Pakistan: Maryam Nawaz makes history as Punjab’s first female Chief Minister

Maryam Nawaz, a prominent leader of the PML-N and the daughter of the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday, achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first woman chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province.

Maryam, the 50-year-old senior vice president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, won the chief ministerial elections amidst a walkout by lawmakers of former prime minister Imran Khan’s party-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).

The PML-N leader defeated Rana Aftab of the PTI-backed SIC to win the chief ministerial elections for the politically crucial Punjab province, home to 120 million people.

Maryam paid a visit to her mother’s grave at Jati Umra before going to the Punjab Assembly, where the election for the post of chief minister took place.

In a post on X, the PML-N said Maryam also visited the graves of her paternal grandparents.