Aseefa’s political debut begins

Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, the youngest daughter of President Asif Ali Zardari, took her first step into electoral politics on Sunday by submitting her nomination papers for a by-election for the NA-207 Shaheed Benazirabad seat, vacated by Zardari after assuming the presidency last week.

The nomination papers of the young scion of the Bhutto dynasty were received by the returning officer, Additional Deputy Commissioner Sher Ali Jamali, in the presence of her aunt, provincial minister Azra Fazal Pechuho, and a large number of local PPP leaders and workers.

Aseefa has been actively involved in PPP's political activities and election campaigns for many years, but this marks her debut in any electoral contest.

Unlike her brother, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who chose to contest from Larkana, Aseefa will be launching her parliamentary career from her father's hometown.

During her canvassing for the last general elections, she led rallies across Sindh while her brother focused on leading the party's campaign in Punjab. She also campaigned for the party's candidates in the local government elections of 2022.

In the February 8 general elections, Zardari secured 146,989 votes in NA-207. His opponent, the PTI- and GDA-backed independent candidate Sardar Sher Muhammad Rind Baloch, polled 51,916 votes.

Baloch, along with other candidates including MQM-P's Syed Sajjad Hussain Shah, will also contest the by-polls.

Read more: Aseefa to contest by-polls from NA-207

Addressing workers and supporters at Zardari House Nawabshah on Saturday, Aseefa said, "The people of Nawabshah elected my father by giving him a huge mandate. I hope the people will also give me the same mandate."

Pechuho, also elected as an MPA from a constituency in the same district, remarked that Aseefa embodies the spirit of former prime minister and PPP's slain chairperson Benazir Bhutto.

"Watching Aseefa makes us feel as if Shaheed Benazir is present among us." She appealed to the people of Shaheed Benazirabad to give Aseefa a huge mandate in her first electoral contest.

The Bhutto-Zardari dynasty won three seats in the National Assembly and two in the Sindh Assembly from Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad, and Qambar-Shahdadkot in the February 8 general elections.

Bilawal was elected an MNA from two constituencies and Zardari from one. Faryal Talpur and Pechuho, Zardari's sisters, were elected MPAs from Larkana and Shaheed Benazirabad, respectively.

Bilawal took the oath of an MNA for NA-194 Larkana, vacating NA-196 Qambar Shahdadkot seat, which will undergo a by-election on April 21. The PPP's chairman obtained 85,370 votes at NA-196 while his opponent from JUI-F, Nasir Mehmood Soomro, polled 34,499 votes.

Soomro's brother, Rashid Mehmood Soomro had fought against Bilawal at NA-194 Larkana with the former getting 35,311 votes and the latter winning the seat with a margin of around 100,000 votes.

The PPP has given a ticket for the constituency to Khursheed Ahmad Junejo, who was elected an MNA from the same seat in 2018 general elections. He also served a stint as an MPA from 2013 to 2018.

Junejo's son barrister Buland Khan Junejo, PPP's district president Qamaruddin Gopang, JUI-F's Rashid Mehmood and Nasir Mehmood, Hafiz Saddam Hussain Brohi of the TLP, former MPA Sultan Ahmed Khuawarh, PTI backed Naheed Khuawarh are among the people who have submitted forms for NA-196.