LAHORE: PML-Q MPA on reserved seat Jayeda Khalid Khan has resigned, the Punjab Assembly speaker told the house on Wednesday.

Khudija Farooqi, party’s provincial women wing president, will be replacing Ms Khan, a party source says.

The resignation contains no reason but a family member said Ms Khan wished to continue her studies and had lost her interest in politics.

A source in the party told Dawn that the leadership wanted to induct into the parliamentary party a person with organisational background as no office-bearer could have made it to the provincial house in the last general elections.

Ms Farooqi is the daughter of the party’s former women wing president, the late Shahana Farooqi. She will reach the house for the third time as she also remained Punjab Assembly member in the last two houses (2002-07 and 2008-2013).

A formal request to the Election Commission for replacing Jayeda with Khudija is likely to be made on Thursday (today).

Senior PML-Q leader Pervaiz Elahi had announced at a party function on Women’s Day here on March 8 that Khudija would be made MPA by saying that she would be taking oath of her office during the ongoing assembly session.

At the function, he had also declared her his daughter and asked other party leaders to support her in the party and assembly affairs.

A party official pointed out that Ms Farooqi got better chances as other hopefuls like Amna Ulfat, Majida Zaidi, Seemal Kamran etc., were facing bogus degree charges.