It is good that the National Assembly (NA) has not only constituted a committee to probe the allegations of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNA Ayesha Gulalai, but rightly decided to keep it 'in-camera’ because of the sensitivity of the case. One hopes that its secrecy will be maintained and parties will stop the blame-game.
What is the significance of the case and why a young and active PTI MNA levelled serious personal allegations against her party chairman.
Ms Gulalai may have a weak case against Imran Khan, as it took her four years to come out with such a serious and personal allegation of sending her indecent messages, but it is still important to probe the content of messages as well as their source. Whoever is at a fault needs to be made accountable.
Parliament and political parties should also formulate a moral code of conduct and there has to be a forum where such allegations need to be probed instead of indulging in character assassination in the public. In a mature democracy, leaders and public representative will have to be on high moral ground, whether it relates to financial matters or otherwise.
Delay has certainly damaged Gulalai's case, but if, at all, such messages had been sent, it would also not help Imran's position either, as more than his political career is a stake. So, it is more important for Imran to get his name cleared through any judicial or parliamentary probe.
However, Gulalai must resign as an MNA on two counts: (1) She was nominated by Imran Khan against whom she has levelled all kinds of allegations, and (2) she never came through direct election but on a reserved seat and now has quit the party. Therefore, she has lost all moral ground to retain the seat.
Imran Khan, as a popular leader with massive following, has lot more at stake and the accusation particularly personal attack on his character has come from someone from his own party. Therefore, he should file personal defamation case against her, offer himself for an investigation to foil the conspiracy, if any, against him.
Unfortunately, weak defamation laws and delay in provision of justice in such cases, often prevent people from taking them to a court of law. In the West, strict defamation laws bar the institutions and individual from accusing each other without solid evidence.
Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) reaction and getting involved themselves in this controversy has made the Gulalai case weak. On the other hand, the PTI leaders also went too far in their counter attack by even involving her sister, who is a national hero and has nothing to do with politics.
Thus, instead of becoming a controversy within the PTI, it has become a case between the PTI and the PML-N.
In Pakistan, it is very common particularly in politics to accuse each other on political, financial or on moral grounds, and rarely such a matter goes to the court. This weakness allows the print and electronic media to play with such issues without any strong evidence.
For instance, a few months ago, a woman was interviewed by every second TV channel because she claimed having a relationship with top PPP leader. She never came out with any Nikahnama or any other evidence in support of her claim. After giving dozens of interviews, she suddenly disappeared, and no journalist or channel exposed the real story behind her appearance and disappearance.
Gulalai's allegations revolved around two points: (1) Personal accusations against Imran, and (2) corruption allegations against Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak.
PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, in a TV talk show, in which this writer was also present, described Gulalai as very promising and talented young lady. He also praised her interest in her work in the Parliament and he also guided her. But, he said he was disappointed to see the way she spoke and levelled allegations. He also advised her to resign as an MNA.
Watching Gulalai's interviews on TV in different talk shows, one gets an impression that she, perhaps, was overambitious as she clearly stated that she always had interest in politics since she was nine years old. There is no doubt that she is well educated, which could also reflect from her interest in doing a PhD. Not many of our politicians and legislatures could match the academic qualification of the MNA from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
It is important that Gulalai has taken this path at a time when her party is expecting victory in the next elections and flying high. In normal circumstance, even dissenting voices in the parties die down. She took the other path and put herself in all kinds of trouble. It could be possible that she might be interested in NA-1, Peshawar, but it is still one year to elections. However, due to her political ambitions, it could be possible she started getting frustrated after reports that she would not get the seat on direct or reserved seat.
But, mere discrediting Gulalai would not solve the problem unless we come to know what she is saying is not true. As I said above, the content, not the timing, is important. She must be penalised, punished if she has made a wrong statement, but what if her allegations had some merit, the other party should be brought to book.
Moral questions about public representatives are most important in mature democracies, and any scandal or scam of any leader especially the president or the prime minister, may end their political career. There are a number of such examples in the West which can be cited in this regard.
In Pakistan, moral questions remain unanswered and there is hardly a political party which even seeks explanation from its representative or leader, if there are any accusations against them.
It is good that the PTI has decided to go to the court and would be filing a defamation suit. But, my understanding of defamation law is that in this case, Imran will have to sue her personally and not through party.
What Gulalai said about Khattak has often been said by some other PTI leaders particularly those from KP, as well. Surprisingly, not once Imran sought formal explanation from his chief minister. Everyone in the PTI knows about the presence of anti-Khattak group in KP, and even prominent leaders like Asad Kaiser and Atif are not happy with CM's conduct and performance. Once even people like Shah Farman and Shaukat Yousafzai were also not happy and they paid the price for it.
This issue may not die down soon particularly in such a tense political environment between the PTI and the PML-N. But, one thing is certain and that is, the issue may further pollute the atmosphere, where politicians are already facing serious accusations about their financial and political morality.
Gulalai was among those hardworking woman workers of the PTI whom Imran used to admire, like Naz Baloch, Dr Fauzia Kasuri, Andleeb Abbas or seasoned workers like Dr Shireen Mazari and Dr Yaseen Rashid. There are many others who, though not very prominent, had worked for the party without any ambitions. Like in any other party, these workers and leaders too often complain that the party leadership ignored them and their grievances. Yet, except for in private conversations, they never come out in the public, because they first want the PTI to win elections.
PTI is the party millions are looking at as the possible alternative. Its leader led from the front in making corruption a serious issue in Pakistan. He also has a reputation of ‘Mr Clean’. Therefore, he must get his name cleared in this controversy as well, as his main following comes from the youth of Pakistan including women.
Gulalai too cannot run away with an investigation and inquiries as the kind of allegations she has levelled against Imran and the KP government need very solid evidence. Her political career may end if she fails in this case.
The writer is the senior columnist and analyst of Geo, The News and Jang.
Twitter: MazharAbbasGEO