Who is Suriya Bibi, the newly elected KP deputy speaker?

The newly elected Deputy Speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Suriya Bibi hails from the historically underserved district of Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Making history, she becomes the first woman to represent Chitral in the provincial assembly through a general seat. Securing victory in the February 8 elections, the 40-year-old Suriya, affiliated with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), triumphantly claimed the PK-1 seat.

Emerging triumphant in the electoral arena, Suriya secured a notable victory with 18,914 votes, surpassing her opponent Shakeel Ahmed from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), who managed only 10,533 votes.

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The new deputy speaker belongs to Awi village of Upper Chitral. She is the daughter of the former vice chairman of the District Council Chitral, the late Noor Alam Khan. She is married in the same village and has three children.

Suriya, holding Master’s degrees in sociology and Urdu, pivoted towards the political realm in 2007, disillusioned with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Making her electoral debut in the 2008 general elections, she vigorously led the PTI’s campaign.

Since her affiliation with PTI, Suriya has been an active party member, establishing a women’s organization in 2012 to bolster the party’s interests. In 2020, she orchestrated a significant restructuring of the party at the district, tehsil, and village council levels and played a vital role in PTI’s 2021 local government election campaign.

In her role as an MPA, Suriya is committed to enhancing the health and education sectors in her constituency, addressing social issues, and ameliorating the existing infrastructure challenges. This marks a historic achievement, as Suriya becomes the first woman in her constituency to hold a general seat.

This milestone follows the notable examples of trailblazing women in Pakistani politics, such as Fahmida Mirza, who served as the National Assembly’s speaker from 2008 to 2013. Dr. Meher Taj Roghani, the first female Deputy Speaker in the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, carried out her responsibilities from December 11, 2015, to May 28, 2018. Shehla Raza served two consecutive terms as the Deputy Speaker at the Provincial Assembly of Sindh. Suriya’s ascent adds another chapter to the evolving narrative of women leaders in Pakistan’s political landscape.