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Zartaj Gul

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Zartaj Gul
Official portrait, 2024
Minister of State for Climate Change
In office
5 October 2018 – 10 April 2022
PresidentArif Alvi
Prime MinisterImran Khan
MinisterMalik Amin Aslam
Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
Incumbent
Assumed office
29 February 2024
ConstituencyNA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan-II
Majority55,692 (30.16%)
In office
13 August 2018 – 10 April 2022
ConstituencyNA-191 (Dera Ghazi Khan-III)
Majority25,361 (13.63%)
Personal details
BornNovember 11
Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab, Pakistan
Political partyPTI (2005-present)
Spouse
Humayun Raza Khan Akhwind
​
​
(m. 2010)​
Alma materQueen Mary College
National College of Arts, Rawalpindi
Websitehttps://zartajgulpti.com

Zartaj Gul Wazir (Urdu: زرتاج گُل وزیر) is a Pakistani politician who served as Minister of State for Climate Change, in Imran Khan ministry from 5 October 2018 until 10 April 2022 when Imran Khan was ousted by a no-confidence motion. She remained a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan between August 2018 and April 2022, and again from 29 February 2024 from Constituency NA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan-II she was elected from Constituency in 2024 Pakistani General Elections held on 8 February 2024.

Early life and education

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Gul hails from North Waziristan, born on 17 October 1984 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa[1] to Ahmad Wazir, chief engineer of WAPDA and belongs to Wazir tribe.[2][3]

She obtained her early education in her native town Bannu and Miramshah before moving to Lahore with her family.[3] She attended Queen Mary College for her undergraduate studies and then National College of Arts for her postgraduate studies.[1] She did Textile Designing from National College of Arts.[3]

After completing her education, she joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)[4] and became a volunteer with Insaf Student Forum (ISF) in 2005.[3]

She moved to Dera Ismail Khan after getting married in 2010.[3]

Political career

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Gul ran for the seat of the National Assembly of Pakistan as a candidate of PTI from Constituency NA-172 (Dera Ghazi Khan-II) in 2013 Pakistani general election but was unsuccessful.[4] She received 38,643 against 49,142 votes of Hafiz Abdul Kareem and lost the seat.[5]

She was elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PTI from NA-191 (Dera Ghazi Khan-III) in 2018 Pakistani general election.[6][7][8][9] She received 79,817 votes and defeated Awais Leghari.[10]

On 5 October 2018, she was inducted into the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Imran Khan[11] and was appointed as Minister of State for Climate Change.[12]

As a member of the National Assembly and as a Minister, she advocated for gender equality and argued that Islam guarantees rights for women.[13][14] During a press conference, Zartaj Gul described Imran Khan as a 'symbol of women empowerment' and defended his comments on sexual violence. Khan had previously stated in an interview that “If a woman is wearing very few clothes, it will have an impact on the men, unless they're robots. I mean it's common sense.” These remarks were widely criticized by opposition leaders and rights groups, who accused him of victim-blaming and promoting a misogynistic narrative, while Zartaj Gul and other members of his party argued that his comments were taken out of context and were part of a broader discussion on societal issues and the role of modesty.[15]

She was re-elected to National Assembly of Pakistan in 2024 Pakistani General Elections, as an independent candidate supported by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from NA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan-II and received 94,927 votes[16][17] and defeat his election rival Mehmood Qadir Khan received 39,235 votes.[18][19][20] After the official results are coming Zartaj declared as winner, following the defeat of PML(N) Candidate Mehmood Qadir Khan by a heavy margin of 55,000 plus votes, he requested the Lahore High Court for a recount in the Constituency.[21][22]

On 6 October 2024, she was arrested by police after a raid on her house and was taken to an undisclosed location. Pictures of her following her arrest went viral, showing her barefoot. PTI lawyer Mir Fida Hussain stated that she was unwell and asleep at the time of the raid and was unable to wear her shawl.[23] She was released 3 days later on 9 October 2024.[24]

Controversy

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In June 2019, Gul was criticized by the media for allegedly using her position to influence NACTA in the appointment of her sister as a director in the authority. Gul's principal staff officer wrote an official letter to the Secretary Interior following up on a "telephonic conversation with Ms Zartaj Gul, Minister of State for Climate, regarding the appointment of Ms Shabnam Gul in NACTA".[25] Prime Minister Imran Khan was said to have taken notice of the situation, and asked Gul to withdraw her letter but Gul's sister was still appointed to the position.[26] NACTA later released a statement "clarifying" that the appointment of Shabnam Gul, Zataj Gul's sister, was merit-based even though she had no prior experience in the field.[27] No action was taken against Gul for having sent the letter in the first place even though Imran Khan's special assistant made a statement saying that no one in the PTI government can promote their relatives/friends by using their positions.[28]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Female factor: In DG Khan, Zartaj Gul Akhwand set to fight dynastic politics | The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  2. ^ "Women For All Seasons".
  3. ^ a b c d e "Zartaj Gul: breaking barriers in clan politics in southern Punjab | The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 13 August 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Zartaj Gul, a young woman who upended the Legharis' rule". Geo News. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  5. ^ "2013 election result" (PDF). ECP. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Election results: Imran Khan's PTI on top". Geo News. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Live Blog - DAWN.COM". zartajgulpti.com/. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  8. ^ PTI Ki Zartaj Gul Bazi Maar Gain - Election 2018 - Dunya News, Dunya News, retrieved 2023-07-20
  9. ^ Unofficial Result: PTI Zartaj Gul Wins NA-191, Abbtakk, retrieved 2023-07-20
  10. ^ "NA-191 Result - Election Results 2018 - Dera Ghazi Khan 3 - NA-191 Candidates - NA-191 Constituency Details". www.thenews.com.pk. The News. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  11. ^ Reporter, The Newspaper's Staff (6 October 2018). "Six federal ministers administered oath". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  12. ^ "Notification - 5 October 2018" (PDF). Cabinet Division. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  13. ^ APP (2020-02-19). "Islam believes in gender parity: Gul". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
  14. ^ "'Everyone has the right to march regardless of gender'". The Express Tribune. 2020-03-07. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
  15. ^ "PTI MNAs defend PM Imran's heavily criticised comments on rape". DAWN.COM. 2021-06-22. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
  16. ^ "NA-185 Election Result 2024 Dera Ghazi Khan-II, Candidates List". ARYNEWS. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  17. ^ "PTI Candidate NA-185 D.G.Khan-ll – PTI Elections Portal". Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  18. ^ "Check NA-185 Election Result 2024 Dera Gazi Khan 2". Daily Pakistan. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  19. ^ Bhatti, Kashan (2024-02-08). "NA-185: Elections 2024 Pakistan results LIVE". ARY NEWS. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  20. ^ "NA-185 Election Result 2024 Dera Gazi Khan 2, Candidates List". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  21. ^ "PTI-backed Zartaj Gul wins NA-185 (DG Khan)". DAWN.COM. 2024-02-09. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  22. ^ "Election Results: IND Candidate Zartaj Gul won by getting 83,027 votes| Unofficial Result | TV Shows - geo.tv". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  23. ^ Birmani, Tariq Saeed (2024-10-06). "Zartaj Gul arrested in raid at house". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  24. ^ "Zartaj Gul released from jail". GNN - Pakistan's Largest News Portal. 2024-10-09. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  25. ^ Durrani, Fakhar. "Zartaj Gul made official request to appoint her sister in Nacta". www.thenews.com.pk. The News. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  26. ^ Tribune.com.pk (2019-06-03). "PML-N moves ECP against Zartaj Gul over sister's appointment". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  27. ^ "NACTA CLARIFIES 'MERIT-BASED' APPOINTMENT OF ZARTAJ GUL'S SISTER". arynews.tv. 2019-06-01.
  28. ^ Post, The Frontier. "PM Imran Khan takes notice of Zartaj Gul's letter to NACTA". Retrieved 2023-05-27.
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