Sharmila Faruqui

Sharmila Sahiba Faruqui Hashaam (Urdu: شرمیلا صاحبہ فاروقی ہشام; born July 25, 1975) is a Pakistani politician from Karachi, affiliated with the Pakistan Peoples Party.

Sharmila Faruqui
Farooqi in 2005
Member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh
Assumed office
February 2020
ConstituencyReserved seat for women
In office
2013–2018
ConstituencyReserved seat for women
Advisor to the Chief Minister of Sindh
In office
September 2008 – March 21, 2013
GovernorIshratul Ibad
Chief MinisterSyed Qaim Ali Shah
Personal details
Born (1978-01-25) 25 January 1978
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Political partyPakistan Peoples Party
Spouse(s)
Hasham Riaz Sheikh
​
(m. 2015)​
Parent(s)
  • Usman Farooqi (father)
RelativesN M Uqaili (maternal grandfather)
Alma materAdamson Institute of Business Administration and Technology, Karachi

She joined politics in 2008 and was appointed advisor to the Chief minister of Sindh. Since then she has held ministerial portfolios ranging from information, archives, Ausaf, culture and tourism. Her main forte has been her communication skills, ability to connect with the people on varied social  issues.

She has been her party’s information secretary and continues to represent her political views in tv talk shows.

To her credit she authored the Sindh child marriages restraint act 2014 passed unanimously by the Sindh assembly. She’s  been a member of the Sindh assembly from  2013-2018. She currently serves as a member of the assembly.

She is a prolific writer with many articles to her credit in both Urdu and English. In 2013, she was conferred the highest civil award, sitara-e-Imtiaz by the government of Pakistan for her meritorious work in social & human rights awareness.

Sharmila, has a masters degree in law and is presently pursuing her PhD. She has attended various international seminars and workshops speaking on diverse issues.

Early life and career

She is the maternal granddaughter of N M Uqaili, former Pakistan Minister of Finance and daughter of Usman Farooqi, who was a bureaucrat and a former Chairman of Pakistan Steel Mill. Farooqi is the niece of Salman Farooqi, a well-known confidante of former President Asif Ali Zardari.[1] Farooqi earned her Master of Business Administration from the Adamson Institute of Business Administration and Technology, Karachi and a Master of Laws degree.[1] Sharmila Farooqi is engaged to Hasham Riaz Sheikh, a former Wall Street investment banker and presently an advisor to the former President Asif Ali Zardari.[2] Sharmila married Hasham Riaz Sheikh on March 5, 2015.[3] She regularly appears on TV political news/talk/public affairs News channels to defend her party and government from corruption allegations.[4]

Prior joining politics as a Pakistan Peoples Party Leader, Sharmila has also worked as an actor. She appeared in a Drama serial "Panchwa Mausam" along with Aijaz Aslam, Talat Hussain, Abdullah Kadwani and Gulab Chandio.[5][6]

She previously served as a member of Provincial Assembly of Sindh from 2013–2018[7] and was reelected in 2018 Pakistani general elections and later became its member in February 2020.[8][9]

Controversy

Corruption

In 2001, Faruqui along with her father Usman Farooqi, a former chairman of Pakistan Steel Mills, embezzled Rs 195 billion ($1.95 billion) from Pakistan Steel Mills and Government of Pakistan through political corruption and fraud. Anisa Farooqi, mother of Sharmila, entered into a plea bargain with the National Accountability Bureau on 28 April 2001 after being arrested with First Information Report (FIR) No. 19/96, and given into the custody of the Ehtesab Cell by the Special Judge, Central II, handling cases of top corrupt public servants like Usman Farooqi.Sharmila Farooqi and her family was extensively investigated by officers of the National Accountability Bureau, Federal Investigation Agency and officials Karachi Electric Supply Corporation due to the non-payment of electricity bills worth Rs 1 million.[1][10]

Controversy over passing entry test for the admission in PhD Law

Sharmila Faruqui has been alleged of passing the mandatory entry test for the admission in PhD (Law) at University of Karachi without appearing in the exam held on 13 May 2018 at University of Karachi. According to media reports, Sharmila was one of 12 candidates who passed the exam, the results for which were announced by Karachi University on its official website on 17 May 2018.

See also

References
  1. "Sharmila Farooqi". Pakistan Herald. Retrieved 2011-01-21.
  2. "'Sharmila Farooqi finally interlocked with Hasham Riaz'". Aaj News. 6 March 2015.
  3. "Jiyali to gharwali: Sharmila's fantasy wedding comes to life". Dawn (newspaper). March 6, 2015.
  4. "Sharmila Farooqi: Miss Information". The Express Tribune (newspaper). 2010-10-14. Retrieved 2011-01-21.
  5. "شرمیلا فاروقی میدان سیاست میں داخل ہونے سے پہلے کیا کام کرتی تھیں؟". Daily Basharat (newspaper) (in Urdu). Retrieved 2017-04-26.
  6. "زرداری، شرمیلا فاروقی سمیت کئی سیاستدان ماضی میں شوبز سے وابستہ رہے". Daily Pakistan (newspaper) (in Urdu). 2015-05-25. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
  7. "Sharmila Sahebah Faruqui". Provincial Assembly of Sindh (pas.gov.pk). Retrieved 2021-10-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. "Sharmila Faruqui". Provincial Assembly of Sindh (pas.gov.pk). Retrieved 2021-10-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. "Sharmila Farooqi Becomes MPA". UrduPoint. 2020-02-26. Retrieved 2021-10-07.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. "After six years, NAB wakes up to Sharmila disqualification issue". The News International (newspaper). 2016-07-03. Retrieved 2021-10-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

Media related to Sharmila Farooqi at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.