Hamza Shahbaz's alleged wife thrust into limelight in PTI, PML-N harassment row
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Ayesha Ahad, who claims to be Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif's daughter-in-law, addressed a press conference on Saturday to demand that a parliamentary committee be formed for her case along the lines of the one proposed to probe Ayesha Gualai's allegations against Imran Khan.
Read more about Ayesha Ahad's past allegations here.
Her statement came after newly-elected Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi called for the formation of a special committee to investigate Gulalai's allegations of sexual harassment against the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief, Imran Khan.
Ahad claims to have been married to Hamza Shahbaz before she was unceremoniously abandoned by her alleged spouse. Over the years, she has repeatedly complained of being victimised for pursuing her case and has reported serious attacks on at least two occasions, including one by armed pillion riders that targetted her daughter. She has also complained of being victimised by the Lahore police and other arms of the state machinery.
Ahad, who was accompanied by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders Firdous Ashiq Awan and Yasmin Rashid, claimed in her press conference that members of the Sharif family — including Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif and Kulsoom Nawaz — were aware of "certain matters" regarding her case and that all of them should be investigated by a parliamentary committee.
"When will Mian [Nawaz Sharif] Sahab make a committee for his daughter-in-law?" she asked, recalling that she has been knocking on the doors of various courts for seven years and has been targeted for her persistence.
Reiterating her claim that PML-N MPA Hamza Shahbaz had married her in 2010, she said: "I also have messages from a lot of people."
Almost immediately after her press conference, PTI chief Imran Khan tweeted asking the incumbent prime minister whether he will form a committee to "investigate serious allegations levelled by Ayesha Ahad".
He also called for women's rights activists to stand by Ahad for enduring seven years of physical and mental abuse at the hands of her alleged husband.
Ayesha Ahad has previously been in the news for allegedly being targeted by Hamza and Shahbaz Sharif. A National Accountability Bureau investigation had led to her brother and mother's name being placed on the Exit Control List.
She had contested the 2013 general elections against Hamza from NA-119 as an independent candidate.
