Born in village Dagai, District Nowshera on 18th of March 1964, Shazia couldn’t have been luckier for she was born to parents who were great professionals and stood out in their respective fields; her father Amanullah Khan being an engineer and her mother a seasoned politician. This helps her to be what she is today – a confident woman who carries with her the clairvoyance any female politician wishes and dreams for.
Born and Bred in luxury and intellect – a humble soul churned out:
Shazia has 5 sisters and 2 brothers. Shazia vividly remembers how his father had kept horses for them; the eight of them had been made available all that was best in terms of education and extra-curricular activities. Horse riding was something which she really enjoyed at her lands in Dera Ismail Khan. They had a beautiful house in the hilly terrain of Ayubia as well. Shazia has sweet reminiscences of how she learnt and built herself into a great player of lawn tennis and snooker. However, all this has amplified the spirit of serving her nation and has not stopped the kind soul within herself to work and work for the betterment of not-so-fortunate souls around. She embraces all with humility and humblesness.
Shazia received her schooling from the much coveted ‘Presentation Convent Peshawar’. Shazia got married when she was in 1st Year. She continued her studies after marriage and managed to equip herself with technical education. She completed her education in ‘Computer Software Programming’ from the UK and later served at an American firm there. After quitting her job in England, some four years ago, Shazia decided to come to Pakistan and join active politics. She holds a Bachelors degree from ‘University of Peshawar’ as well.
Politics – running in Shazia’s blood:
Shazia’s mother has remained the Senior Vice President of Awami National Party for twenty long years and has worked in deep liaison with Nasim Wali Khan, being second to him in authority and command. Shazia’s father-in-law Abdul Khaliq Khan had been a Senator, an MNA and Central Secretary General of Awami National Party; while the uncle of her spouse, Roedad Khan, is a well-known retired bureaucrat. Her husband, too, is an ardent ANP activist, who earlier served as the party’s president for the Sindh province. Nowadays he is the country director of a US courier firm, DHL.
Joining Nawaz Sharif’s Club:
Albeit this rich political background of a family entrenched into ANP, her desire to discover herself by following the rainbow of her own thoughts helped her to join Pakistan Muslim League (N).
Having most of her family members affiliated with the Awami National Party (ANP), Shazia Aurangzeb Khan preferred to join active politics from the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) platform and became a member of the NWFP Assembly against the reserved seat in the General Elections of 2008, with a pledge to have women’s issues resolved.
Inspired by Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, she joined the PML-N and became the most active political worker, as she was seen participating in protest demonstrations on every important issue. It was due to her political activism that she was nominated provincial general secretary of PML-N, and then she topped the list of party nominees for women reserved seats in the NWFP Assembly.
Shazia always used to get put off by people chanting slogans of ‘Pakhtunistan’ when she used to monitor the political activity from UK. She only found Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif as the only true Nationalist leader who inspired her much. Shazia also regards Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto for their charismatic leadership traits, for Shazia believes that leader is a person who commands love and respect from the people.
She appreciates Mian Nawaz Sharif on always talking about the larger interest of Pakistan. He wants to see it as an Asian Tiger, and Shazia is hopeful that in a decade or so Pakistan will rise to the Giddy heights of glory provided we accept the Charter of Democracy, get rid of 58-2(B) and the 17th amendment.
Shazia is proud of her contributions to the party. Shazia feels that everyone can make their own destiny. She runs ahead of time. She has managed to make a network in 15 districts out of a total of 24. She proudly mentioned about ‘Ayesha’ – her president at Khyber Agency. She mentions Laki Marwat and Kohat with great pride. She requests all to serve the nation and not themselves. She finds a world in Quaid e Azam’s quote which urges the nation to “Work, Work and Work”.
Current Memberships:
She is member of the following committees:
1. Standing Committee on Higher Education
2. Standing Committee on Population Welfare
3. Standing Committee on Inter Provincial Coordination
Shazia Aurangzeb – at the personal front:
Shazia is a mother of a son and a daughter. Her daughter is happily married now, and her son is pursuing his degree in Law from London. She praises her husband who has come a long way with her to help her in every way, her kids who never made her feel anything which she did not want to, and now her extended family of PML (N) who have always pushed her in the positive direction and groomed her into what she is today.
Shazia is proficient in many a languages, which include Urdu, English, Pashto, Hindko, Punjabi, Chinese, French and Danish. She is an avid reader of newspapers and likes the writings of Ayaz Amir, Irshad Ahmed Haqqani and Basharat Khokar.
She finds great solace in Rehman baba’s poetry. She urges the youth to develop tolerance in them as a permanent feature and then nothing will stop them from achieving success. Shazia is very fond of music, and her love for the great work of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is simply overwhelming. Among the latest bands she likes ‘Jal’.
