Anusha was born on 1 June 1968. Her family hails from Gawalmandi, Lahore and she is the only parliamentarian from her family. In 1992, Rehman graduated with a LLB and received an LLM from University College London specializing in Law and Economics of regulated industries, networks and markets.
Professional career
In early 1990s, Rehman worked as a lawyer in her uncle's chambers. Her uncle handled the legal matters of the businesses owned by the Sharif family. During working at uncle's chambers, Rehman became a member of the PML-N. She is a professional corporate lawyer by profession. According to Rehman, she had been working with the telecom sector since the 1990s.
Political career
Anusha began her political career in 2006 or 2007, when she was made senior vice president of the lawyers’ wing of PML-N. She played an active role in the lawyers movement for the restoration of the judiciary following Pakistani state of emergency, 2007. She was elected as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistanfor the first time in 2008 Pakistani general election on a reserved seat for women. She was a member of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice during her tenure in National Assembly. In 2009, Rehman was a key member of the PML-N's steering committee, which was tasked with dealing with legal matters. She was re-elected as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan for the second time in 2013 Pakistani general election on a reserved seat for women. In 2013, Rehman was appointed as the Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication. Dawn noted that Rehman's "rise within the party was due to her closeness to finance minister Ishaq Dar" to whom she assisted at the PML-N's main election cell during 2008 elections and help finalised the list of PML-N potential candidates for 2008 elections. In 2015, Rehman was awarded "GEM-TECH Global Achievers 2015" award by UN Women and the International Telecommunication Union in recognition of her work to empower women through technology. She had ceased to hold ministerial office in July 2017 when the federal cabinet was disbanded following the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after Panama Papers case decision. Following the election of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as Prime Minister of Pakistan in August 2017, she was inducted into the federal cabinet of Abbasi. She was appointed as the Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication. In March 2018, the National Accountability Bureau initiated an inquiry into a graft case against her for illegally awarding a Next Generation Mobile Services contract. The Frontier Post noted that she comes from a middle-class family however since assuming the office of Minister of State for Information Technology, her assets has increased considerably. In April 2018, she was elevated as the federal minister and was appointed as Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication in the cabinet of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. Upon the dissolution of the National Assembly on the expiration of its term on 31 May 2018, Rehman ceased to hold the office as Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication. She was named in probe report prepared by Senator Zafarul Haq as one of the Federal Minister responsible for the Elections Bill 2017 that resulted in 2017 Faizabad sit-in. During her tenure as Minister, she was found to be extremely inaccessible.
Corruption scandal
In 2016, a corruption scandal in the Ministry of Information Technology worth Rs 21.57 billion was surfaced during the tenure of Rehman. In August 2018, the NAB approved an inquiry into a graft case against her for illegally awarding a Next Generation Mobile Services contract and for committing alleged financial irregularities.
