| Submit your comments on this article |
| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistain elects first woman speaker |
| 2008-03-20 |
| Pakistan's new parliament has elected the country's first woman speaker from the party of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Fehmida Mirza, a 51-year-old medical school graduate and a businesswoman, was nominated by the Pakistan People's Party to become the first woman speaker of the country's national assembly. Mirza, a three-time member of the parliament, was elected to the post with 249 of the 324 votes cast in a ballot in the National Assembly. Mirza's rival got only 70 votes since her Pakistan People's Party and other members in the new coalition government have a majority in the assembly. The coalition government is yet to name its candidate for prime minister as Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of Bhutto, returned to Pakistan on Wednesday to discuss the issue. |
| Posted by:Fred |