Kishwer Zehra () is a Pakistani politician who had been a member of the

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...

from August 2018 till August 2023. Previously she was member of the National Assembly from March 2008 to May 2018.

Political career

Zehra was elected to the

as a candidate of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) from

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

in the

2008 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 18 February 2008 to elect members of the 13th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. On 3 November 2007 President Pervez Musharraf enacted a state of emergency; elections were initia ...

. She was re-elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of MQM from Sindh in the

2013 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on Saturday 11 May 2013 to elect the members of the List of members of the 14th National Assembly of Pakistan, 14th National Assembly of Pakistan, National Assembly and the four Subdivisions of Pakistan, Pr ...

as well as to the National Assembly as a candidate of MQM-P from Sindh in the

2018 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 25 July 2018 to elect the members of the 15th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. The three major parties were Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by Imran Khan, the Pakistan Muslim ...

. In 2019, Zehra submitted a bill in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

which sought the creation of eight new

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

in Pakistan. It was met with great criticism from the

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...

at centre and in Sindh. On 27 July 2020, Zehra was unanimously elected chairperson of the

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

on cabinet secretariat. In the previous parliament, she was nominated for the office of the

prime minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

, when

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

was disqualified by the Supreme Court of Pakistan amid the

Panama Papers Case The Panama Papers case (officially titled ''Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi v. Muhammad Nawaz Sharif''), or the Panamagate case, was a 2017 landmark decision by the Supreme Court of Pakistan that disqualified Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakista ...

. She later withdrew her name from consideration to become the prime minister in favour of PML-N's

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (born 27 December 1958) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 18th prime minister of Pakistan, Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2017 to May 2018. He also currently leads Awaam Pakistan (AP) as ...

. He was sworn in as the new prime minister on 1 August 2017. She is one of the candidates for the office of the

governor of Sindh The governor of Sindh is the appointed head of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. The office of the governor as the head of the province is largely a ceremonial position; the executive powers lie with the Chief Secretary of Sindh, Chief Secretary ...

being considered by the federal government after the resignation of

Imran Ismail Imran Ismail (; born 1 January 1966) is a Pakistani businessman and politician. He served as the 33rd governor of Sindh from 27 August 2018 to 18 April 2022. Before being appointed Governor of Sindh, he was a member of the Provincial Assembly of ...

, who resigned in protest against the ouster of former prime minister

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...

Controvercies

It was reported by DAWN News, in 2012, that she had amassed a fortune of PKR 60 Milion, with a further USD 42,000 sitting in bank accounts with none of the assets in her own name but in the name of her family members.

References

Living people Politicians from Sindh Muttahida Qaumi Movement MNAs Pakistani MNAs 2013–2018 Pakistani MNAs 2008–2013 Women members of the National Assembly of Pakistan Year of birth missing (living people) Pakistani MNAs 2018–2023 21st-century Pakistani women politicians Politicians from Agra Muhajir people {{Pakistan-MNA-stub