Morality, the rule of law and selective justice
PM Khaqan Abbasi was rather expeditious in directing an inquiry into the allegations levelled by Gulalai – a commendable step. However, is he unable to see Ayesha Ahad Malik? Is she not a woman? Or is she not someone’s daughter? Has she not spoken out for the past so many years?
The daunting press conference by Ayesha Gulalai laid down the foundation for yet another social media clash. Within minutes the twitterati declared war on the lady claiming to be a victim of harassment at the hands of none other than Bani gala’s tiger. Other, outspoken members of the PTI viciously attacked Ms Gulalai without even sparing her sister so much so that Imran Khan himself had to tweet asking them to refrain from doing so.
It is not uncommon for women in Pakistan to be subjected to sheer humiliation and further harassment after they speak out. Nor is it unknown for them to be silenced by their very own families. However, before we reach any conclusion, it is pertinent to analyse the entire situation in a chronological manner.
On Tuesday, Ms Ayesha Gulalai sparked outrage amongst the ranks of the PTI by accusing Imran Khan of sending her inappropriate text messages. The first reservation expressed by the Insaafians was that she was being spoon fed words from the side by her father. The second rebuttal was that she had been refused a party ticket for NA-1, allegedly one of the major reasons why she was levelling false and fabricated allegations. The third pertains to an ongoing media war where the presence of three reporters of one media house at Gulalai’s press conference was questioned. Lastly, the foremost claim which still stands is that she is being paid by political opponents to discredit Khan Sahib.
In all honesty, if a woman has indeed come forward and spoken out against harassment, she should not be lambasted by PTI workers and leaders for doing so. On the contrary, if their conscience is indeed perturbed by the allegedly false accusations, they should display sportsman spirit and welcome evidence or proof, if any, brought forward by Miss Gulalai. After all PTI, as claimed, is a democratic party and if their leader is indeed found guilty then unlike their opponents they should decide accordingly.
And while we’re on the topic of evidence: in the beginning Ms Gulalai clearly stated that she will not reveal the text messages to any member of the media and might later present it before a court of law. This was only short lived as she vows to have shared the inappropriate texts with Hamid Mir – a renowned journalist. Ironically, Hamid Mir is associated with the same media group as mentioned above. This swift change in her approach to tackle the given scenario raises eyebrows indeed.
Rather than agree with her conducting this enthralling press conference, my first question as a student of law would be; why did she not approach the law enforcement authorities and register an FIR against Mr Khan? Being a sitting member of the Parliament she could surely have been successful in registering one as unfortunately that is the only one thing in our country MNA’s can do effectively. Nevertheless, an application under section 22-A & 22-B of the criminal procedure code for registration of an FIR could have been availed through a Sessions Court.
Failing to lodge a complaint indeed raises questions to the veracity of the claims made by Gulalai. Secondly, being a Pashtun lady with high self-esteem what took her almost four years to come forward with the agitating claims? Countless times during this period she called upon Mr Khan and continued to enjoy the perks of being a MNA. Had it so rattled her conscience, the text messages on the day of their arrival should have been reason enough for her to call it a day with Mr Khan.
Simultaneously, now that she has decided to part ways, which aspect of her righteousness and integrity allows her to continue clinging to her MNA seat? By virtue of the 18th Constitutional amendment, any seat of the parliament is the party’s and not of any individual. Any member preparing to jump ships will have to rescind their seat before doing so. Therefore, vexatious claims to her seat by Ms Gulalai have no standing in the eyes of law.
As far as the press conference itself is concerned, it would have been more appropriate for Gulalai’s father to take the dais himself rather than dictating from the side-lines. At least that’s what would be expected from a person with high moral ground.
Not even once would I say that Ayesha Gulalai’s claims are untrue or false. They have an equal probability of being true. However, the timing of her allegations goes against her. Already being late in revealing the texts, her accusations right after Nawaz’s disqualification would even make a layman ponder. Furthermore, the parliamentary probe which is to be held soon might help eradicate all misconceptions.
And when it comes to PM Khaqan Abbasi, he was rather expeditious in directing an inquiry into the allegations levelled by Gulalai. A rather commendable step by the new PM. However, does our PM’s eyesight only allow him to perceive Ayesha Gulalai? Is he unable to see Ayesha Ahad Malik? Is she not a woman? Or is she not someone’s daughter? Has she not spoken out for the past so many years?
All these questions remain unanswered which raises even further eyebrows. A simultaneous inquiry into her allegations would uphold the law equally and would be in the best interests of equity, justice and fairness.
Selective justice on his part adds more weight to the claims of the Insaafians. Though unsubstantiated and unwarranted the claims continue to gain strong footing as the only difference between both the Ayesha’s is; one accuses Imran khan and the other accuses the Prince of Punjab – Hamza Shahbaz.
Character assassination of anyone be it a man or a woman, is an ill-fated practice and should be circumvented by both sides. Rather than blasting Khan Sahib on TV screens, Miss Gulalai should turn towards Courts of law and pave way for other under-privileged women to raise their voices against harassment. Similarly, the Insaafians should come forward in a civilised manner and defend their leader within their legal rights, as compared to Fawad Chaudhry being holier than the pope.