Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice President Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s daughter Meher Bano Qureshi is contesting the upcoming by-polls for a National Assembly (NA) seat vacated by her brother Zain Qureshi.
She will contest the election from NA-157, Multan. Addressing a press conference, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that they had filed nomination papers after the approval of PTI Chairman Imran Khan.
“Meher Bano has a sense of the next generation. If we want to get our country out of this difficult situation, then mothers and daughters have to play a role because a mother has more sense of what will be the future of her child.”
Meher Bano said that she has been working with the social media team of PTI since 2018.
“My father has chosen me to keep Imran Khan’s narrative alive, contrary to tradition.”
However, in Multan, PTI workers came to protest against their own party’s candidate, Meher Bano Qureshi, outside the Election Commission office and raised slogans of disapproval for dynastic politics. They argued that Mahmood couldn’t find anyone within the party for the candidacy.
“First Mahmood gave a party ticket to his son, now her to his daughter,” they complained.
A local PTI member, Engineer Waseem, who was also a part of the protest, said that if the party does not give him a ticket, then he would contest the election as an independent candidate.
People on social media are expressing their disappointment over PTI continuing with the tradition of dynastic politics.
Reacting to the backlash, Meher Bano tweeted: “I have come across so many spreading fake news, doctored images and posters and attributing false statements to me. I wonder if it would have been different had I been a man. Anyhow, happy to work hard and prove myself.”
Shah Mahmood’s son Zain Qureshi won PP-217 in the Punjab by-polls held on July 17. After becoming a member of the Punjab Assembly, he vacated his NA seat. His sister will now contest the election for the NA seat vacated by him.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan himself has condemned and attacked the Pakistan Muslim-League (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for dynastic politics on multiple occasions.
