Irfanullah Marwat denies joining PPP

Says some people have 'misguided' Aseefa and Bakhtawar against him

KARACHI: Lawmaker Irfanullah Marwat has denied joining the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) a day after Aseefa and Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari lashed out at reports that he had joined their party.

"I have not joined the PPP and only held a meeting with Asif Ali Zardari on the current political situation," he claimed.

The sisters took to Twitter to condemn news that Marwat had joined the party after he was reportedly welcomed by their father and party co-chairperson, Zardari. Marwat had announced that he joined the party on Friday. He backtracked on his earlier stance on Sunday.



"Sick man [Marwat] should be rotting in a jail cell somewhere not coming anywhere near the PPP. A party that was led by a woman will not tolerate such people," said Bakhtawar in her Twitter post.

"Irfanullah Marwat should not be in PPP. One of the core values of PPP is respect for women. His repulsive and illegal actions are reprehensible," said Aseefa in her post.



A host of politicians joined the PPP after meetings with Zardari, including Imtiaz Shaikh and Jam Madad of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) - Functional. Marwat previously belonged to the PML - Nawaz.

In 1991, Marwat was accused of sexually assaulting a close friend of Benazir Bhutto. Sindh Assembly deputy speaker Shehla Raza said, "I was [also] tortured and faced the worst situation at a police centre, which I will never forget." She added that she shared the same opinion as that voiced by Benazir Bhutto's daughters about Marwat.

PPP Senator Taj Haider said the comments on Twitter were Aseefa and Bakhtawar's personal opinions, adding that he would not comment on that. He also refused to comment on Marwat joining the PPP. "Women's rights activists came out on the roads when Irfanullah Marwat was inducted in the Sindh cabinet in Musharraf's tenure," said civil society activist Shuja Qureshi, adding that the induction of such people in its ranks was a failure of PPP's policy.



PML-N MPA Shafi Jamote confirmed Marwat was no longer with the party.

Talking to the media, Marwat said that some people have misguided Aseefa and Bakhtawar against him. "All allegations against me have been proven unfounded," he claimed.