Daily Times

Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, daughter of late former prime minister Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and sister of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday took oath as a Member of the National Assembly (MNA).

Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq administered the oath to her, who later signed the registration roll.

Unopposed election of Pakistan People’s Party’s Aseefa Bhutto Zardari from NA-207 of Nawabshah has been challenged in the Sindh High Court (SHC).

PTI’s Mustafa Rind in a petition in the high court has claimed that his nomination papers were rejected after he was abducted. He pleaded that the notification of Aseefa Bhutto’s uncontested election should be declared as void adding that the by election on vacant seats of the National Assembly will be held on April 21.

The Election Commission of Pakistan on March 29 declared that Aseefa Bhutto has returned unopposed as MNA from NA-207 after remaining three candidates withdrew their nomination papers.

Aseefa Bhutto was elected to National Assembly seat from Shaheed Benazirabad (Nawabshah), which fell vacant after her father Asif Ali Zardari was elected as 14th President of Pakistan. The Returning Officer had confirmed that 11 candidates initially submitted their nomination papers for the by-election. However, after scrutiny, only four candidates’ nomination papers were approved, including Aseefa Zardari.

Aseefa had actively been involved in PPP’s electoral campaign in the run-up to the February 08 general elections and was seen leading various rallies in a bid to seek support for her brother Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. She made her political debut at a PPP rally in Multan on November 30, 2020.