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Anusha Rahman
Pakistani politician (born 1968) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Anusha Rahman (Urdu: انوشہ رحمان; born 1 June 1968) is a Pakistani politician affiliated with the Pakistan Muslim League (N). She served as the Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication in the cabinet of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi from April to May 2018. Prior to this, she held the position of Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication from June 2013 to July 2017 during the third ministry of Nawaz Sharif, and again from August 2017 to April 2018 under Abbasi’s administration. Rahman was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2008 to May 2018. In the 2024 Pakistani Senate election, she was elected to a seat reserved for women.[1]
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Early life and education
Rahman was born on 1 June 1968[2] in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. In 1992, she graduated with an LL.B. and received an LL.M. from University College London, specializing in law and economics of regulated industries, networks, and markets. [3][4]
Political career
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Anusha began her political career in 2006 or 2007, when she became senior vice president of the lawyers’ wing of the PML-N. She took part in the lawyers’ movement for the restoration of the judiciary following the Pakistani state of emergency in 2007. She was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan for the first time in the 2008 Pakistani general election on a reserved seat for women.[5] She served on the National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice, and in 2009 was a member of the PML‑N steering committee for legal matters.
She was re‑elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan in the 2013 Pakistani general election on a reserved seat for women.[6][7][8][9] In 2013, Rahman was appointed Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication.[10][11][12]
She left ministerial office in July 2017 when the federal cabinet was disbanded following the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after the Panama Papers case decision.[13] After Shahid Khaqan Abbasi became prime minister in August 2017, she was inducted into the Abbasi ministry and again appointed Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication.[14][15][16]
In April 2018, she was promoted to the federal cabinet and appointed Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication in the cabinet of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi; upon the dissolution of the National Assembly at the end of its term on 31 May 2018, she left office.[17][18][19]
In the 2024 Pakistani Senate elections, Rahman, supported by the Pakistan Muslim League (N), won a women’s seat with 125 votes.[20]
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Key contributions and achievements
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As Minister of State and later Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Rahman was associated with the development of the Telecom Sector Policy 2015, which was intended to address emerging trends in the telecommunications industry.[21] The policy received the Government Leadership Award in 2017 from the GSMA for its role in shaping Pakistan’s telecom framework.[22] Rahman was also involved with the government’s e-Governance program, which sought to digitise administrative functions.[23] According to official figures, exports of information technology and IT-enabled services increased during this period, although independent assessments of these figures vary.[24]
In 2015, Rahman received the GEM-TECH Global Achievers Award from UN Women and the International Telecommunication Union, for work related to gender equality in technology.[25]
Mobile Broadband
In 2014, Pakistan auctioned spectrum for 3G and 4G services in the 850 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 2100 MHz bands, which marked a significant expansion in mobile broadband services in the country.[26] Following this, mobile broadband penetration in Pakistan increased from less than 3% in 2013 to over 40% by 2018, according to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority data. In recognition of these efforts, Pakistan received the Spectrum for Mobile Broadband Award at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in 2015.[27]
ICTs for Girls Program
In December 2015, Rahman announced the “ICTs for Girls” initiative, designed to improve digital literacy among women and girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.[28] The program included providing access to ICT facilities and training on basic digital skills. According to the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, the initiative was developed in partnership with Microsoft to offer training modules in computing and coding. However, independent reporting on the program’s scale and long-term impact is limited.[29]
National Incubation Center and DigiSkills
Rahman was involved in launching Pakistan's first National Incubation Center (NIC) in 2016 as a public–private partnership between the Ministry of Information Technology, Ignite (National ICT R&D Fund), and Teamup.[30] The NIC provided workspace, training, and mentorship to technology startups and was later expanded to other cities.
In February 2018, Rahman launched the DigiSkills program, an online initiative for training individuals in freelancing and digital work.[31] The program's stated goal was to train one million individuals.
On 15 February 2019, the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) appointed Rahman as regional advisor to the secretary‑general for the East and South Asia region.[32]
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References
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