Slain Benazir Bhutto’s youngest daughter Aseefa takes oath as Pak MP

Islamabad, Apr 15 (PTI) Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, the youngest daughter of slain former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto, on Monday formally launched her political career after taking oath as a Member of Parliament.

She was elected unopposed as a member of the National Assembly last month from NA-207 Shaheed Benazirabad (formerly Nawabshah) area of her native Sindh province. The seat was vacated by her father Asif Ali Zardari after he was elected as the President.

Speaker of the National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq administered the oath of office to Aseefa, 31, amidst applause from her Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmakers.

In a related development, her victory was challenged in the Sindh High Court by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed independent candidate Ghulam Mustafa Rind who named the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Aseefa as respondents.

The petitioner backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party claimed that he was not allowed to contest the polls and his nomination papers were wrongly rejected.

“I was told that I didn’t submit the electricity bill when our village doesn’t even have electricity. When I went to collect the bill, I was detained by the police,” the petitioner claimed.

Rind implored the court to overturn Aseefa’s unopposed victory and reinstate the democratic process.

Aseefa holds a bachelor’s degree in politics and sociology and a master’s in global health and development. She initially served as a goodwill ambassador for polio eradication in 2012 which made her face familiar among masses.

Her father, President Zardari, had announced plans to make Aseefa the first lady of the country.

She is one of the three siblings of former two-time premier Benazir who was assassinated during an election rally in 2007. Aseefa is quite popular with the PPP supporters due to her close resemblance with her mother.