Mashal Yousufzai elected senator on women’s reserved seat

PESHAWAR: Mashal Azam Yousufzai, a former adviser to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, was elected senator in the by-poll held in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Thursday.

She was backed by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in a contest against four other candidates for the women’s reserved seat vacated by former senator Sania Nishtar. According to Form 56 issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Mashal received 86 votes, while her opponent Mehtab Zafar — backed by the combined opposition in the provincial assembly — secured 53 votes. Candidate Saima Khalid received one vote, while Sobia Shahid and Shazia had withdrawn from the contest but their names were still printed on the ballot papers.

Out of the 145-member House, a total of 143 votes were polled. Two votes were declared invalid, and two members did not cast their votes.

The ruling PTI enjoys the support of 92 members, while the combined opposition has 52 members. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) has 18 members, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) 17, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) 10, while Awami National Party and PTI Parliamentarians have four and three lawmakers, respectively.

Polling began in the Assembly’s Jirga Hall two hours behind schedule and continued until 4:00 pm without any break.

The newly elected Senator Mashal Yousufzai is a lawyer by profession and a former spokesperson for Bushra Bibi, spouse of PTI’s founding chairman Imran Khan.

She hails from Swabi district and also served as an adviser to the chief minister for Social Welfare and Women Development in the Ali Amin Gandapur-led cabinet for several months but was later de-notified, reportedly due to differences with Gandapur.