ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Member of National Assembly (MNA) Ayesha Gulalai is all set to formally announce her separate party on Friday. According to reports, the party’s name will be Tehreek-e-Insaf Gulalai. She said that all the legal and necessary requirements regarding her new party have been completed. However, the registration in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will be carried out after the announcement. The MNA reiterated that she will raise voice against corrupt officials. Earlier, Ayesha Gulalai had accused the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of bribing her with candidacy of Senate on the condition of maligning the army. The estranged PTI lawmaker said that she rejected the offer of contesting the upcoming Senate elections from PML-N straight away. “PML-N provoked me to speak against the army. I rejected the offer to accept the Senate ticket,” she said while talking to media outside the parliament. Earlier in a press conference, Gulalai had taken credit of PML-N’s victory in Lodhran by-election and said that she had in fact motivated the people to vote for the ruling party. Last year, the lawmaker from Waziristan, had accused PTI Chief Imran Khan of sexual harassment, alleging that the honour of PTI female members was not safe from the PTI chief and his gang. It had followed some media reports suggesting that she will join PML-N. ECP had rejected the reference submitted by PTI to dismiss Gulalai from the party with majority votes of three over two.
Published in Daily Times, February 20th 2018.
