Sharmila declared returned candidate

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday declared Sharmila Sahebah Faruqui of the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarian (PPPP) returned candidate on the seat reserved for women in the provincial assembly of Sindh.

The seat had fallen vacant due to the death of MPA Shahnaz Begum, according to an ECP notification. The notification was issued in pursuance of the provisions of Clause (6) of Article 224 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan read with Section 104 of the Election Act 2017.

Shahnaz was shot dead in the Darya Khan Marri area of Sindh’s Naushero Feroze district on February 15. Sharmila is the daughter of Usman Farooqi, who was a bureaucrat and former chairman of Pakistan Steel Mills. She is also a niece of Salman Farooqui, also a top bureaucrat. She has remained in the forefront of defending the provincial government and the party at various forums in the past.