Arsalan Taj Hussain

Arsalan Taj Ghumman(ارسلان تاج گھمن) (born 3 June 1985 in Karachi) is a youth activist, affiliated with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) since 2008. He has served as the President of Insaf Student Federation, Student wing of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf, and member of Central Executive Council. Arsalan Taj is currently a member of Provincial Assembly of Sindh. He is elected from the provincial constituency of PS 102 (Karachi East - IV), which is also the part of NA 243. Arsalan's Constituency, PS-102, holds significant importance as the current Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi was also initially elected from the parent national assembly constituency. In addition to this, he also serves as the member of PTI Karachi's Cabinet, and other cabinet/provincial committees.

Peace, Inclusion of all, and Participatory Development lie at the core of Ghumman's political ideology. As a youth representative, he has extensively worked to empower the youth of Pakistan in general, and Karachi in particular. It is because of the years-long struggle of determined youth leaders like Arsalan Taj that Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) clean-swept Pakistan's largest and the most politically volatile city of Pakistan, Karachi in 2018 elections. He also contested in Elections 2013 for Provincial Assembly of Sindh seat PS-118 Karachi and secured approx 32,000 votes. He got the highest number of votes by any Runner-up in Karachi. People of the war-torn and ethnically divided city confided in youth leaders like Arsalan Taj to end the era of fear, associated with MQM London's terror regime.

Arsalan Taj Hussain Ghumman belongs to a middle-class, non-politicized family. He was on the verge of completing his ACCA when he choose the political path; he has been unable to do his article ship. He is the fourth of five children. He was among the founders of Insaf Students Federation (ISF), the student wing of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, in 2009. After being an active member of the organization, he was appointed as the first Senior Vice President Karachi Division in September 2010 and later promoted to the position of Secretary-General Insaf Students Federation Karachi Division in November 2010. During this period his role was vital in the formation of Social Media Team of PTI.

He was the first elected President ISF Karachi in August 2011. PTI’s 25th Dec Quaid Mazar Karachi Jalsa was held in his tenure as President ISF Karachi. He is considered as one of the unsung heroes behind the success of PTI massive rally at Mazar-e-Quaid on 25 December 2011. He worked at this position up till June 2012. He was then appointed as Vice President ISF Pakistan (Head of Marketing Department) in September 2012. He was appointed as Central General Secretary of ISF Pakistan in 2014.

He was among four youth members of Youth Task Force who presented Youth Policy of PTI in November 2012. He is the core member of the committee who had worked hard for the constitution of ISF which later was approved by the Chairman which led to the centralization of ISF. Arsalan is one of the honoured 25% young members who were nominated by Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, and current Prime Minister Mr. Imran Khan to contest elections on PTI's ticket. Arsalan has also served as the Election Campaign Manager of Imran Ismail for NA-246 By-election.

Arsalan developed his interest in politics after getting inspired by the struggle of Lawyers during “Lawyers Movement”. He participated in the lawyer’s movement against the illegal acts of the dictator and struggled hard for the restoration of fundamental citizen rights. He through his dedication and hard work became one of the most devoted and inspiring youth leaders among the students. He strongly supports the idea to de-weaponize the educational institutes and disarm the student organization. He considers “Ballot” as an effective tool for change in the society and rejects the use of “Bullet”. He arranged and led many group discussions, seminars and informal debates on democracy, right to Vote, General Elections and power of Ballot. His efforts gained him a prominent reputation among notable social and educated peers.

In the Floods 2010 in Pakistan, Arsalan along with his young team established a flood relief camp at NIPA, Gulshan-e-Iqbal Karachi which was later converted into Pukaar Campaign, a joint effort by Mir Khalil-ur-Rehman Foundation and Imran Khan Flood Relief Fund. The Flood relief camp existed at NIPA for more than 40 days; it helped the Pukaar Campaign to collect millions of rupees for the flood-affected people of Interior Sindh. He arranged and led many group discussions, seminars and informal debates on democracy, right to Vote, General Elections and power of Ballot. His efforts gained him a prominent reputation among notable social and educated peers.

Arsalan Taj used social media as a platform to convey his views as a youth representative and build an effective audience and following using social media effectively. He has been active on Twitter and Facebook which became the first ultimate tool of PTI to gain acceptance and popularity among youth. Arsalan has been a vital player of PTI in establishing social media team which proved itself to be the frontline warriors for Imran Khan. The social media team unleashed a slew of trolls which targeted journalists, activists and influencers who had any kind of negative opinion on PTI and its leaders.

Arsalan has a strong voice against any student-related issue and he has advocated his support for Education on several occasions. Quality education for all and a uniform syllabus across the country has been his priority demands as a student leader. He very strongly criticized the outdated curriculum, cheating culture, absence of teachers and worse conditions of schools in Sindh, the weapon and favouritism culture in Universities.

1. During his tenure as President ISF Karachi, he raised the voice of youth and students on various issue especially violence in an educational institution, cheating culture, increase in the education budget and other related issues.
2. In 2011, He also led the movement against devolution of Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) and held two-days hunger strike sit-in at Karachi Press Club; on the second day morning of hunger strike Chief Justice of Pakistan took notice of the matter and took sou-moto action against the devolution of HEC. In 2012, He also led the protests movement against awarding of honorary Ph.D degree of University of Karachi to Interior Minister Rehman Malik by Governor of Sindh Province Dr Ishrat-ul-Ibad. Arsalan criticized the Governor for awarding honorary degree to a person who was responsible for the thousands of killings in the country and especially in Karachi City.
3. Arsalan played an important role in building awareness about the force deposition of HEC Director Sohail Naqvi. ISF filed a petition in Islamabad High Court and which was successfully taken up by the Supreme Court

Arsalan has been extremely vocal and bold with his stance on important civil and political issues. Following are a few examples:  

1. Arsalan raised voice against the killing of Shahzeb Khan, a student of Greenwich University Karachi, by an influential feudal.
2. He also initiated awareness campaigns for Voters registration
3. Education for all
4. He led protests against Drone Attacks by US, and strongly advocated against it on different platforms.
5. During the PPP's tenure, due to USA's pressure the Gillani government helped Raymond Davis fly off from Pakistan. Raymond Davis killed an innocent civilian while overspeeding in Pakistan's capital. Release of US spy Raymond Davis was met by strong opposition, and Arsalan was at the forefront to criticise then Pakistan's Government.
6. Arsalan Taj as a youth activist has been very vocal about the Sectarian Killings generally in Pakistan, and particularly Karachi. His political career initial days were clouded with extremely bad law and order-disorder situation in the city of Karachi. Arsalan has campaigned to protect the rights of all citizens. He is known for his brave campaigns during highly volatile times.
7. PPP led Sindh Government has been on Arsalan's radar since 2008. He has highlighted the issues of the rural-urban divide, poor infrastructure of Karachi, overall bad situation of health and education facilities. During his political campaigns, he has visited different districts of Sindh to identify the bad state of schools and hospitals.
8. Inclusion of all ethnicities and equal rights to all regardless of their cast and creed is Arsalan's main political aim. His slogan of the ballot over a bullet created a humongous impact on the city's political landscape. He is known as one of the most important architects of Karachi's political revolution, and PTI's emergence.
   

On 12 May, the very next day of Elections, PTI along with civil society activists launched a protest movement against the massive rigging. Arsalan played a vital role in organizing the protest rallies in various parts of the city and in his own constituency. He led two massive protests in his constituency at Hassan Square and Millennium Mall. Arsalan was appreciated for his role in the movement and he also appeared on various TV talk shows to represent the point of view of young Karachittes.

GE 2018 victory and in Assembly

Arsalan Taj was the favourite candidate in General Elections 2018. Arsalan won the General Election 2018 by securing 47946 votes as a candidate of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf from Constituency PS-102 (Karachi East-IV). So far, he has been very active in Assembly for the issues of his own constituency and for the issues of common man in Karachi. Some of his strong speeches in Assembly were about: • Sewage & Encroachment issue • School fee hike • Irregularities in SBCA & Sindh Revenue Board • Sports Ground • Cleanliness Drive • Street Crimes • During Corona Virus Pandemic – Appeal and relief work • Relief work during Karachi rain disaster

1. MPA Arsalan Taj Ghumman speech on Karachi Circular Railway (21-Jan-2019) Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t7-On5qCIw

2. MPA Arsalan Taj's Criticism of CM Sindh's Covid Response Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM0-kinFVtY

3. MPA Arsalan Taj inspects repair of a road in Gulshan-e-Iqbal #NA243 Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRtj1iuQ60Y

4. Schools being used for Cattle in Sindh - MPA Arsalan Taj Reviews Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPMEPIuyII0

5. Criticizes Sindh Government on not taking relevant stakeholders on board Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93xeUGEubYA

6. MPA Arsalan Taj visits Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital | Corona | Covid19 | Karachi Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3glS4XJPe3I

7.MPA Arsalan Taj meets Mohalla Committee in Baloch Goth Gulshan-e-Iqbal Source https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW157vc0F2s

8. MPA Arsalan Taj urges Sindh Government to utilize health care facility, Sindh Infectious Disease Hospital, efficiently Source: https://nation.com.pk/03-Jun-2020/govt-must-stop-deceiving-people

9. Q & A Live session by MPA Arsalan Taj source:https://www.pscp.tv/ArsalanGhumman/1ypKdOlXLwnxW

10. PTI MPA Arsalan Taj submits a bill for rescue service source:https://tribune.com.pk/story/2267286/pti-mpa-submits-bill-for-rescue-service

11. PTI MPA Arsalan Taj developed an official map of sealed areas #NA243 source:https://emeatribune.uk/pti-mpa-arsalan-taj-developed-a-map-of-sealed-areas/

12. Arsalan Taj (Member Provincial Assembly of PS 102) successfully dislodged the tanker mafia in Gulshan e Iqbal ground block 6. MNA 243 Alamgir Khan and MPA Arsalan Taj also performed the groundbreaking ceremony of a cricket complex. https://twitter.com/PTI_KHI/status/1348323259381673986?s=20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9stESlh0WaA. Cricket Ground Location: https://www.google.com/maps?q=Cricket+Ground,+Block+6+Gulshan-e-Iqbal,+Karachi,+Karachi+City,+Sindh&ftid=0x3eb338ccf6a08d29:0x5e903e47336fe0b9&hl=en-PK&gl=pk&entry=gps&shorturl=1

13. Arsalan Taj highlighted the issue of bad governance in Sindh Assembly. Argued that Sindh's CM Murad Ali has inefficiently administered key issues of governance. https://twitter.com/ArsalanGhumman/status/1347820886007689217?s=20.

14. Organized an anti-dengue spray campaign in different union councils of PS 102 - of block 5, 13, 13/D, 13/D1, 2 & adjoining areas in UC-21, block 3 & 6, and UC-22 of Gulshan-e-Iqbal, .https://twitter.com/ArsalanGhumman/status/1345690421125648384?s=20

15. Highlighted the issue of creation of the District Public Safety Commission according to the Police Act 2019 in the provincial assembly of Sindh: https://twitter.com/ArsalanGhumman/status/1347817791295008769?s=20. News Paper Sources: https://jang.com.pk/news/869218 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/770785-pa-passes-bill-to-raise-parliamentary-secretaries-salaries-and-allowances

16. PTI’s Arsalan Taj called the PPP government ‘incompetent’ to ensure public transport availability for the public, saying that not a single penny from the budgetary allocations went to commuting facilities in the province. Source: https://www.brecorder.com/news/40049236 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/770785-pa-passes-bill-to-raise-parliamentary-secretaries-salaries-and-allowances

17. PTI MPA Arsalan Taj accuses Sindh govt of providing benefit to high-profile suspects through weak prosecution. Sources: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/774259-pti-mpa-accuses-sindh-govt-of-providing-benefit-to-high-profile-suspects-through-weak-prosecution https://tribune.com.pk/story/2280025/power-companies-have-made-lives-miserablehttps://www.dawn.com/news/1601513 https://www.brecorder.com/news/40051698/uzair-baloch-acquittal-opposition-accuses-sindh-govt-of-weak-prosecutionhttps://nation.com.pk/15-Jan-2021/sindh-ready-to-take-control-of-power-distribution-companies

The official AR-state Channel of MPA Arsalan Taj Ghumman Source:https://ar-state.com/c/_9CEm_kRgykZP4cfH4UnZw.html

2. http://www.pas.gov.pk/index.php/members/profile/en/32/608

3. https://twitter.com/ArsalanGhumman?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor