Pakistan gets first female opposition leader in Senate

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) - Sherry Rehman, a close confidante of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto, made history on Thursday when she was appointed Pakistan’s first female opposition leader in the Senate.

The appointment of Rehman, a senator of the Pakistan Peoples Party, to the upper house of parliament was announced in a notification issued by the Senate Secretariat.

“Thank you to my party leadership, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Asif Zardari, former President and Co-Chairman of PPP, and opposition parties that reposed confidence in me,” she tweeted soon after the announcement.

Rehman began her career as a journalist before joining politics in Pakistan. She has been twice elected as member of the lower house – the National Assembly; she also served as federal minister for information and broadcasting between 2008 and 2011. She also served as Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S. in 2011.