PESHAWAR - Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) women wing leader Naeema Naz termed Ayesha Gulalai’s allegations against party chairman Imran Khan as a bid to gain ‘cheap’ popularity and warned to take the issue to traditional tribal jirga if Gulalai failed to tender apology and take back her allegations.
Addressing a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday, the PTI’s central executive committee member and party women wing provincial president Naeema Naz questioned as to why Gulalai remained quiet for years if she received indecent text messages in 2013. “Levelling such baseless allegations against Imran Khan is condemnable, PTI chief has always been respectful to women”, she said.
Flanked by party district council members Zareen Zia, Ayesha Naeem, Kalsoom Kundi, Naz raised questions on Ayesha Gulalai’s stance, saying if the PTI dissident legislator received lewd messages four years back in 2013, then why she had been silent on the matter.
She said that PTI was the only political party which was determined to empower women and thus made eight MPAs out of ten as parliamentary secretaries in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government by extending them all facilities.
Joining in conversation, PTI’s District Council’s member Zareen Zia claimed that Gulalai had hurled baseless and false allegations against party chief Imran Khan, saying Imran had always respected women, she added. She rubbished Gulalai’s allegations terming them baseless and false.
Naeema Naz also claimed that ‘opportunist Gulalai’ had demanded party ticket for NA-1 Peshawar, but on refusal she quit the party, adding that she had already left two parties before joining PTI. She also claimed that Gulalai had earlier levelled serious allegations against several other people as well which had no basis and it seemed that she was taking dictation from certain ‘blackmailers’ as part of well-organised conspiracy against PTI.
Naz said that Gulalai brought a bad name to all women especially women parliamentarians, saying that she could also change her political loyalty without levelling such allegations, but it meant that the woman did it on dictations from PML-N leaders. She alleged that Amir Muqam, the provincial president of PML-N, was behind all this intrigue.
“Tender unconditional apology before the PTI chief Imran Khan and his followers within a week, otherwise, the party women wing would file defamation case against you, besides a tribal Jirga would also be sent to your home as per traditions to seek evidence of the allegations you levelled,” she warned Gulalai.
She also urged the government and authorities concerned to put Gulalai’s name on Exit Control List (ECL).
PTI district council member Kulsoom Kundi said that Gulalai never complained in party meetings and her attitude towards party chief changed all of a sudden. She said that Gulalai belonged to tribal areas and did not deserve to contest elections from Peshawar on PTI ticket as there were many other competent people in the party.
It is pertinent to mention that on Tuesday, PTI’s Member National Assembly Ayesha Gulalai Wazir announced to quit Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in a press conference while levelling allegations against Imran Khan that there was no respect for women in the party and the honour of women was not safe in the party because of Imran Khan. She also blamed Imran Khan and his cronies of sending indecent text messages to female members.
Separately at a press conference, Shehzad Khan, a former candidate from PK-8 Peshawar, said that he was witness to the discussion of Gulalai with Imran Khan, saying the situation worsened when the PTI chief declined to assure her party ticket for NA-1 Peshawar in the coming general elections.
“I was leading a delegation of transporters and pushcart owners to meet Imran Khan, when PTI women lawmaker Gulalai also came there and requested us to accompany her in the negotiations with Imran Khan” he said.
Khan said that he was unaware of the demand of Ayesha Gulalai but delegation members astonished when she started demanding party ticket for herself. She also complained for not giving her a chance to speak to ‘Yaum-e-Tashakur’ public gathering at parade ground in Islamabad, he added.
Besides, he revealed that the stated woman lawmaker had also talked about corruption of some people and Imran Khan had asked her to come with a solid documentary proof. “Imran Khan also asked the MNA to follow the procedure for seeking party ticket through requesting the party’s parliamentary board, and also questioned her that why she was least interested to take part in parliamentary and party affairs,” Khan maintained.
The PTI former candidate said that the delegation had nothing with Gulalai as the poor transporters and pushcarts owners had to seek support of Imran Khan in acceptance of their own demands. He criticised Gulalai for an act which is against Pakhtun traditions, and urged her to seek apology for what she said against Imran or face defamation suit.