My Pakistani dad inspired me to join politics: MP Naushabah

LONDON: Newly-elected British-Pakistani Labour MP Naushabah Khan has said she decided to enter politics to fight for the causes of justice, inspired by her Pakistani father and his activism while he was alive.

Naushabah Khan told Geo News: “The first call I received was from my Phupho in Pakistan immediately after my victory was announced. My relatives have been calling me non-stop to congratulate me. It’s amazing”.

On July 4, 2024, the seat of Gillingham and Rainham turned red, as Labour ousted Tories. This seat’s result was significant because the winner was Naushabah Khan, whose parents are from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Her opponent was Rehman Chishti, who has been winning this seat since 2010, and who has worked as assistant to Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.

Naushabah scored 15,562 votes for Sir Keir Starmer’s party, who won a landslide victory across the nation. Rehman Chisti, who had been the MP here since 2010, came in second with 11,590 votes. The seat had been held by Tories since 2010. It was a key target for Labour Party, as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer launched the party’s election campaign in Gillingham in May, with Naushabah by his side.

In 2019, Chishti, the son of a local imam whose parents come from Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir, won the constituency for the Conservatives with a 15,000 majority.

Asked how it felt winning the seat from another Pakistani descent politician, Naushabah said: “It was all about politics. People said they are fed up with the Tory rule. They said they have had enough. They said our healthcare system, economy, roads, schools and their lives are broken. They needed change and freedom from Tory rule of inefficiency”.

Naushabah said most of her voters are English. They voted for a Pakistani heritage woman to get rid of Tory party’s rule of nearly 15 years. “My family is very happy. My Phupho was the first one to call me from Pakistan. My mum is still very emotional about my win.

My dad died four years ago during Covid. He would be very happy and proud if he was still alive today. My mum is still in a state of shock and emotional”. Naushabah grew up seeing her father talk about social justice causes. He would take a stand for what he thought was right and humane.

The newly-elected MP said: “My values come from my dad. He said it doesn’t matter who you are and where you come from. We were not a rich family when we were growing up, but he instilled values of bravery and hard work in us. He taught me to fight for justice, equality, fairness and be the voice of voiceless.

He told me it doesn’t matter where you come from and who you are, the only thing that matters is your hard work to achieve your goals, and be right up there to achieve your goals. Those are the values that brought me to politics”. She called on younger generation of Pakistanis, Muslims and Asians to join politics and take ownership. She said: “This is our country. We belong here. The new generation generally thinks politics doesn’t work for them. But, that’s not true. They should come forward and find solutions and be part of the system”.