BAHAWALPUR, Nov 3: Four women, who were declared as elected by the election commission to the national and Punjab assemblies against women’s reserved seats, belong to the Bahawalpur district.

They are: MNA-elect Mrs Shehnaz Sheikh of PPP, MPAs-elect Syeda Bushra Nawaz Gardezi, Begum Sitara Fayyaz of PML-Q and MPA-elect Begum Parveen Masood Bhatti of PML-N.

Begum Shehnaz Sheikh, an ex-PPP MNA, is the wife of former district food controller, Bahawalpur. During her tenure as MNA in 1988, she worked for the welfare of her party workers and also provided jobs to most of them. But, they were terminated during the regime of Mian Nawaz Sharif.

Syeda Bushra Nawaz Gardezi, a new entrant to politics, is the daughter of late Syed Ahmed Nawaz Shah Gardezi who had been cooperatives minister during the governorship of late Malik Amir Muhammad Khan of Kalabagh. She is the sister-in-law of district Naib Nazim Syed Owais Gardezi. Her husband Syed Uzair Gardezi lives in Lahore.

Begum Sitara Fayyaz was an office-bearer of the PML during Mian Nawaz Sharif’s tenure. After a split in the PML in 1999, she joined the PML-Q.

Begum Parveen Masood Bhatti is the women wing vice-president of the Punjab PML-N. Earlier, she had been the divisional PML president during the last days of the Nawaz government. Later, she was elevated to the provincial office and did not leave the party despite pressure on her during the past three years.