The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has “finalised” its prime ministerial nominee amid speculation it could be former Speaker Yousuf Raza Gilani. Moreovver, PPP nominee Fehmida Mirza, a loyalist of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, was on Wednesday elected as the first woman Speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly (NA), the lower house of the parliament.

Mirza, 51, who has been elected to the parliament thrice, won 249 of the 324 votes cast by the newly-elected members of the NA.

Another PPP nominee Faisal Karim Kundi was elected Deputy Speaker of the NA.

Cross-voting

The result of the Speaker’s election clearly showed that there was cross-voting from the opposition benches as Mirza bagged more votes than the combined strength of the PPP and its allies in the NA.

Observers said the results clearly showed that several members of the so-called ‘forward block’ in the opposition PML-Q had voted for the PPP candidate.

The secretary of the NA accepted her nomination papers. Mirza was already expected to be elected since PPP and its allies have a majority in the NA.

She is a medical graduate from a political family of Sindh province. Her husband Zulfiqar Mirza is a member of the Sindh provincial assembly and a close aide of PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.

Opposition no match

In the election conducted by outgoing Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain through a secret ballot, Mirza’s rival Sardar Muhammad Israr Tareen could gather only 70 votes. Out of the total 324 votes that were cast, five were declared invalid. Only 328 members of the 342-strong NA have taken oath so far, and results of elections to some seats have been withheld because polling was put off to later in several constituencies for various reasons.

senior leaders asked Mirza to work in an impartial manner while setting aside her affiliation to the PPP. “But if steps are taken that go against Pakistan’s interest, we will oppose them strongly,” said opposition PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahihe. Senior PML-N leader Javed Hashmi said all the parties should not forget the sacrifices made to get to this stage, including by slain PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto.

Bilawal visits grave

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari today offered prayers at the grave of his mother Benazir Bhutto near the ancestral village of the slain former Premier in Pakistan's southern Sindh province. Bilawal flew in to Sukkur from Karachi, and from there to Garhi Khuda Baksh, where the Bhutto Mausoleum is situated.

AUCTIONED

Pakistan’s first auction website is all set to cash in on memorabilia linked to slain former premier Benazir Bhutto.

Nilaam.pk, Pakistan’s equivalent of eBay, will be launched in mid-April. An autograph of Benazir will be sold for 650 dollars while a picture of a smiling Bhutto is likely to go under the hammer for not less than 350 dollars, reports PTI from Lahore.