Fahmida Mirza takes her seat as Pakistan’s first woman Speaker

A former doctor with a striking resemblance to Benazir Bhutto made history in Pakistan yesterday by becoming the first woman to be elected Speaker in the National Assembly.

With her head covered by a long purple scarf, Fahmida Mirza took her seat to thunderous applause, having won 249 votes in the 342-seat Lower House of parliament.

A loyalist in the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of Ms Bhutto, Mrs Mirza defeated a candidate backed by parties loyal to General Musharraf, the embattled President, whose popularity plummeted after the assassination of Ms Bhutto in December.

“I am honoured and humbled,” a smiling Mrs Mirza said, repeatedly touching her forehead in a gesture of thanks to her supporters. “This chair carries a big responsibility. I am feeling that responsibility today and will, God willing, come up to expectations.”

A veteran parliamentarian, Mrs Mirza is from Sindh — the home province of the former Prime Minister — and boasts her own influential connections. Her husband is also a former MP and a close friend of Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of Ms Bhutto, who led the PPP to victory in last month’s general election.

Elected three times to parliament, she is one of the few women to have been voted in on a general seat rather than one reserved for women. Twenty per cent of the seats in the National Assembly are kept for women and allocated proportionally to the seats won by the parties.

Having won the election, the PPP is to form a coalition government with the Pakistan Muslim League (N), led by Nawaz Sharif, another former Prime Minister. Analysts said yesterday that Mrs Mirza’s victory — and the scale of it — was another manifestation of Mr Musharraf’s loosening grip on power.

The National Assembly is expected to meet again next week to elect a new prime minister. The PPP is yet to name its candidate for the post.

Farzana Raja, a party spokeswoman, said that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Ms Bhutto’s son, would announce the nominee this week. The 19-year-old, who is studying at Oxford, was appointed chairman of the PPP after his mother’s death . He was to enter politics after completing his studies, but rushed back to Pakistan on Wednesday after the party failed to reach a consensus on a candidate for prime minister.

The lack of consensus underscores the power vacuum left by Ms Bhutto’s death. The division in the party has widened after Mr Zardari, who is co-chairman of the party, vetoed the candidacy of Amin Fahim, a former minister. Mr Fahim, 66, was considered the party’s preferred option initially but fell out of favour because of his close association with President Musharraf.

Senior PPP sources said that Yousuf Raza Gillani, a former speaker of the National Assembly, was now the front-runner for the top job. Mr Gillani, who comes from a powerful political family in Punjab, the biggest province of Pakistan, spent more than six years in jail before being released in 2006. He faced corruption charges but was never convicted.

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