Sania Nishtar Biography

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Full Name: Sania Nishtar

Date of Birth: 16 February 1963 (age 58)

Place of Birth: Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Nationality: Pakistani

Religion: Islam

Education: Khyber Medical University, King’s College London (Ph.D)

Known for: Work in development of health in Pakistan

Political party: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

Awards: Sitara-i-Imtiaz (2005), Global Innovation Award (2011)

Sania Nishtar Biography:

Sania Nishtar is a Pakistani physician, cardiologist, senator, author and activist.
Nishtar went to medical school at Khyber Medical College and graduated top of her class in 1986.
She was inducted into the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan in 1991 after completing her residency at Khyber Teaching Hospital.
Sania Nishtar joined the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences as a cardiologist in 1994 and worked with the institute until 2007.
She left the institute on sabbatical twice, first in 1996 to at the Guy’s Hospital in London, and again in 1999 to pursue her Ph.D in Medicine from the King’s College London, which she received in 2002.
She became a fellow of Royal College of Physicians in 2005.
In 2019, Kings College London awarded her a Doctorate in Science, Honoris Causa.
Sania Nishtar is the current Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, with the status of Federal Minister, and BISP Chairperson.
She was elected to the Senate of Pakistan in the 2021 Senate election from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Previously she served in the interim federal cabinet in 2013 overseeing public health, education and science.
Sania Nishtar has been a Co-Chair of the WHO Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity and also serves on the board of United Nations University’s Institute for Global Health.