Lahore, Pakistan - Dismissed Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's wife Kulsoom has won a hotly contested by-election seen as the ruling PML-N party's first key political challenge following the ex-premier's recent removal.

Kulsoom, 66, comfortably defeated the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Yasmin Rashid in the by-election in the eastern city of Lahore, considered the Sharifs' political heartland, on Sunday, unofficial results showed.

Earlier in the day, long lines of voters were seen at many of the NA-120 electoral constituency's 220 polling stations.

Kulsoom was contesting the seat vacated by Nawaz Sharif after his dismissal by the country's Supreme Court in July over an omission in his parliamentary wealth declarations.

Her campaign has been spearheaded by Maryam Nawaz, the couple's daughter and Nawaz' political heir apparent, in her first real foray into electoral politics. Kulsoom herself is undergoing treatment in the UK for her recently diagnosed lymphoma.

My mother has been diagnosed with lymphoma, cancer of lymph nodes, left side of neck in her case. Her treatment begins immediately. — Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) August 23, 2017

Nawaz Sharif and three of his children, including Maryam, are currently facing a corruption investigation and trial by the country's anti-corruption watchdog, on the orders of the Supreme Court.

Delivering a victory speech in her mother's stead, Maryam Nawaz congratulated her party's workers on the win.

"Today, you have not only fought against those who are visible in the battlefield, but also against those who are invisible," she said, a veiled hint at the country's powerful military, which has ruled Pakistan for roughly half of its 70-year history since independence.

She said the by-election result represented a rejection of the Supreme Court's decision by voters.

"The people have given their verdict on the verdict today," she told a roaring crowd of hundreds gathered at the Sharif residence in Lahore.

Standing against Kulsoom was the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's Yasmin Rashid, a middle-class doctor who has mainly campaigned on the Imran Khan-led party's anti-corruption platform.

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The constituency, home to almost half a million of Lahore's 11 million residents, is deep in the heart of the old city and is considered a Sharif stronghold. His party has not lost the seat since it began contesting elections in 1985.

"It's very difficult for them to take this from us," said Sohail Butt, 48, a PML-N voter in the Mozang area of the city. "In our area, work only gets done if you go through [the PML-N's] workers."

Arif Khan, 32, a voter from the working class Bilal Ganj neighbourhood, said he voted for Sharif's party because of its overhaul of the road, sewerage, and water network in his area.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) voters, meanwhile, appeared to be motivated to vote more on national issues, rather than a connection to their party's local networks.

"I see this is as the first main test for Nawaz Sharif [after his dismissal]," said Zeeshan Khan, 22, a student at Punjab University. "This is a way for the people to show whether they still stand with the PML-N after the verdict."

Others echoed that sentiment.

"Our country is on fire, we are all on fire, that is why I am here to vote," said Asifa Aamir, 47, who said she was concerned with corruption as her primary issue in this by-election.

"Work does get done on the local level in the constituency [by the PML-N]," conceded Zeeshan Tariq, 28, a trader from the Mozang area. "But I vote based on the national issues."

Nearby, a few PML-N workers rode by on motorcycles, raising the party's slogan, referencing their electoral symbol of a lion: "Look who's come, it's the lion, it's the lion!"

Workers at a PTI electoral camp office responded good-naturedly with cries of "Thieves! Thieves!"

Not all exchanges on Sunday were as friendly, however, with minor scuffles reported between PML-N and PTI activists off the city's main Mall road.

Extremist 'mainstreaming'

Also contesting Sunday's by-election were two new right-wing religious entrants to electoral politics in Pakistan, the Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan and the Milli Muslim League (MML).

Posters for the Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan, spread across the constituency, have prominently featured images of Mumtaz Qadri, the man who murdered Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer over his criticism of Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws in 2011.

The MML, meanwhile, is the political wing of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) armed group, long blamed for suicide and other attacks on targets in neighbouring India and the disputed region of Kashmir.

Early results showed the party was likely to finish third, beating out the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), a major national political party which currently leads the opposition in parliament and rules Sindh province.

The MML shares much of its personnel with the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a humanitarian relief organisation that the UN and US both designated as a front for LeT, and which faces international anti-terrorist sanctions.

Election banners for MML's candidate, Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh, prominently featured images of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the JuD chief and founder of LeT. Saeed remains under house arrest with no formal charges by Pakistani authorities under an anti-terrorism law.

Saeed is subject to a US bounty of $10m and has been named by both the US and UN as a "terrorist". Sheikh, the MML candidate, was also named as by the US as a "specially designated global terrorist" in 2012, for his alleged role in leading fundraising and operations for LeT.

Neither party is expected to win but could bring in new first-time voters. Analysts say MML is an attempt by Pakistan's powerful intelligence services to bring certain armed groups into the political mainstream to challenge the PML-N's dominance.

"If you give them money, they actually do good work," says Muhammad Naseer, a first-time voter from the Islampura neighbourhood, who voted for the MML. "They are honest. I have donated to JuD and I can see their work."

Asad Hashim is Al Jazeera's digital correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim</s>Share:

LAHORE - Maryam Nawaz Sharif has hinted that her family will not become part of the accountability process initiated against them anymore.

She said this, while talking to a private TV channel here yesterday, when asked about the references filed by the NAB against the Sharifs – who have also been issued notices for appearance in the accountability court.

Giving the impression that they would not appear in pursuance of the notices, she said “what they (court) would do. Will they (Sharifs) be arrest, then what next? We are not afraid of jails and exile as we have already experienced them”.

She said they smell vindictiveness behind the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif.

To a question about PTI chairman, Maryam said Imran Khan was not an issue for them. He is living in the era of 90s and his politics is not worth more than a penny, she added.

Maryam Nawaz said their rivals were taking shelter behind courts “something we never did”. Pointing towards Imran, she said, he was posing as a spokesman for the judiciary and he must explain his position on it.

Earlier Maryam Nawaz presided over a meeting of the PML-N workers where she sounded quite upbeat about the victory of her mother - Kalsoom Nawaz – in NA-120 by-election.

Agencies add: Maryam Nawaz has said the Supreme Court's verdict did not fulfil the requirements of justice. The daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said the apex court’s decision had not only astonished the PML-N but the entire world as well. “We were not given the opportunity of a fair trial and the verdict did not fulfil the requirements of justice. The world is astonished over that verdict. When our judges who are experts and understand the law, when they give such a verdict which not only astonishes the PML-N but the entire world, questions will be raised,” she told a private TV channel.

Maryam said that keeping in view the treatment meted out to them by the judiciary over the last year and a half, it was not possible to hope for justice but “we decided to test the judicial system once again” by filing the review petitions against the Panama case verdict. “I believe there is no bigger injustice than what was done to us. We were subjected to the worst [kind of] media and judicial trial. What happened in the JIT, I do not want to go into those details. We stayed within the system and fought for our rights and are now raising our voice for our rights.” On the issue of Dawn Leak, Maryam said that the reality of it should have been revealed. “According to my personal opinion, the truth should have been brought forward,” she added.

“Mian Nawaz Sharif made several compromises in his four and a half years which, in my opinion, he should not have done,” she said.

OUR STAFF REPORTER</s>Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Maryam Nawaz (R) led the campaign for her mother Kulsoom (L)

The wife of Pakistan's former prime minister who stepped down over a corruption inquiry has won a key seat in Lahore, unofficial results suggest.

Kulsoom Nawaz stood in place of her husband Nawaz Sharif, who was disqualified from office in July.

She won 61,254 votes, 14,188 more than her nearest rival, local media say.

The vote was seen by both the ruling PML-N party and the opposition as a referendum on the Supreme Court's decision to disqualify Mr Sharif.

Ms Nawaz is currently in London for cancer treatment. Her daughter, Maryam, spearheaded the campaign for the PML-N party in her absence.

"This is not an ordinary victory," Maryam told party supporters after the unofficial results were declared. "You have defeated not only people who were in the field but also those who are invisible."

She said winning her father's former seat in the family's hometown showed that people had rejected the "unjust decision" to disqualify her father.

But, if the results are confirmed, the party's share of the vote in the key constituency has dropped by about 7%.

The Supreme Court barred Mr Sharif from office after an inquiry into the 2016 Panama Papers dump linked his children to offshore companies.

He has always denied the allegations, but the Supreme Court has dismissed petitions seeking a review of its decision.

Media reports suggested a large turnout for the vote on Sunday, with long queues forming outside polling stations.

Image copyright AFP Image caption The military helped to provide security for the by-election

The election was contested by all the major parties, as well as two new Islamist opposition parties.

PML-N faced a strong challenge from the PTI party led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and the Pakistan People's Party of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

The by-election was also seen as a test of support for the Sharif family ahead of next year's general election.

Maryam Nawaz, who does not hold political office but is a high-profile figure in Pakistan, alleged that several PML-N party workers had been threatened ahead of polling day.

She took centre stage in the lead-up to the vote and during the campaign sought to portray it as the "people's verdict" on her father's disqualification.

In a recent BBC interview she said the issue had "galvanised his supporters" and that public sentiment was "very positive".

More than 320,000 voters took part in the poll, which for the first time in Pakistan's history was conducted using Biometric Voter Verification Machines in some the constituency's 220 polling stations, Dawn News reported.</s>LAHORE: Pakistanis today voted for the parliamentary seat being contested by ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif's ailing wife in a test of support for the family after the Supreme Court dismissed Sharif from the office in the Panama Papers scandal.

The NA-120 seat in Lahore is said to be a stronghold of the Sharif family. It fell vacant after the apex court on July 28 disqualified Sharif on grounds that he was dishonest.

The latest results shared by the Election Commission with the media after counting of votes cast at 134 polling stations out of the total 220, showed that Sharif's wife Kulsoom Nawaz was edging ahead of her main rival Yasmin Rashid of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf () party.

Sharif's wife was fielded by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party for the by-election against Rashid and 42 other candidates, including one from the Milli Muslim League, a new party backed by Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ut-Dawa (JuD).

Nawaz recently underwent cancer treatment in London and has been recuperating in the British capital. Her daughter Maryam Nawaz managed her campaign in her absence.

The Coalition for Election and Democracy (CED), an alliance of registered independent civil society organisations, in its exit-poll survey showed a slender lead for Nawaz.

The survey was conducted with a sample size of 1,433 voters and the responses were recorded at 55 sampled polling stations, the CED said.

"The survey results show that PML-N may bag 46 per cent of votes against the 40 per cent by closest rival of the ," it said, adding that the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) could manage only 1.9 per cent votes.

The election to the parliamentary seat is seen as a test for the PML-N party also because it comes ahead of the general election in Pakistan next year.

Earlier today, the turnout at polling stations picked up in the afternoon after remaining low through the morning hours. Long queues of people waiting to cast their votes were witnessed at the polling stations.

Some voters complained about the delay they had to endure before they could cast their votes and also that their names were missing from the polling list, while others rued inadequate facilities, such as the lack of electricity at the stations.

Minor clashes were reported between and ruling PML-N workers. No one was injured.

The activists of the JuD and its another front Falah-i- Insaniat (FIF), campaigned for their candidate Sheikh Yaqoob.

The Election Commission had prohibited Yaqoob from using Saeed's photographs during the campaign.

Saeed is the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and carries a USD 10-million bounty on his head. He remains under "preventative detention" in Pakistan.

Ahead of the election, Imran Khan had urged the residents of the constituency to give a verdict against "Godfather" Sharif.

And Maryam Nawaz said the people of Lahore will elect her mother and "reject the court's decision" against Sharif. She said the results would be an informal referendum on the disqualification of her father by the Supreme Court.

The constituency, with more than 320,000 registered voters, has thrice elected Sharif as Pakistan's prime minister since 1990. Sharif had won the National Assembly (NA) seat for the first time in 1985.</s>Lahore: Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s ailing wife on Monday won the crucial by-election in Lahore that was seen as a test of support for the family after the supreme court dismissed Sharif from the office in the Panama Papers scandal.

Begum Kulsoom won the NA-120 seat in a close contest with cricket-turned-politician Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i- Insaf candidate Yasmin Rashid.

The parliamentary seat, said to be a stronghold of the Sharif family, fell vacant after the apex court on 28 July disqualified Sharif in the Panama Papers case on grounds that he was dishonest. The election commission spokesperson said that Kulsoom bagged 59,413 votes defeating Rashid with a margin of more than 13,000 votes. Rashid got 46,145 votes while Sheikh Yaqoob from the Milli Muslim League, a new party backed by Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ut-Dawa (JuD), stood third with more than 4,000 votes.

The support for the Sharif family has, however, diminished as in 2013 general election Nawaz Sharif had defeated Rashid with a margin of more than 41,000. Kulsoom recently underwent cancer treatment in London and has been recuperating in the British capital. Her daughter Maryam Nawaz managed her campaign in her absence.

The election to the parliamentary seat was seen as a test for the PML-N party also because it comes ahead of the general election in Pakistan next year. After the result, Maryam said people have “dismissed conspiracies” against him. The PML-N leader said the people in the constituency have proven that they love Sharif, adding that now it was the time for “opponents to cry”. “Thank God million times. This was PML-N vs All.” “The people have rejected the verdict of the Supreme Court. They have proven that Nawaz Sharif is still their prime minister, regardless of the SC verdict,” she said.

The ruling PML-N blamed the military establishment for picking up around 60 active office-bearers from the seat to influence the by-election. “During the last two days our active chairmen of union councils and workers of NA-120 have been picked up by those forces who had been active since the ouster of my father. Our party men were taken into custody to influence the outcome of the NA-120 by-poll. But by the grace of God we won despite all the odds,” Maryam said.

“Our workers were not intimidated by military dictators in the past. They will not be scared off by such tactics today,” she said. Rashid complained of rigging and said she would not accept the decision till the court decides on “fake” 29,000 votes registered in NA-120.

Federal railways minister Saad Rafique told a press conference after the result that the people had rejected disqualification of Sharif and given verdict in his favour. He alleged that many PML-N voters were not allowed to cast their votes. A total of 44 candidates were in the fray. There were over 320,000 registered voters in the constituency and 220 polling stations.

The Pakistan Army personnel supervised the polling process. The voters’ turnout that was relatively low (less than 30%) in the morning picked up in the afternoon. Long queues were witnessed at several polling stations. Some voters complained about the delay they had to endure before they could cast their votes and also that their names were missing from the polling list, while others rued inadequate facilities, such as the lack of electricity at the stations.

Minor clashes were reported between PTI and ruling PML-N workers. No one was injured. The activists of the JuD and its another front Falah-i- Insaniat (FIF), campaigned for their candidate Yaqoob. The election commission had prohibited Yaqoob from using Saeed’s photographs during the campaign.

Saeed is the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and carries a 10-million bounty on his head. He remains under “preventative detention” in Pakistan. The constituency, with more than 320,000 registered voters, has thrice elected Sharif as Pakistan’s prime minister since 1990. Sharif had won the National Assembly (NA) seat for the first time in 1985. PTI</s>Maryam Nawaz, daughter of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) left for London along with her daughter and husband Captain (r) Safdar to meet her ailing mother.

She left on flight of private airline today.

Her mother, Kalsoom Nawaz, is under treatment for throat cancer in London. Nawaz Sharif is already Britain to look after her wife.

Maryam Nawaz stayed in Pakistan to run election campaign for her mother in NA-120 by-elections in which Ms. Nawaz defeated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Dr. Yasmin Rashid after a close contest.</s>Islamabad: Ousted Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif's wife Begum Kulsoom Nawaz has won the crucial by-election in Lahore.

The seat fell vacant after SC disqualified Sharif in Panamagate and instructed National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file references in the regard.

Citing unofficial and unverified results, Geo News reported that Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Begum Kulsoom Nawaz won the by-polls after managing to attain 61,254 votes, while her competitor, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf's Dr. Yasmin Rashid attained 47,066 votes.

Maryam Nawaz Sharif, who ran her mother's campaign, thanked the supporters for the victory and hailed their efforts which led to her win.

"A big 'thank you' to each and every PML-N supporter on social media. You guys did an unbelievable job. I am so so proud of you!", she tweeted following the victory.

Addressing party workers following the PML-N's victory in the polls, Maryam said, "All the powers which had surrounded Nawaz Sharif were defeated today."

Soon after the results were out, party workers were seen celebrating in the constituency and at the party's headquarters in Model Town.

The by-election were being seen as a major test for the ruling PML-N after Nawaz Sharif's disqualification as the prime minister.</s>Pakistan’s ruling party has clinched a win in an unusually close race in a normally unassailable stronghold – an indication of damage to the reputation of Nawaz Sharif, the ex-prime minister recently ousted on corruption charges.



The local byelection on Sunday in Lahore for a parliamentary seat vacated by Sharif when he was disqualified in July pitted Sharif’s wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, against 43 contenders, and saw a surge of radical Islamist candidates.

The runner-up, Yasmeen Rashid, a 66-year-old gynaecologist, represented the party of opposition leader and former cricketer Imran Khan.

Few people had expected Rashid to upset Nawaz. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has swept every election in the 321,786-voter constituency since Sharif first won the seat in 1985.

Yet on Sunday, the party’s nearly 40,000-vote majority from 2013 shrank to about 14,000, in a potential sign that the corruption scandal unleashed by the 2016 Panama Papers leak may have dented Sharif’s local standing.

Preliminary results showed a 35% turnout – down from 52% in 2013 – and gave Nawaz nearly 60,000 votes against Rashid total of nearly 46,000.

Hassan Askari Rizvi, a Lahore-based political analyst, said the result revealed reluctance among independent voters and those on the fence to turn out for the beleaguered Sharif.

“PML-N has not been able to convince voters that Sharif is innocent or a victim of a conspiracy, or that the court has done injustice to him,” Rizvi said.

The supreme court disqualified Sharif for “dishonesty” for failing to disclose a salary from a Dubai-based company he chaired.

Despite the party’s win, Rizwi said, “now it is difficult to call Lahore a preserve of PML-N. Corruption charges have undermined Sharif and his party. For the time being, his fate is sealed and tied to corruption cases against him.” 



However, for Imran Khan, the failure to beat Sharif at his lowest was not the leap towards prime ministership that he had hoped for.

Before the election, Safia Bibi Begum, a former PML-N supporter in her late 40s, told the Guardian she might vote for PTI instead.

“The Panama Papers changed my mind about Nawaz. That is why I consider voting for Imran Khan,” she said.



The election was marred by complaints of the military banning observers from accessing polling stations.



Abdul Rashid, of the Free and Fair Election Network, said the army ousted observers from 20 polling stations during vote counting. At 11 stations, observers were barred from entering at all, he said.



The Guardian also spoke to more than a dozen journalists who were denied entry.

Lahore’s streets were buzzing with campaign rallies, but the winner was absent. Kulsoom Nawaz is undergoing hospital treatment in London, with her husband by her side. 



For weeks her daughter, Maryam Nawaz, canvassed on her behalf by pounding the pavement in defence of her father’s legacy. The victory, amid intense political pressure, could set her – widely seen as her father’s heir-apparent – on the path to party leadership.

With the result, Maryam said in her victory speech, voters had rejected “the conspiracy against democracy”. She also claimed that dozens of PML-N campaign workers had gone missing in recent days.

“A systematic hate campaign was launched against us,” said Khawaja Saad Rafiq, a senior party leader, claiming that some PML-N supporters had been barred from voting.

Meanwhile, Rashid said she would challenge the result in court, and complained that 29,000 additional voters had been registered without her party having access to the lists.

Maryam herself is also under investigation by an anti-corruption watchdog for her alleged involvement in purchasing luxury apartments in London with offshore wealth.

The election also saw radical Islamists gain ground, especially in the form of Milli Muslim League, which came in third place.

The newly formed party is a thinly disguised front for Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terrorist with a US$10m bounty on his head who is accused of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

With nearly 5,000 votes, MML gained twice as many as the left-wing Pakistan People’s Party. Its participation could test the Pakistani military’s resolve in countering the participation of militant groups ahead of next year’s election.</s>LONDON: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and members of his cabinet will meet former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif here on Sunday to discuss various critical issues.

PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Prime Minister of Pakistan, arrived in London on Saturday en route to New York to participate in the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) commencing from 18 September 2017. The Prime Minister was received at the airport by Syed Ibne Abbas, the High Commissioner, together with officials of the High Commission. The Prime Minister will be leading the Pakistan delegation at the UNGA.

Speaking to Pakistani media outside his hotel, the PM confirmed that he will be meeting Nawaz Sharif on Sunday. He was accompanied by federal minister Ishaq Dar and Fawad Hussain Fawad. Sources have said that Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and others will spend full day with Nawaz Sharif and Begum Kulsoom Nawaz who is undergoing treatmet for throat cancer.

Its understood that Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, Ishaq Dar and speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq will also attend the meeting with the ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif. A credible source said that the discussions will involve the current situation of Pakistan, completion of energy projects on speedy basis and the legal challenged faced by the Sharif family.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and other PMLN leaders including federal ministers are of the view that the former prime minister was ousted by the Supreme Court on weak grounds as part of a conspiracy against Nawaz Sharif. They have said that revenge was sought in the name of accountability and for this purpose the Supreme Court of Pakistan was used.</s>Kulsoom Nawaz, wife of Pakistan's ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, easily won election Sunday to fill the seat he formerly held.

The victory by Kulsoom Nawaz was expected, since the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party is dominant in the central Lahore constituency. The former prime minister had held the seat since the mid-1980s, when he first entered national politics.

Official media reported the winning candidate had 61,254 votes, to just over 47,000 for her main rival, Yasmin Rahid of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. But above and beyond Sunday's by-election, the result was seen as a critical test for the Sharif dynasty ahead of Pakistan's national elections next year.

The country’s Supreme Court, which has been hearing a high-profile corruption case against Nawaz Sharif and his children, ruled in July that Sharif had concealed overseas assets, and ordered his removal from office for "dishonesty."

Kulsoom Nawaz is currently in London undergoing cancer treatment, with her husband at her side. Their daughter, Maryam Nawaz, ran the election campaign in her mother’s absence.

The younger woman, who has been described as a future leader by political insiders in Pakistan, addressed jubilant workers from the PML-N party late Sunday evening.

In her speech, televised live from the family residence in Lahore, Maryam Nawaz said outcome of the election demonstrated the “public’s love for Sharif,” and rejected his disqualification for office.

Pakistan's High Court said it dismissed Sharif because he had not reported monthly earnings he received from an overseas company owned by his son. The former prime minister denied that he had received any salary, or knew anything about the payments, which first were discovered after he was elected prime minister for a third time in 2013.

Sharif’s first term as Pakistan's prime minister, in the early 1990s, also ended abruptly when he was dismissed by presidential decree after being accused of corruption. Back in office a few years later, he was overthrown by a military coup in 1999 and exiled to Saudi Arabia along with other family members.
Kulsoom Nawaz Sharif, wife of ousted former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, defeats the opposition party's Yasmin Rashid in the by-election for Nawaz Sharif's National Assembly seat. Kulsoom, represented by her daughter and proxy Maryam, is being treated in London for cancer.