Musarrat Shaheen hopes to win against Fazl, Kundi

The Frontier Post

Chairperson of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Musawat and ex-film star Mussarat Shaheen has announced to contest elections from NA 24 D.I. Khan, the same constituency on which JUI chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman and ex-Deputy Speaker National Assembly Faisal Karim Kundi are of PPP are also in run for the national assembly seat. Musarrat Shaheen, talking to The Frontier Post said she was not against Maulana Fazlur Rehman rather she was contesting polls against the male dominated society and all those who had usurped the rights of the womenfolk in her constituency. Musarrat also came hard on Faisal Karim Kundi and said she would give tough time to Kundi as well in the next general elections. "He has not visited his home town during the last five years. We just watch him on TV. He only cares for his attire more than helping the poor and needy community of his area," Musarrat Shaheen added. She was hopeful of winning the elections saying by saying that the time had changed and now the people had realized the real faces of the politicians. She also criticized Rehaman Malik and said he refused to extend any kind of help to her regarding security during electioneering. "Rehman Malik and Khwaja Saddiq are sitting in the president house and they have replied clearly to provide me security at a time when I am facing life threats," she said. She accused Rehman Malik for granting the contract of bullet proof vehicles to his brother Khalid Malik who is taking four million per car. "I don't need their security rather I rely on the support of the public who respect me and love me," she said while commenting on the security threats in the area. Replying to a query she said the women of Fata should be given representation in National Assembly and at least two women from each agency should have reserved seats for women. "As long as you don't empower women in Fata, you will have to suffer from the threats of militancy in one way or another," Shaheen opined. When asked about the increasing number of women now contesting direct elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, she said that when she entered into politics in 1997 there were hardly any woman councilor in whole KP and at that time she had taken part in the elections. "As a result of my struggle for the women rights and awareness there was a time when there were over 6000 women councilors in KP and today more and more women are following her footsteps and contest direct elections," Musarrat Shaheen added. Mussarat Shaheen is a super Film star and has worked in Pashto and Urdu movies. She started taking part in politics in 1997 and contested against the JUI-F chief Maulana Fazalur Rehaman which gained a lot of attention of the media notwithstanding the fact that she was defeated by a high margin. She also wanted to take part in the previous election from NA 40 North Waziristan Agency but she withdrew after she was threatened by the local militants.