Three newly elected parliamentarians in the July 25 general elections have been found to be holding UAE residency, Gulf News reported on Thursday.
Two of them have been elected on the National Assembly seats while one has been declared successful on the provincial assembly seat in Punjab.
This is the highest number overseas Pakistanis ever contested in their country’s general elections in a bid to be part of the parliament.
Noorul Hassan Tanveer
One of the winners from UAE is Chaudhary Noorul Hassan Tanveer, a Dubai based prominent businessman and President of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the Middle East.
He won on the National Assembly seat from southern Punjab defeating Ejazul Haq, son of former military dictator General Ziaul Haq.
Khayal Zaman Khan
The second National Assembly seat was won by Khayal Zaman Khan, a Dubai based real estate developer, who contested the election under the banner of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
This is the second time he has been elected to the National Assembly.
Ehsanul Haq Bajwa
Ehsanul Haq Bajwa, a Dubai- based businessman has also won. This was his second time and this time it was for the national assembly seat.
He belongs to PML-N. Two other candidates of PML-N Mohammad Shafi, an Abu Dhabi based businessman, and Azad Ali Tabassam, a Sharjah based businessman, lost the elections.
Also, two candidates of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Akhtar Gopang and Chaudhary Mohammad Shakeel, both Sharjah-based businessmen lost elections.
Focus on overseas Pakistanis
Speaking to Gulf News, Chaudhary Noorul Hassan Tanveer, said that he would work for the welfare of the overseas Pakistanis.
He said that he would also raise voice in the parliament to get voting rights for overseas Pakistani and creating reserved seats for them in the parliament.
“I am grateful to all my friend back in the UAE who supported me,” he said, adding that he would soon return to the UAE to thank all his friends.
Chaudhary Shakeel said that he was very pleased to get support from his friends. “Although I lost the elections, I would continue to carry out community welfare projects,” he added.
Khayal Zaman said that the response for Imran Khan’s PTI was tremendous this time.
“We (PTI) have swept elections in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province because of the good work was done by the PTI government in its last term. Now, it’s our chance to expand our projects across the country after Imran Khan takes oath as the next prime minister of Pakistan.”
