Benazir Bhutto’s daughter, Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, takes the oath to serve in the Pakistani parliament
The daughter of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, swore in as a member of the National Assembly on Monday. She replaced her father, President Asif Ali Zardari, who left the position vacant last month, when she was elected as an MNA without opposition from NA-207 Shaheed Benazirabad.
She went to the Pakistan Parliament with her brother, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). MNAs from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chanted at her oath-taking ceremony.
The 31-year-old politician Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari was born in London. She has a master’s degree in global health and development from University College London and a bachelor’s degree in politics and sociology from Oxford Brookes University.
She represented Pakistan in the national polio eradication effort as well. It is noteworthy because in 1994, her mother, Benazir Bhutto, initiated a national immunization campaign to eliminate polio, making her the first child in Pakistan to get the vaccine. As part of the campaign, she was given polio drops.
2007 saw the assassination of Benazir Bhutto by al-Qaeda.
PTI supporters loyal to Imran Khan staged protests against Aseefa, claiming that she won the seat unchallenged because their candidate, Ghulam Mustafa Rind, was detained by Sakrand police and was unable to challenge her.
Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari, Aseefa’s sister, hailed her sister’s elevation to the new position and described it as a “surreal and proud moment for our family.”
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), her party, referred to the event as a “historic moment.”
Aseefa’s inauguration was hailed by PPP Central Information Secretary Faisal Karim Kundi as a “historic moment for Pakistan’s parliamentary democracy.”
Aseefa ran a vigorous campaign for her brother Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other party candidates in the districts of Sanghar, Shaheed Benazirabad, and Naushahro Feroze, which helped the PPP gain traction ahead of the general elections.
