Mashal Yousafzai has been elected Senator in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after Sania Nishtar’s resignation, securing 86 votes in a closely watched by-election.

The election was held to fill the seat vacated by former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Dr Sania Nishtar, who had resigned earlier.

According to unofficial and unconfirmed results, PTI’s candidate Mashal Yousafzai secured victory with 86 votes. Her closest rival, Mehtab Zafar, managed to gain 53 votes, while PTI’s Saima Khalid received just one vote. Two votes were rejected during the counting process.

PTI had issued its official ticket to Mashal Yousafzai for the women’s reserved seat and directed all other party candidates to step aside in her favour. Despite this directive, Saima Khalid chose to remain in the race and informed the party leadership about her concerns.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate, Raheela Bibi, formally withdrew from the election. She sent a written statement to the Returning Officer expressing her intent to support the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate instead.