Women candidates bag eight Balochistan Assembly seats

BAP leads race with four candidates, BNP-M two, while ANP and PTI one each

QUETTA: This time the political atmosphere of Balochistan has seen a major change, as apart from the reserved seats, women politicians belonging to four political parties have won eight seats of the Balochistan Assembly.

The expected women MPAs include: Balochistan Awami Party’s (BAP) Dr Rubab Khan, Laila Tareen, Mah Jabeen Shareef and Bushra Rind; Balochistan National Party-Mengal’s (BNP-M) Zeenat Shahwani Advocate and Shakeela Naveed Dahwar; Awami National Party’s Shahena Kakar and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Fareeda Bibi.



From Hazara Democratic Party’s Aasiya Kashmand and BNP-M’s Mastoora Bibi, one will make it to the assembly.
On the reserved seats for women, three Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) members; Hafiz Khalil Ahmed’s wife (name not given), Zubeda Dakhtarullah and Shabana Anjum are candidates.

While the candidates for three BA’s reserved minority seats are; BAP’s Danesh Kumar, BNP-M’s Taaits Johnson and MMA’s Sham Lal, while the road is smooth for Ruqayya Hashmi and Dr Shehnaz Naseer to make it to the National Assembly.



Apart from candidates of major political parties, the candidates that have bagged seats of the provincial and national assemblies are; Aslam Bhootani, Saleh Bhootani, Shahzain Bugti, Gohram Bugti, Khalid Magsi, Tariq Magsi, Sanaullah Zehri and Naimatullah Zehri.
Aslam Bhootani won the NA-272 Lasbela-cum-Gwadar seat with 68,804 votes, while his elder brother Saleh achieved 30,007 votes to win the PB-49 Lasbela seat.

Shahzain Bugti was victorious from NA-259 seat with 27,087 votes, while his brother Gohram secured the PB-10 seat with 27,190 votes.
BAP candidate Khalid Masi obtained 53,330 votes to secure NA-260 seat, while Tariq Magsi won the PB-16 seat with 14,950 votes.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Sanaullah Zehri managed to win the PB-38 seat with 11,814 votes, while his brother Naimatullah received 11,280 votes to win the PB-36 seat.