Anusha Rahman

Rahman began her political career in 2006, when she became senior vice president of the lawyers’ wing of the PML-N (Pakistani Muslim League). 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.^[6]

Rahman was re‑elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan in the 2013 Pakistani general election on a reserved seat for women.^{[7][8][9][10]} In 2013, she was appointed Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication.^[11][12][13]

In July 2017, she left the ministerial office when the federal cabinet was disbanded following the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after the Panama Papers case decision.^[14] 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.^[15][16][17]

In April 2018, Rahman was 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.^[18][19][20]

In the 2024 Pakistani Senate elections, Rahman, supported by the Pakistan Muslim League (N), won a women’s seat with 125 votes.^[21]

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 introduced regulatory changes in Pakistan’s telecommunications sector.^[22] The policy received the Government Leadership Award in 2017 from the GSMA for its role in shaping Pakistan’s telecommunication framework.^[23] Rahman was also involved with the government’s e-Governance program, which sought to digitize administrative functions.^[24] According to official figures, exports of information technology and IT-enabled services increased during this period, although independent assessments of these figures vary.^[25]

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.^[26]

In 2014, while Rahman was Minister for IT and Telecommunication, Pakistan auctioned the licenses for 3G and 4G services in the 850 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 2100 MHz bands.^[27] 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.^[28]

In December 2015, Rahman announced the “ICTs for Girls” initiative, designed to improve digital literacy among women and girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.^[29] 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 to women and girls.^[30] According to the Universal Service Fund, 144 women empowerment centres and 226 schools in Islamabad have since been provided with ICT labs under the initiative.^[31]

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 service delivery partner Team Up.^[32] The NIC provided workspace, training, and mentorship to technology start-ups and was later expanded to other cities.^[33]

In February 2018, Rahman launched the DigiSkills program, an online initiative for training individuals in freelancing and digital work.^[34] The program's stated goal was to train one million individuals.^[35] A DigiSkills 2.0 program was also created.^[36] DigiSkills 3.0 was launched in July 2025 with a stated aim to train three million people by the end of 2028.^[37]

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.^[38][39]