When Ayesha Ahad Malik arrived at the Punjab Assembly (PA), a fracas would be bound to ensue; and so it was on Friday when opposition members staged a walkout when their demand to set up a committee to investigate the police’s alleged torture of Hamza Shahbaz’s alleged spouse. No official business was accomplished after the walkout when the speaker was forced to adjourn the house till Monday due to lack of quorum.
When the PA session began on Friday morning under Speaker Rana Iqbal, Opposition Leader in the House Raja Riaz Ahmad stood on a point of order and informed the Speaker that a woman had spoken to him outside the assembly building. “She demands justice against the police and desires a meeting in the Speaker’s chamber. I will not discuss her family matters but want to provide her justice against the police. She is sitting on the stairs outside the Assembly, and her name is Ayesha Ahad Malik.”
The mention of Ayesha’s name, left the Law Minister Rana Sanaullah flustered, who pointed guns at the Opposition and claimed Ayesha had not come independently. Sanaullah said the opposition was playing politics in the name of a ‘woman with a criminal background’. He leveled personal allegations against her and said she did not know her ‘real father.’
Upon hearing this, female opposition members, including Sajida Mir, Azma Bukhari, Dr Samia Amjad, Samina Khawar Hayyat, Seemal Kamran, Khadija Umar, Amna Ulfat as well as opposition leader Raja Riaz, Shaukat Basra, Ahsan-ul-Haq Naulatia and other members began sloganeering against the law minister. Samina Khawar Hayyat tried to talk on a point of order but the Speaker disallowed her, at which she said Rana Sanaullah had no respect for females. She asked Sanaullah to inform the house who his real father was and provide a birth certificate to prove it. She asked the Speaker to act against the law minister for his disrespectful language against Ayesha, which the speaker ignored. In protest against the treasury’s attitude, Raja Riaz announced a walk-out and all members, excluding PPP member Ashraf Sohna left the House.
Minorities seats: Meanwhile, Pakistan Peoples Party-backed (PPP) Minorities Representative Pervez Rafiq demanded the federal and provincial governments increase the number of minority seats in all assemblies. Sanaullah was embarrassed again when asked about the easy release of an accused by the anti-corruption department. Sanaullah, without naming Moonis Elahi, said most accused used tactics like “meeting family members at night” to runaway. A resolution was unanimously passed to pay tribute to late MPA Amir Hayat Khan Rokhri who recently passed away due to cardiac arrest.
