First Hindu Dalit woman elected to Pakistan Senate
Krishna Kumari (Krish) has become the first Hindu Dalit woman to be elected to the Pakistan Senate.
The 39-year-old activist was nominated by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto for a reserved seat for women from Sindh, from where she won on Saturday, in what experts are considering a surprise victory.
“I feel proud, I am thankful to Pakistan People’s Party that they nominated me,” she told AFP on Sunday.
She has actively worked for the rights of the Hindu community and has been a vocal critic of the treatment meted out to scheduled castes. She joined the PPP as a social activist.
Born to a poor family in a remote village in Sindh, her family was held captive as bonded labourers for at least three years. They were eventually rescued after the police raided their employer’s farmland.
Her brother Veerji is a prominent human rights activist who was charged with murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017. Fellow activists and the PPP say the charges were politically motivated. After spending nearly a year in prison, he was freed by court order on March 2 , just a day before his sister was elected to the Senate.
PML-N GAINS CONTROL OF THE SENATE
The ruling PML-N party gained control of the Senate after winning 15 seats in the elections on Saturday after suffering a setback in Balochistan. PML-N backed candidates won 11 out of total 12 seats from Punjab.
Meanwhile, the PPP pulled off a surprise win in 12 seats — including that of Krishna Kumari — and experts say the party will likely get the support of independent candidates, which may further allow it to consolidate its position in the Senate.
Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf continued to lose momentum, coming in third. The biggest loser was the Muttahida Quami Movement, which could bag only one seat despite having 37 seats in the Sindh Assembly.