Zardaris supersede Sharifs with most legislators from same family in Pakistan

Lahore, Mar 30 (PTI) The Zardaris have overtaken the Sharifs to hold the record for having the most number of lawmakers from a family in Pakistani politics after President Asif Ali Zardari and slain former premier Benazir Bhutto’s youngest daughter Aseefa was elected unopposed as a member of Parliament.

Aseefa, who is set to become the First Lady, had filed a nomination for the National Assembly seat NA-207 from the Shaheed Benazirabad (formerly Nawabshah) area of Sindh province for the bye-election scheduled for next month.

According to a notification issued by the Returning Office of the area, Aseefa was elected unopposed after three candidates who had filed papers against her withdrew their names from the contest.

The three candidates were Abdul Rasool Brohi, Amanullah and Mairaj Ahmed.

It left her with no challenger and she was declared a winner in her maiden electoral contest Friday. The seat was vacated by her father, Asif Ali Zardari after he was elected as the president.

With her victory, the Zardari family has six lawmakers at the national and provincial levels, breaking the record of the Sharif family as it now comprises the most number of members from the same family in the country’s parliamentary history.

Both political families are known for having mostly ruled Pakistan for quite some time.

Now Zardari himself is the country’s president, his daughter Aseefa, son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and brother-in-law Munawar Ali Talpur are Members of the National Assembly, while both sisters Faryal Talpur and Azra Pechuho are members of the provincial assembly in Sindh.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s elder brother Nawaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz Sharif have been elected MNAs, while his niece Maryam Nawaz Sharif is the chief minister of Punjab.

Aseefa, 31, 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 the polio eradication campaign in 2012 which made her face familiar among the masses.