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 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. Kulsoom recently underwent cancer treatment in London and has been recuperating in the British capital. 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. 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 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. 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.
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.