Ayesha Gulalai hits out at Imran Khan, claims PTI members harass women with obscene messages, think Pakistan is England

Ayesha Gulalai claimed that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf was mired in corruption and Imran Khan was aware of it.

New Delhi: A "legal notice" from Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday did not deter former party member Ayesha Gulalai from repeating scathing allegations against party chief Imran Khan.

In an exclusive interview to WION, Gulalai claimed that harassment of women was rampant in the PTI.

Gulalai, who hails from Waziristan and was elected to the Lower House on a reserved seat for women from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, announced her exit from the party on Tuesday, making allegations against Imran Khan and other top party members.

She made the announcement moments before the election of a new Prime Minister and claimed "ill-treatment" of women in the PTI. She said she had conveyed her grievances to the party leadership but no action had been taken.

Asked what led her switch sides, the former member of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) said, "Imran Khan came with a vision for Pakistan and when he marched to Waziristan after the drone attacks, I decided to join the PTI."

However, Gulalai said her admiration of Khan swiftly faded away as she experienced "large-scale harassment" of women within the party. Describing Khan as a man who had "psychological problems", Gulalai was quoted as saying by Dawn: "Maybe they (PTI members) think Pakistan is England. At this age, you [Imran] have not been able to reform your habits, maybe you do not have control over your behaviour”.

Talking to WION, Gulalai alleged that she was not the only one who faced harassment in the PTI.

"It's not only about me, I know many women who have experienced this thing. I have all the proof with me. They (PTI members) harass women with obscene messages. I want to talk about these messages because I have personally experienced this. My message to women who are thinking of joining the PTI is `stay alert and vigilant`, as the culture of this party may not be suitable for you."

She further claimed that the PTI was mired in corruption and Khan was aware of it.

"I was attracted to the fact that Imran wanted a corruption-free Pakistan. However, the province where PTI made its government, soon saw rampant corruption being indulged in by the Chief Minister (Pervez Khattak) and other members of the party. Ministers have constantly been complaining against this. When I left PTI, ministers were actually in Khan's residence protesting against his (the CM's) corruption. How are we going to lead fight corruption when our government is corrupt?"

Gulalai denied that she would be joining Nawa Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

"I have resigned from the party and I have no plans to join any other political party. I will now pursue my education," she said.

The PTI had on Wednesday issued a "legal notice" to Gulalai for her scathing allegations against party chief Imran Khan, demanding that she apologise and resign from the National Assembly.

PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said that since Gulalai has accused the party of moral and financial corruption, she should no longer retain her National Assembly seat won on the PTI's ticket. He added that if she fails to resign, the party will request the Election Commission of Pakistan to denotify her.