Kashmala Tariq, a young politician who rose to prominence during the Musharraf era, began her political career as a student at Punjab University as an activist in the Pakistan Peoples Party’s youth division, Peoples Students Federation (1993-95), and later became the president of PPP Youth in Punjab province.
Kashmala was an active parliamentarian and member of three National Assembly Standing Committees of Local Government, Commerce and Trade, and Finance and Revenue. She also serves as PML-Q’s Secretary Information.
Education
Kashmala Tariq graduated with distinction from the London School of Economics with an LLM in Corporate and Commercial Law.
Political Career
National Assembly Election and Influential Advocacy
She was elected to Pakistan’s National Assembly in 2002 as a candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q) on a seat designated for women from Punjab. She was one of the most outspoken female legislators during her time in the National Assembly.
Appointment as Chairperson
She was appointed Chairperson of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Committee in 2007.
Re-election to the National Assembly in the 2008 General Elections
In the 2008 Pakistani general election, she was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of the PML-Q on a seat designated for women from Punjab.
Appointment as Federal Ombudsperson
Kashmala Tariq was appointed as the Federal Ombudsperson for the Protection of Women at Workplaces for a four-year term in February 2018.
Controversy
In March 2018, her staff assaulted and imprisoned journalists from Waqt News. She accused the journalists of recording an off-the-record talk, and she then ordered her staff to seize the journalists’ equipment and destroy the recorded conversation.