The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has accepted 57 nomination papers from Sindh for reserved seats for women in the National Assembly. Faryal Talpur, Shazia Marri, Nafisa Shah, Marvi Memon and Dr Rahila Magsi are among them. National Assembly has a 60-seat quota reserved for women out of a total of 342 seats.
Ten seats are reserved for lawmakers from minorities. As many as 272 seats would be filled by general candidates. Balochistan has a share of 14 seats, Fata 12, Federal Capital two, KhyberPakhtunkhwa (KPK) 35, 148 for Punjab and 61 seats for Sindh. The final list of names of the candidates whose nomination papers have been accepted for reserved seats (women) in the National Assembly from Sindh showed that 15 nomination papers had been filed by candidates of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians, 15 of Muttahida Qaumi Movement, 7 of PML-N, 3 of PML-F, 3 of APML, one of NPP, 6 of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, 5 of Jamaat-i-Islami and one nomination paper was filed by a Sindh United Party's candidate.
Interestingly, PPPP's Faryal Talpur and Shazia Marri, who are also contesting election on National Assembly's general seats from Larkana and Sanghar, respectively, had also submitted nomination papers for reserved seats. In case of a defeat in general elections, both women candidates could enter Parliament on reserved seats. While the name of PML-N's Marvi Memon is also in the list of reserved seats, she is also contesting election on the general seat of PS-88 from Thatta. Her rival is President Asif Ali Zadari's foster brother Owais Muzaffar Tappi.
Candidates, who nomination papers have been accepted are: Faryal Talpur, Shagufta Jumani, Nafisa Shah Jilani, Shazia Marri, Mahreen Razaque Bhutto, Alizeh lqbal Haider, Mussarat Rafiq Mahesar, Dr Shahida Rehmani, Suraiya Jatoi, Dr Shazia Sobia, Muneera Shakir, Begum Nargis ND Khan, Nida Khuhro (Nisar Khuhro's daughter), Kauser Amir and Shama Arif Mithani. All of them are candidates of PPPP.
Muttahida Quami Movement has fielded Kishwar Zehra, Tahira Asif, Saman Sultana Jafri, Dr Nikhat Shakeel Khan, Dr Fouzia Hameed, Ayesha Khatoon, Dr Rabia Jamal, Sumeta Afzal, Dr Nahid Shahid Ali, Shagufta Sadiq, Naz Khalid, Khushbakht Shujat, Bilqees Mukhtar, Naheed Begum and Shabina Talat.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) candidates are: Marvi Memon, Dr Rahila Magsi (former district nazim TandoAllahyar), Zahida Hamid Ali, Zeenat Shaikh, Shaheen Arain, Husna Bano and Faryal Rubab Hashmi. Nomination papers of Pakistan Muslim League-Functional's (PML-F) Reeta Ishwar, Reena Kumari, Khursheed Afghan, APML's Farkhanda Shahnawaz, Qirat Fatima, Naila Inam, NPP's Shahjahan Munir Mangrio and Sindh United Party's (SUP) Bibi Shahnaz have also been accepted.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's candidates are (PTI) Nazia Rubbani, Tehmina Niaz, Nusrat Wahid, Sumira Rabnawaz, Hamida Shahnaz Khalid, Naz Baloch, Adeeba Hassan and Jamaat-i-Islami's (JI) Umm-e-Atiya, Durdana Siddiqui, Rukhshanda Naz, Dr Noorunnisa and Perveen Khan.