PESHAWAR – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Mishal Yousafzai has been elected as senator from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the Senate by-election held on a seat reserved for women.
Yousafzai secured 86 votes in the provincial assembly, defeating the joint opposition candidate Mehtab Zafar, who received 53 votes. The seat had fallen vacant following the retirement of Dr. Sania Nishtar, and a minimum of 73 votes was required for victory.
Despite initial speculation that the race would be tightly contested—particularly with Mehtab Zafar gaining the backing of the united opposition and PTI’s independent member Saima Khalid also in the fray—Mishal Yousafzai emerged as the clear winner.
The victory further solidifies PTI’s influence in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, despite ongoing political challenges in the province.
This win is seen as a strategic boost for PTI as it seeks to maintain its legislative strength in the upper house of Parliament.