Namira Salim will fly the national flag aloft in space as the first Pakistani astronaut onboard Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, the world’s first private space line, before the end of this year.
Namira Salim presented Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, with the first national flag launched into space by Swedish Space Corporation’s Regus 6 Sub-Orbital Rocket in March 2008.
The presentation took held in June 2010 on the fringes of the EU-Pakistan Summit in Brussels. Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani’s forefathers fought for Pakistan’s independence, and his father, Makhdoom Syed Alamdar Hussain Gilani, was a signatory to the Pakistan Resolution.
From 2021 to 2022, the former prime minister served as the Leader of the Opposition in Pakistan’s Senate. He is currently the Vice Chairman of the Central Executive Committee and the Senate (Upper House) Parliamentary Leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party.
