Shireen Mehrunnisa Mazari is a Pakistani politician who is the current Federal Minister for Human Rights, in office since 20 August 2018. She has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since August 2018, and serves as a chief whip for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Previously she was a member of the National Assembly from June 2013 to May 2018.
Mazari studied at the London School of Economics and later received her PhD from Columbia University in political science. Mazari joined Quaid-e-Azam University as an associate professor and went on to head the university’s strategic studies department. In 2002, Mazari became the head of the government-funded Institute of Strategic Studies and remained until she was sacked in 2008. In 2009, Mazari became the editor of The Nation.
Early life and education
Mazari is a graduate of the London School of Economics. She received her PhD in Political Science from Columbia University.
Professional career
In 2008, Government of Pakistan removed Mazari from the post of Director General of The Institute of Strategic Studies where she was due to retire in 2009.
In 2009, Mazari was appointed as the editor of The Nation. She also hosted a weekly television show on the Waqt News. Mazari came under intensive criticism from the Committee to Protect Journalists after she publicly alleged an American journalist to be a CIA spy.
She had been an associate professor at Quaid-i-Azam University and later became chairperson of the university’s Department of Defense and Strategic Studies
Political career
Mazari joined the PTI in 2008citing “policy differences and its takeover by corrupt elements”[6] after she was served a show cause notice by PTI for “making unfounded, incorrect, inaccurate and false statements in the media.”
In 2009, she was Information Secretary and Spokesperson of PTI.
In 2012, she resigned from PTI where she was the Central Vice President and incharge of Foreign Policy.
She rejoined PTI in 2013.
She was elected as the member of the National Assembly of Pakistan for the first time in Pakistani general election, 2013 on the ticket of PTI on reserved seats for women from Punjab.
She was the chief whip of PTI in the National Assembly of Pakistan.
She was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PTI on a seat reserved for women from Punjab in the Pakistani general election, 2018.
On 18 August, Imran Khan formally announced his federal cabinet structure and Mazari was named as Minister for Human Rights. On 20 August 2018, she was sworn in as Federal Minister for Human Rights in the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
