Ayesha Gulalai will be tried in jirga before facing court, say PTI's K-P female MPAs

PTI MPA Zareen Zia says unlike Gulalai's claim, Imran Khan doesn't use a Blackberry phone

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) female lawmakers of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly said on Wednesday that Ayesha Gulalai, who quit the party and accused its chief of harassment, would be dealt with in a jirga before being tried in a court.

"As Ayesha Gulalai is from South Waziristan, she will be tried in line line with tribal customs," MPA Zareen Zia, accompanied by other female lawmakers of the party, said at a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club.

“We provided evidence against Nawaz Sharif. If Gulalai claims that she has received [lewd] text messages, she should come forward with proof," she added.



On Tuesday, Gulalai had announced that she was leaving the PTI and claimed that women affiliated with the party faced constant harassment from within the party ranks.

Refuting Gulalai’s scathing allegations, the lawmaker said PTI Chairman Imran Khan in fact promoted women so that they could play their role in the development of the country.

Also accompanying Zia were PTI's female local government representatives.

The female MPAs claimed that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was behind Gulalai’s allegations.

"We have received information that PML-N K-P President Amir Muqam is behind it [the allegations]," she added.



"Why did Ayesha Gulalai remain silent for four years?" asked Zia. "And even after levelling allegations against the PTI chief, she has been unable to not produce any evidence."

Zia also maintained that the PTI chief did not use a Blackberry phone as claimed by Gulalai.

The PTI MPA said even if Gulalai wanted to switch her political affiliation, she should not have levelled baseless allegations against a party that had given her respect by appointing her a member of the National Assembly on a reserved seat.

QWP calls for court action

The Aftab Sherpao-led Qaumi Watan Party (QWP), the party with which the PTI had parted ways for not supporting its stance against ex-PM Nawaz, has demanded that courts should take notice of Gulalai’s allegations.



The QWP leadership said Gulalai had come up with serious allegations, which were a matter of disgrace for Pashtuns and the PTI's female politicians.

Talking to reporters at the Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday, QWP provincial general secretary Hashim Babar said the judiciary should take suo motu notice of the allegations and order a probe into the matter.