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Regional Senedd Member Natasha Asghar has paid tribute to her late father, Mohammad Asghar, on the first anniversary of his death.

Mr Asghar, who was a regional Senedd Member for South Wales East, died on June 16, 2020, aged 74.

The Conservative MS had represented the region in the Senedd for 13 years, and was the first ethnic minority Senedd Member and the first Muslim elected to the Senedd.

His daughter, Ms Asghar, was elected to follow in his footsteps at this year’s Senedd Election – becoming the first woman of colour ever elected to the Senedd.

Speaking in the Senedd on the anniversary, she said: “Today marks a very sad day for all residents across South East Wales, as it marks the first anniversary of Mohammad Asghar, the regional Assembly Member and top Member of the Senedd for South East Wales, passing.

“Known to many here as ‘Oscar’, he was a pre-partition baby and was born in Amritsar, India and raised in Pakistan.

“He came to the UK in 1970 and made his home in Newport – a city he loved dearly.

“A man who always got whatever he wanted in life through sheer determination and drive, he married his wife, Dr Firdaus Asghar, after seeing her at a High Commission Event in London.

“He told his friends ‘this is the woman I want to marry’ and in his words; ‘the rest was history’.

“Oscar was not a typical politician and undoubtedly paved the way for many other people and ethnic minorities to enter the Senedd and I know that he would have been delighted to see more people from diverse backgrounds enter the Senedd in various roles from Members to support staff and the service teams we rely on every day to do our jobs.”

Ms Asghar continued: “He was a man of the world and knew and was the first to invite the Israel and Palestine High Commissioners to the Senedd to discuss peace between Israel and Palestine.

“He was also the first to hold a traditional Kirtan in the Senedd, among many activities that he held so dear.

“He was passionate about eradicating inequality for anyone who experienced it and genuinely cared about his region of South Wales East.

“Oscar loved his job and worked tirelessly for all his constituents. I know he would often stand in the chamber and one debate would be on one subject and go off on a tangent completely. For example, speak on the concerns of dentists within his region.

“When asked about it afterwards, rather sternly by his family, he would often say ‘this is the most pressing issue for me and for them right now, and it should be heard by everyone.’

“You could never find someone more passionate about Wales and its culture, longside seeing the formation of a Welsh cricket team, than Oscar did.

“Oscar was a people’s politician and is still sadly missed by many in this chamber and beyond.

“On behalf of myself and his loving wife, Firdaus, i’d like to thank everyone for your unwavering support and for this opportunity to pay tribute to a ground-breaking, trailblazing and unique politician, my father Mohammad Asghar, the Conservative regional member for South East Wales.”