Fauzia Wahab - Political Career

Political Career

Wahab worked for the Pakistan Industrial and Commercial Leasing as a Marketing Manager between 1993 and 1996. She was nominated as Member Advisory Council of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) in October 1994. Initially she was given charge of the Municipal Ward 59. She was also nominated as Chairman of the Information Committee of KMC.

Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto nominated her to become the Information Secretary of the women's wing of the PPP in Sindh, a position she held until early 2002. After the dissolution of the PPP government in November 1996, general elections were held in February 1997 in which she was nominated to contest the elections on NA-193, as a PPP candidate. The PPP lost the elections and was confined to the opposition benches in the subsequent National Assembly.

With cases established against the PPP leadership, a multi-pronged strategy was initiated by the party to defend its leadership. It included contesting cases in the courts and apprising international institutions about the conduct of these cases.

In 1998, Benazir Bhutto nominated Wahab to become the Central Coordinator of the Human Rights Cell with responsibility for corresponding with human rights organizations abroad. During the incarceration period of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari, she wrote on various pressure tactics of the National Accountability Bureau and various government agencies against the couple as well as party leaders and workers. She was also an active proponent for the repealing of the Hudood Ordinance as well as the Blasphemy Law.

When the Pakistani general election, 2002 were called in October, she was nominated as a candidate for the reserved seats for women in the National Assembly. She took oath as a legislator and was also made part of the Standing Committee on Privatization and the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs. She was also a senior member of the Finance Committee of the National Assembly that looked after the Assembly's budget.

In 2003, she attended the National Defence College course for civil leaders. She was one of the initiators of the relationship with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and was invited to attend the "Win With Women – Global Initiative" of the Institute in December 2003. In June 2004, she was invited by the NDI to attend the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston where Senator John Kerry was nominated as the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 2004.

Fauzia also represented her party on a study tour of the German Parliamentary System in 2004.

With the 2005 Local Government elections taking place in August, she gained responsibility for working out an adjustment with the Jamat-e-Islami in the District East of Karachi. In September 2005, she was nominated to contest the elections of Nazim of the City District Government Karachi. However, her candidature was withdrawn in favor Naimatullah Khan.

During the National Assembly of 2002 and 2007, she was an active member of the opposition involved in a number of questions, calling attention notices, adjournment motions, resolutions and motions. She was also a mover of a number of bills including a bill on the environment and a ban on polythene bags.

She was nominated again for a second term by the PPP and returned to the National Assembly. She took oath as a Treasury bench member on March 6, 2008.

After Information Minister Sherry Rehman resigned from her government position, the party position she held was taken away and Fauzia Wahab was appointed the Information Secretary of the PPP. By virtue of being the Information Secretary, Fauzia Wahab became an ex-officio member of the Central Executive Committee of the Party.

In her second term as MNA, she was elected as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Finance and Revenue. This committee was the second most active parliamentary committee after the Public Accounts Committee in the number of meetings held.