A member of the Labour Party, she headed the criminal legal section of the UN Mission in Kosovo, where she was later Judicial Administration Department Director.

She attended what is now London South Bank University, and graduated with a BA (Hons) Law degree before studying for and sitting her examinations for the Bar at the Council of Legal Education.

[7] This role involved analysing legal systems in Kosovo to identify their limitations, with a focus on issues including people trafficking, domestic violence etc.

[8] Qureshi also chaired the Human Rights and Civil Liberties Working Group of the Association of Muslim Lawyers and was President of the Pakistan Club (UK).

[12][13] In 2010, Qureshi, Rushanara Ali and Shabana Mahmood, elected at the same time, became Britain's first female Muslim MPs.

She stated that "it is important that the Department for Transport and the Secretary of State address these concerns fully in order that people can have confidence in the HS2 project",[16] and highlighted how the benefits of HS2 needed to be felt by those in the North as well as the South: “there needs to be clarity and transparency over value for money and the benefits to the rest of the country, not just London".

[19] Prior to taking up her position as Shadow Justice Minister, Qureshi sat on a variety of select committees.

[26] She commented that "this is one of the worst outbreaks of violence in decades, yet the international community is effectively remaining silent as we watch another Srebrenica and Rwanda unfold before our eyes".

[27] Qureshi campaigned extensively to have 'upskirting' criminalised as a specific sexual offence, arguing that such legislation was long overdue.

In response to Conservative MP Christopher Chope's blocking the progress of a bill to outlaw upskirting, Qureshi spoke frequently in the House of Commons in criticism of this action, stating "delays in getting to this point were totally unnecessary and have caused needless suffering".

She argues that doing so without due process and in a rushed manner "piles yet more pressure on the remaining courts and risks hearings being further delayed and rescheduled", with the impact of "distressing victims and witnesses, many of whom are now forced to travel much greater distances".