Marriyum Aurangzeb

Punjab Senior Minister and PMLN leader

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Marriyum Aurangzeb is Senior Minister in the Government of Punjab and a leader in PMLN. She has a background in economics and environment from King's College London. Aurangzeb has held major portfolios including Information, Planning & Development, Climate Change, and Education.

Early life and background

Aurangzeb's mother was a counselor who started in local government politics. Her khala held posts as MPA, MNA, senator and minister. Her grandfather was the first MLA in the first constituent assembly of 1947. [1]

Education

Aurangzeb had her early education at a convent school in Pindi. She completed her matriculation at a convent school and then attended a college in Islamabad. She completed a master's degree in economics at Quaid-e-Azam University. She planned an MBA at King's College, then changed her degree to environmental economics, development and climate change. [1]

Conservation work

Aurangzeb did an internship at IUCN, the International Union for Conservation. She worked at WWF, the World Wide Fund for Nature, for about ten years. Her WWF work covered conservation, climate change, biodiversity, wildlife and wetlands. She says leaving WWF was a challenge because she was attached to the organization and its work. [1]

Parliament and federal office

Aurangzeb joined parliament in 2013. She says a woman she calls aunty encouraged her to become an MNA, and that the speaker supported her a great deal when she joined parliament. She says Pakistan's parliament was the first to go on solar energy consumption, through work she and colleagues did. She also says a Sustainable Development Goal Secretariat was first set up in Pakistan's parliament. [1]

Aurangzeb became parliamentary secretary for the interior. She was made State Minister for Information after the minister stepped down, and worked in the media field for about four years in that role. She was federal information minister before moving to the province. She says the PDM government was a 13-party alliance, and that she was present at a meeting with the IMF managing director. [1]

After her government ended, she was made Information Secretary of the party. She worked with the opposition leader while she was information secretary. [1]

Government of Punjab

Aurangzeb moved to the province to work with Maryam Nawaz, who gave her the opportunity. She says the Punjab budget is transformational. [1]

On health, Aurangzeb says 1,300 of 2,800 basic and rural health units have been revamped and upgraded. She says the government invited the private sector to run basic and rural health units as unit hospitals. She says a heart surgery card and a transplant card were started. [1]

On education, she says a merit-based scholarship programme has given scholarships to 50,000 students in a year. She says her government revived the laptop scheme, which had lapsed for about four and a half years, and that 40,000 students have received laptops, against a target of one lakh. She says 300 girls were given computers and girls were given e-bikes. She says the government introduced panic buttons for women at bus stops that connect to the police. [1]

Aurangzeb says PACTA, the Punjab Curriculum and Teacher Training Authority, was set up. She says KPIs were added for teachers for the first time, and that teachers went on strike on the day the accountability policy was introduced. She says early childhood education was introduced in the public sector for the first time in 2024. She says 40 billion rupees for missing school facilities is being spent through School Management Councils. [1]

She says the government set up a skill development and entrepreneurship department for the first time. She says MoUs have been signed with international employment agencies and that 22,000 young people are expected to be placed in jobs this year. She says the mindset that keeps girls out of school is tied to household economics as well as culture. [1]

Aurangzeb describes a housing scheme that gives about 15 lakh rupees in interest-free loans to people with land. She says about 52,000 homes are under construction under the scheme, and that Akhuwat carries out third-party validation of it. [1]

On water and transport, she says about 30 billion rupees has been set aside for water efficiency for the first time. She says about 12 billion rupees is funding sewage and sanitation work in Faisalabad. She says 25 electric vehicles run in Lahore and 1,100 are due in August, and that the World Bank-backed Punjab Clean Air Program includes 550 buses for Lahore division. She says a high-speed train between Lahore and Rawalpindi is planned on the existing railway. [1]

She says Muslim League Noon built motorways, roads, link roads, a metro and the Orange Train, and that a traveller can reach Karachi from Islamabad in 12 hours. [1]

On smog, Aurangzeb says smog is visible for three months, but air quality is poor all year. She says she chaired a multi-sectoral committee on smog and that a 10-year smog mitigation plan has been introduced and is being implemented. She says Punjab had only three air monitors, and that Punjab set up an environmental force for the first time. [1]

She says a super seeder costs 13 lakh rupees, with the government paying 8 lakh, and that 2,500 super seeders have been given so far. She says every industry in Lahore division is now QR certified and that more than 800 brick kilns were demolished and others converted to zig-zag technology. She says Beijing moved industry out of the city and now runs largely on e-bikes. [1]

On governance, Aurangzeb says KPIs were introduced for the civil bureaucracy for the first time. She says the pension system is now digital, which helped remove ghost pensioners. She says the Punjab cabinet and government work fully on e-filing, and that officials cannot legally hold a file for more than four days. She says Punjab saved about 55 billion rupees through e-tendering. [1]

She says Punjab used 911 billion rupees last year, against a previous high of 540 billion. She says the development budget rose 47 percent, from 845 to 1240. She says about 16 government services are delivered to the doorstep, all digital, and that the provincial revenue authority was extended from four districts to 19. She says Punjab is the one province that meets its targets and commitments. [1]

Views

Aurangzeb says Pakistan's parliament now includes experts, educationists and bankers. She says parties became conscious that they needed experts, professionals and young members. She says inflation was 45 percent and has since fallen to around 1.5 to 2 percent, and that the interest rate has fallen from 22 percent to 10 percent. [1]

She says she has not claimed that all schools and hospitals are already fixed, because this is a policy shift. She says Pakistan would be very different by 2050 if it invests in its youth. [1]

Personal life

Aurangzeb describes herself as a workaholic who does everything to its maximum. [1]

Timeline

2013
Joined parliament.[1]
2024
Early childhood education introduced in the public sector, according to Aurangzeb.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2025-06-23 Punjab's budget is finally spending on people, not just roads Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Marriyum Aurangzeb?

Marriyum Aurangzeb is Senior Minister in the Government of Punjab and a leader in PMLN. She has a background in economics and environment from King's College London.[1]

What does Marriyum Aurangzeb do?

Marriyum Aurangzeb is Senior Minister in the Government of Punjab. She has held major portfolios including Information, Planning & Development, Climate Change, and Education.[1]

Where did Marriyum Aurangzeb study?

Marriyum Aurangzeb completed a master's degree in economics at Quaid-e-Azam University. She also has a background in economics and environment from King's College London.[1]

When did Marriyum Aurangzeb join parliament?

Marriyum Aurangzeb joined parliament in 2013. She served as State Minister for Information and as federal information minister.[1]

Who does Marriyum Aurangzeb work with in Punjab?

Marriyum Aurangzeb moved to the province to work with Maryam Nawaz, who gave her the opportunity. She is Senior Minister in the Government of Punjab.[1]

References

  1. Punjab's budget is finally spending on people, not just roads . Thought Behind Things , 2025-06-23.
Show the source passages (85 statements)
  1. Her mother was a counselor who started in local government politics. Like my mother was a counselor, she started off with local government politics.
  2. Her khala held posts as MPA, MNA, senator and minister. My khala was an, starting with MPA, MNA, senator, minister.
  3. Her grandfather was the first MLA in the first constituent assembly of 1947. mere dada jo the, woh, he was the first MLA in the first constituent assembly of 1947.
  4. She had her early education at a convent school in Pindi. Early education meri start hui from Pindi and Convent School.
  5. She completed her matriculation at a convent school. Then I went back to St. Paul's Convent School, wahan se maine matric kiya.
  6. She attended a college in Islamabad. College was FG College F-7/2, Islamabad.
  7. She completed a master's degree in economics at Quaid-e-Azam University. Then university, I did my Masters in Economics from Quaid-e-Azam University.
  8. She planned an MBA at King's College, then changed her degree to environmental economics, development and climate change. So, I was going for my MBA to King's College. Then I changed my degree to Environmental Economics, Development and Climate Change.
  9. She has a background in economics and environment from King's College London. She has a background in economics and environment from King’s College London.
  10. She did an internship at IUCN, the International Union for Conservation. I did an internship in IUCN, which was International Union for Conservation.
  11. She worked at WWF, the World Wide Fund for Nature, for about ten years. I joined WWF, the World Wide Fund for Nature. I worked for them for about almost 10 years.
  12. Her WWF work covered conservation, climate change, biodiversity, wildlife and wetlands. it was a different work, conservation, climate change, biodiversity, wildlife, wetlands.
  13. She says leaving WWF was a challenge because she was attached to the organization and its work. leaving WWF was a challenge. Main badi attached thi to the organization, to the work I was doing.
  14. She joined parliament in 2013. And then in 2013, I joined parliament.
  15. She says a woman she calls aunty encouraged her to become an MNA. Kulsoom aunty was the one jinhone mujhe MNA banne ko kaha.
  16. She says the speaker supported her a great deal when she joined parliament. Aur uske baad maine jab parliament join ki to Ayaz Sadiq sahab was the speaker. Unhone mujhe bahut support kiya
  17. She says Pakistan's parliament was the first to go on solar energy consumption, through work she and colleagues did. We made parliament of Pakistan the first parliament to go on solar energy consumption
  18. She says a Sustainable Development Goal Secretariat was first set up in Pakistan's parliament. Phir SDG, Sustainable Development Goal Secretariat, parliament pehli parliament thi duniya ki Pakistan jahan woh bana.
  19. She became parliamentary secretary for the interior. Uske baad main parliamentary secretary ban gayi interior ki.
  20. She was made State Minister for Information after the minister stepped down. Pervez Rasheed sahab minister the to unko step down hona pada. To phir Mian sahab ne mujhe as Prime Minister, State Minister for Information bana diya.
  21. She worked in the media field for about four years as State Minister for Information. Jab main State Minister for Information bani to media was the field which I worked for for about four years.
  22. After her government ended, she was made Information Secretary of the party. Phir jab hamari government khatam hui to mujhe Information Secretary bana diya party ki
  23. She worked with the opposition leader while she was information secretary. Shahbaz sahab ke sath maine kaam kiya when he was opposition leader and main information secretary thi
  24. She was federal information minister before moving to the province. I was in federal government as an information minister.
  25. She moved to the province to work with Maryam Nawaz, who gave her the opportunity. So, the decision was to come to province with Maryam sahiba. To she gave me the opportunity, party gave me the opportunity, Mian sahab gave me the opportunity.
  26. She is Senior Minister in the Government of Punjab and a leader in PMLN. Senior Minister in the Government of Punjab and a leader in PMLN, also an associate of Maryam Nawaz.
  27. She has held major portfolios including Information, Planning & Development, Climate Change, and Education. has held major portfolios including Information, Planning & Development, Climate Change, and Education.
  28. She describes herself as a workaholic who does everything to its maximum. I am a workaholic and whatever I do, I do it, do it to its max.
  29. She says Pakistan's parliament now includes experts, educationists and bankers. We see experts in parliament, we see educationists in parliament, bankers in parliament, investment bankers in parliament.
  30. She says parties became conscious that they needed experts, professionals and young members. parties mein bhi ye ek conscious ho gayi ke yahan experts hone chahiye, professionals hone chahiye, young, because younger population couldn't be ignored at that time.
  31. She says the PDM government was a 13-party alliance. Phir hamari PDM ki government aayi, where all the political forces got together, it was 13 party government alliance
  32. She says she was present at a meeting with the IMF managing director. I still remember, I was in that meeting jismein Shahbaz sahab was meeting, um, MD IMF, aur main thi
  33. She says inflation was 45 percent and has since fallen to around 1.5 to 2 percent. jo inflation hai, it was 45% to hum minus pe bhi gaye hain pichle, rate of inflation, pichle mahine, abhi it's like around 1.5, 2.
  34. She says the interest rate has fallen from 22 percent to 10 percent. interest rate from 22% we are at 10%.
  35. She calls the Punjab budget transformational. And this budget that the Punjab government has laid, it's a very transformational budget.
  36. She says 1,300 of 2,800 basic and rural health units have been revamped and upgraded. jo 2800 BHU aur RHCs hain, unme se 1300 completely revamp, upgrade with equipment, with machinery, with HR.
  37. She says the government invited the private sector to run basic and rural health units as unit hospitals. we have invited the private sector to take these BHUs and RHCs and run these hospitals as unit hospitals.
  38. She says a heart surgery card and a transplant card were started. humne surgeries ka ek heart surgery card start kiya, transplant card start kiya.
  39. She says the merit-based scholarship programme has given scholarships to 50,000 students in a year. ek scholarship program, 50,000 students, merit-based, ek saal mein scholarships de chuke hain hum.
  40. She says 40,000 students have received laptops, against a target of one lakh. ek lakh students ko humne laptop ka target hai, 40,000 ko de diya hai
  41. She says her government revived the laptop scheme, which had lapsed for about four and a half years. woh saade char saal band ho gayi, us pe bhi mazaak udaya gaya ke laptop de dete hain aur pata nahi kya. Woh humne revive kiya
  42. She says 300 girls were given computers. Humne 300 bachiyon ko computers diye hain
  43. She says girls were given e-bikes. phir humne e-bikes bachiyon ko deen hain
  44. She says the government introduced panic buttons for women at bus stops that connect to the police. panic buttons aapne suna hoga jo humne introduce karaye hain ke agar aap bus stop pe hain, bachi hai, koi harassment face kar rahi hai to panic button hai, it goes to the police station.
  45. She says PACTA, the Punjab Curriculum and Teacher Training Authority, was set up. Uske baad humne ek idara banaya, PACTA. Which is Punjab Curriculum and Teacher Training Authority.
  46. She says KPIs were added for teachers for the first time. Pehli dafa teacher ke saath KPI add kiya gaya.
  47. She says teachers went on strike on the day the accountability policy was introduced. Humne jis din yeh policy laayi, teacheron ne hadtaal kar di.
  48. She says early childhood education was introduced in the public sector for the first time in 2024. in 2024, early childhood education was a first time introduced in public sector.
  49. She says 40 billion rupees for missing school facilities is being spent through School Management Councils. 40 billion jo hum schoolon mein yeh missing facilities poori kar rahe hain, woh SMCs ke through kar rahe hain.
  50. She says KPIs were introduced for the civil bureaucracy for the first time. for the first time ever civil bureaucracy mein KPI, key performance indicator ko include kiya gaya hai.
  51. She says the government set up a skill development and entrepreneurship department for the first time. humne ek to pehli dafa skill development and entrepreneurship Punjab ka department banaya hai
  52. She says MoUs have been signed with international employment agencies. Phir international jo employment agencies hain unke saath MoUs sign hue hain
  53. She says 22,000 young people are expected to be placed in jobs this year. jo is waqt 22,000 bachay hamare inshallah is saal place honge
  54. She says the mindset that keeps girls out of school is tied to household economics as well as culture. yeh thoda sa mindset jo hai na woh aapke ghar ki maeeshat se bhi juda hua hota hai
  55. She describes a housing scheme that gives about 15 lakh rupees in interest-free loans to people with land. Its a housing scheme, where if you have a land, government gives you about 15 lakh rupees interest-free loan and you make your house.
  56. She says about 52,000 homes are under construction under the housing scheme. Abhi tak we are at 52,000 to be exact aur logon ne apne ghar is waqt ban rahe hain
  57. She says Akhuwat carries out third-party validation of the housing scheme. there is a third-party validation jo Akhuwat kar rahi hai
  58. She says about 30 billion rupees has been set aside for water efficiency for the first time. for the first time we've kept about 30 billion rupees for water efficiency
  59. She says about 12 billion rupees is funding sewage and sanitation work in Faisalabad. Faisalabad mein about 12 billion rupees ke saath humne poora under trunk jo sewage aur sanitation ka hai woh kaam uspe shuru ho chuka hai
  60. She says 25 electric vehicles run in Lahore and 1,100 are due in August. EVs, e-vehicles mein 25 is waqt Lahore mein chal rahi hain aur 1100 will be completed in August
  61. She says the World Bank-backed Punjab Clean Air Program includes 550 buses for Lahore division. hamara World Bank ke saath ek program hai, Punjab Clean Air Program, its for Lahore division only because of the smog and all, toh usme 550 buses in addition to that.
  62. She says a high-speed train between Lahore and Rawalpindi is planned on the existing railway. ek high-speed train between Lahore and Rawalpindi, existing railway, we'll upgrade it
  63. She says Muslim League Noon built motorways, roads, link roads, a metro and the Orange Train. Muslim League Noon ne motorway bhi banayi, sadkein bhi banayin, link roads bhi banaye hain, metro bana di, Orange Train bana di
  64. She says a traveller can reach Karachi from Islamabad in 12 hours. aap Islamabad se 12 ghante mein Karachi pahunch jaate hain
  65. She says smog is visible for three months, but air quality is poor all year. Woh three-month humein fog ki wajah se visible ho jati hai, warna aapka AQI level around the year jo hota hai woh acceptable levels nahi hain
  66. She says she chaired a multi-sectoral committee on smog. multi-sectoral committee bani, maine usko chair kiya
  67. She says a super seeder costs 13 lakh rupees, with the government paying 8 lakh. Aur woh aata hai 13 lakh rupaye ka, toh humne 8 lakh government ne diya aur baaki farmer ne diya.
  68. She says 2,500 super seeders have been given so far. abhi tak humne 2500 diye hain
  69. She says every industry in Lahore division is now QR certified. every industry in Lahore division now is QR certified.
  70. She says more than 800 brick kilns were demolished and others converted to zig-zag technology. humne bhatton ko giraya, zig-zag technology pe convert kiya, 800, 900 se zyada bhatte giraye
  71. She says a 10-year smog mitigation plan has been introduced and is being implemented. smog mitigation plan aaya for 10 years, jisme ab hum kaam kar rahe hain
  72. She says Punjab had only three air monitors. Poore Punjab mein teen air monitors the
  73. She says Beijing moved industry out of the city and now runs largely on e-bikes. Unhone industry ko utha ke baahar kiya, baahar unko jagah di, e-bikes, full e-bikes, Beijing is all e-bikes.
  74. She says Punjab set up an environmental force for the first time. humne pehli dafa wildlife force banayi hai, state of the art, environmental force banayi hai.
  75. She says she has not claimed that all schools and hospitals are already fixed, because this is a policy shift. I have not claimed anything ke ji humne saare school theek kar diye hain, saare hospital theek kar diye hain
  76. She says the pension system is now digital, which helped remove ghost pensioners. Kaafi ghost pensioners bhi hote hain ismein, mamla iska digital nahi tha, to it's now all digital
  77. She says the Punjab cabinet and government work fully on e-filing. Cabinet and government of Punjab is completely on e-filing. No file comes to me.
  78. She says officials cannot legally hold a file for more than four days. Four days se zyada aap apne paas file by law nahi rakh sakte
  79. She says Punjab saved about 55 billion rupees through e-tendering. And we've saved about 55 billion rupees on e-tendering.
  80. She says Punjab used 911 billion rupees last year, against a previous high of 540 billion. last year 911 billion utilize kiya hai Punjab government ne, last jo pehle utilization thi jo hui highest was 540 billion.
  81. She says about 16 government services are delivered to the doorstep, all digital. there are about 16 services that you get at your doorstep, all digital.
  82. She says the development budget rose 47 percent, from 845 to 1240. usmein aapka development budget 47% increase hua hai, from 1240 to, from 845 to 1240.
  83. She says Punjab is the one province that meets its targets and commitments. We are, we are the one province jo ke apne target aur apni jo commitment hoti hai, woh dete hain.
  84. She says the provincial revenue authority was extended from four districts to 19. PRAs jo hain, revenue authorities, woh humne four districts mein thi, humne 19 mein kar di hain abhi tak
  85. She says Pakistan would be very different by 2050 if it invests in its youth. agar to humne apni youth mein invest kiya the way this vision talks about and translates, we will be a very different Pakistan.