Pakistani doctor Saveera Parkash becomes first Hindu woman to file nomination for 2024 general polls

Dr Saveera Parkash has filed the nomination papers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Buner district for the general seat of PK-25, Dawn News reported.

Parkash is hopeful she will contest the polls on a Pakistan People's Party (PPP) ticket.

Pakistan is scheduled to vote and elect members of the 16th National Assembly on February 8, 2024.

Parkash’s father Oam Parkash, a recently retired doctor, was a member of PPP for the past 35 years.

According to local politician Saleem Khan, who is affiliated with the Qaumi Watan Party, Parkash is the first woman from Buner to have submitted her nomination papers to contest the upcoming elections from the general seat, reported the Pakistani newspaper.

Parkash said she wanted to work for the poor and women of the region.

Speaking to Dawn News, she said women have been “suppressed and neglected”, especially with regard to the development sector.

When asked about the party providing her a ticket, she expressed the hope she would get one, stating that the “senior leadership” had requested her father to let her run for the general seat.

What is the educational qualification of Parkash?

She completed her MBBS from the Abbottabad International Medical College in 2022.

She is the general secretary of the PPP women’s wing in Buner.