PESHAWAR, Oct 1: A former president of the All Pakistan Women Association, NWFP, Begum Hashmat Anwer, has claimed that the former MNA, Begum Zari Sarfaraz, has been tarnishing the image of the association.

Speaking at a press conference at the press club on Tuesday, she said that her son Brig Arshad Farooq was dragged into the matter despite the fact that he was not in the city during the whole episode. She claimed that her son had nothing to do with the affairs of Apwa.

Ms Anwer said that Ms Sarfaraz wanted to occupy the Apwa office in an illegal manner and dissolved the elected cabinet against which a writ petition had been submitted with the high court.

Ms Anwer said that Apwa, NWFP, was not affiliated with Apwa National, Karachi, and was registered in 1961 as an independent body. Apwa National had no legal authority to dissolve the cabinet, she claimed.

Her counsel, Moazam Butt advocate, refuted the claims that they had hoodwinked the senior civil judge and concealed facts. He said although their suit was dismissed by the civil judge, Kulsoom Azam, but the subject matter of that case was different than the one pending before the senior civil judge.

Ms Anwer rebutted the charges of embezzling millions of rupees from the funds of Apwa saying that she had earnestly served the women folk in the province.