 representing the Pakistan Muslim League (N).

In this Pakistani name, the name Rahman is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Anusha.
Anusha Rahman
Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication
In office
27 April 2018 – 31 May 2018
PresidentMamnoon Hussain
Prime MinisterShahid Khaqan Abbasi
Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication
In office
4 August 2017 – 27 April 2018
PresidentMamnoon Hussain
Prime MinisterShahid Khaqan Abbasi
In office
7 June 2013 – 28 July 2017
PresidentMamnoon Hussain
Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif
Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
In office
17 March 2008 – 31 May 2018
ConstituencyReserved seat for women
Personal details
Born (1968-06-01) 1 June 1968
Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
NationalityPakistani
Political partyPakistan Muslim League (N)
Alma materUniversity College London

Early life and education

Anusha was born on 1 June 1968.[1] Her family hails from Gawalmandi, Lahore and she is the only parliamentarian from her family.[2] In 1992, Rehman graduated with a LLB and received an LLM from University College London specializing in Law and Economics of regulated industries, networks and markets.[3][4]

Professional career

In early 1990s, Rehman worked as a lawyer in her uncle's chambers. Her uncle handled the legal matters of the businesses owned by the Sharif family. During working at uncle's chambers, Rehman became a member of the PML-N.[2] She is a professional corporate lawyer by profession.[2] According to Rehman, she had been working with the telecom sector since the 1990s.[2]

Political career

Anusha began her political career in 2006 or 2007, when she was made senior vice president of the lawyers’ wing of PML-N.[3] She played an active role in the lawyers movement for the restoration of the judiciary following Pakistani state of emergency, 2007.[2]

She was elected as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan for the first time in 2008 Pakistani general election on a reserved seat for women.[2][5][6] She was a member of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice during her tenure in National Assembly.[7] In 2009, Rehman was a key member of the PML-N's steering committee, which was tasked with dealing with legal matters.[2]

She was re-elected as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan for the second time in 2013 Pakistani general election on a reserved seat for women.[8][9][10][11] In 2013, Rehman was appointed as the Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication.[7][12][13] Dawn noted that Rehman's "rise within the party was due to her closeness to finance minister Ishaq Dar" to whom she assisted at the PML-N's main election cell during 2008 elections and help finalised the list of PML-N potential candidates for 2008 elections.[2] In 2015, Rehman was awarded "GEM-TECH Global Achievers 2015" award by UN Women and the International Telecommunication Union in recognition of her work to empower women through technology.[14]

She had ceased to hold ministerial office in July 2017 when the federal cabinet was disbanded following the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after Panama Papers case decision.[15] Following the election of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as Prime Minister of Pakistan in August 2017, she was inducted into the federal cabinet of Abbasi.[16][17] She was appointed as the Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication.[18][19]

In March 2018, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) initiated an inquiry into a graft case against her[20][21] for illegally awarding a Next Generation Mobile Services contract.[22] The Frontier Post noted that she comes from a middle-class family however since assuming the office of Minister of State for Information Technology, her assets has increased considerably.[23] In April 2018, she was elevated as the federal minister[24] and was appointed as Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication in the cabinet of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.[25] Upon the dissolution of the National Assembly on the expiration of its term on 31 May 2018, Rehman ceased to hold the office as Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication.[26] She was named in probe report prepared by Senator Zafarul Haq as one of the Federal Minister responsible for the Elections Bill 2017 that resulted in 2017 Faizabad sit-in.[27]

During her tenure as Minister, she was found to be extremely inaccessible.[28]

Corruption scandal

In 2016, a corruption scandal in the Ministry of Information Technology worth Rs 21.57 billion was surfaced during the tenure of Rehman.[29]

In August 2018, the NAB approved an inquiry into a graft case against her for illegally awarding a Next Generation Mobile Services contract and for committing alleged financial irregularities.[30][31]

gollark: We haven't actually built out much yet. I don't think there are any going anywhere other than a test site.
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gollark: They're for player transport, but the tunnels can be used for drones perfectly fine.
gollark: No, Intercontinental Boating Methods.
gollark: Also, I don't think I have any way to reach spawn or the city, pending greater ICBM coverage.

References
  1. "If elections are held on time…". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  2. "'IT girl' in a boy's world". Dawn. 25 April 2014. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  3. "Profiles: International Conference on Civil-Military Relations". Pildat. Archived from the original on 18 February 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  4. "National Assembly of Pakistan". www.na.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  5. "MPs' uplift funds being misused". DAWN.COM. 24 April 2011. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  6. "Only 300 votes polled in house of 342". DAWN.COM. 22 June 2012. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  7. "Federal cabinet unveiled: Enter the ministers – The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 8 June 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  8. "PML-N secures most reserved seats for women in NA – The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 28 May 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  9. "Women, minority seats allotted". DAWN.COM. 29 May 2013. Archived from the original on 7 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  10. "Women's reserved seats: Top politicians' spouses, kin strike it lucky – The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 30 May 2013. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  11. "Candidates cleared for reserved seats". DAWN.COM. 10 April 2013. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  12. "Anusha invited by British PM to WEF panel discussion". The Nation. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  13. "Sworn in as Minister of State". Nation pk. 7 June 2013. Archived from the original on 10 February 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  14. "UN honours IT Minister Anusha Rahman with 'Global Achievers 2015' award – The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  15. "PM Nawaz Sharif steps down; federal cabinet stands dissolved". Daily Pakistan Global. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  16. "A 43-member new cabinet sworn in". Associated Press Of Pakistan. 4 August 2017. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  17. "PM Khaqan Abbasi's 43-member cabinet takes oath today". Pakistan Today. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  18. "Portfolios of Federal Ministers, Ministers of State announced". Radio Pakistan. 5 August 2017. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  19. "Portfolios of federal, state ministers". www.thenews.com.pk. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  20. "NAB opens two more graft cases against Sharif family - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 6 March 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  21. "NAB initiates more inquiries against Sharifs". The Nation. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  22. Raza, Syed Irfan (6 March 2018). "NAB okays inquiries against those named in Panama Papers". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  23. "NAB decides to examine assets of IT Minister - The Frontier Post". The Frontier Post. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  24. "Govt expands cabinet months before elections - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  25. "Notification April 2018" (PDF). Cabinet division. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 April 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  26. "Notification" (PDF). Cabinet division. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 June 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  27. "Lawmakers deliberately amended Khatam-e-Nabuwwat clause to benefit Ahmadis, rules IHC". Daily Pakistan Global. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  28. "The YouTube Conundrum". Newsline. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  29. "Corruption scandal worth billions brews under the surface". Daily Times. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  30. "Day of wholesale inquiries: NAB initiates massive action". The News. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  31. "NAB authorises inquiries against two ex-ministers | The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
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