Mirza Muhammad Afridi, on Friday, became the first person from ex-FATA to be appointed at the coveted position of Deputy Chairman Senate of Pakistan.
Messages of felicitation poured in for Afridi on social media as senate elections of Pakistan concluded yesterday after chaos and frenzy. The newly sworn-in senator and deputy chairman took to Twitter to express gratitude for wishing him success.
“I thank from the bottom of my heart to everyone especially all my Pakistani brothers who believed in me and congratulated me. Insha’Allah I will endeavour to make it a victory for the whole of Pakistan. Pakistan Zindabad,” said Mirza Muhammad Afridi on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/SenMMAfridi/status/1370621293276594178?s=20
Afridi gained a landslide victory in senate elections securing 54 votes against Pakistan Democratic Movement’s candidate Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Hyderi who got 44 votes.
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However, people are curious to know about the background of Deputy Chairman Senate Mirza Muhammad Afridi. Afridi hails from Khyber tribal district. He was elected the senator in 2018 as an independent candidate. Earlier, he had joined Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz but soon joined Pakistan Tehreek-I-Insaf.
Mirza is a Lahore-based business tycoon who has an investment in the textile and electronic sector. His family is active in electoral politics, his relatives have been associated with various parties. His uncle Muhammad Shah Afridi was elected senator from Pakistan People’s Party during Benazir Bhutto’s government.
Read more: Chairman Senate Election: Can parliament’s proceedings be challenged in Court?
His other close relative, Mohammad Ayub Afridi was elected senator in 2018 from Pakistan Tehreek-I-Insaf. Uncle Manzoor Afridi is close to Jamiat Ulema Islam’s Fazl.
He has received his MBA degree from Singapore and is also the cousin of CEO Haier Pakistan and owner of Javed Afridi. Mirza Afridi is also an amateur chess player. Due to his expertise in chess, he was elected as the president of the Chess Federation of Pakistan in January. He is believed to have worked for the legislation for the welfare of the people.