Dissident member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Ayesha Gulalai on Monday told the National Assembly amid ruckus and protest by the PTI lawmakers that she would not resign from her seat as she does not believe in personalities such as Imran Khan.
"I was elected on merit and I shall not resign as Member of the National Assembly. I shall continue my duties as a lawmaker. Being MNA, it is my duty to protect honour of women," she said in her speech at the lower house of Pakistan's bicameral parliament. When Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi gave floor to Gulalai to speak, the PTI members stood up and began shouting and thumping desks to interrupt her speech. As a token of protest, the PTI lawmakers continued shouting and thumping desks throughout her speech.
During her fiery address, Gulalai rejected the trend of abusing others. She slammed the senior leadership of the PTI saying that a person should have moral character. She said that no one could save the nation from downfall when due respect is not given to the mothers and daughters. She said that her parents never imparted her training to use derogatory language.
She said that she gave voice to weak women and never compromised on integrity. She said that Islam also preaches cleanliness of the soul. She said that women face discrimination and no one answers to their call in the party. "Imran is not god," Gulalai said, urging that personalities or personal interests should not be given importance over values. She said a nation should actually give worth and value to an untainted character. She lamented that the country's youths were being trained to take revenge from those who quit party. "Trend has been set to target anyone who has parted ways with the PTI," she said, adding that allegations were hurled at her family and she received death and acid attack threats. She claimed that a provincial minister from PTI had threatened to demolish her sister's welfare hospital. "A PTI minister attacked Maria Toorpakai Wazir's welfare hospital with a group of workers and threatened to demolish it. Where are the ideal police of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)?" she asked. Gulalai said that she wanted to tell PTI members that they too could face the same treatment in future. She urged that the use of abusive language should end now.
The former PTI MNA said that her sister, Maria Toorpakai, is apolitical but PTI supporters did not spare her. The deputy speaker requested the lawmakers to maintain discipline during her speech. He asked PTI leader Shireen Mazari to remain seated. Earlier, Dr Shireen Mazari asked the deputy speaker to take action against a stranger (Ayesha Gulalai) who has entered the House. She said that a member has resigned from the party and it is not ethically fit to sit in the house. Without mentioning the name of Gulalai, Mazari said that according to her party's stance, this woman was on reserved seat and she was not directly elected so she must vacate this seat.
While speaking to media outside the Parliament, Gulalai said that she always spoke in favour of the weak and vulnerable women. "I am proud of myself, I fulfilled my constitutional duty," she said, adding that women of Pakistan were strengthened due to her stance.
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