Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has appointed Shaza Fatima Khawaja as the State Minister for IT & Telecom.
The notification, issued by the Prime Minister’s office, assigns the portfolio of Information Technology and Telecommunication to Khawaja, who took oath at the presidency yesterday under clause 1 of Article 92 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
According to a brief circular issued by the Prime Minister’s Office on March 12, 2024, “The Prime Minister has been pleased to allocate the portfolio of Information Technology & Telecommunication to Ms. Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Minister of State, with immediate effect.”
Khawaja, the sole woman among 19 recommended for the federal cabinet, has been selected by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif with a focus on prioritizing the IT sector to enhance exports. This move reflects his party’s commitment to advancing the IT sector. The Prime Minister has called a meeting on the IT sector today at the PM House.
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Shaza Fatima Khawaja, a Pakistani politician, has been a Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since June 2013. She previously served as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Youth Affairs with the status of Minister of State.
Elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) on a reserved seat for women from Punjab in the 2013 general election, Khawaja has held various positions, including parliamentary secretary for the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, and Textile, and Vice President of the Young Parliamentarians Forum of the National Assembly.
Re-elected to the National Assembly in the 2018 and 2024 general elections, Khawaja assumed the role of Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Youth Affairs in the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in May 2022.
