LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MPA Uzma Qadri, wife of disgruntled leader Zaeem Hussain Qadri, has finally taken oath with a pledge to stay ‘loyal’ to the party, dismissing her husband’s earlier claim that she would resign soon after joining the Punjab Assembly.

Greeted by the fellow women lawmakers in the assembly on Thursday, Uzma Qadri got the blessing of former speaker Rana Iqbal and offered fateha for Begum Kulsoom Nawaz.

PML-N MPAs Mian Jalil Sharaqpuri and Nafisa Ameen and PTI’s Awais Dareshak also took oath administered by Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi. Independent MPA Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan did not turn up to take oath.

“I have no plan to resign. Why should I? I will sit on opposition benches and contribute to legislation,” Ms Qadri replied to Dawn’s query regarding her husband’s claim that she would resign. Mr Qadri had said neither he nor his wife could be with the PML-N.

The PML-N leadership had included her name in the list of MPAs on women seats and submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan before Zaeem Qadri fell out with its president Shahbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shahbaz for not awarding him NA-133 ticket.

Before July 25 elections, Zaeem Qadri announced contesting election on NA-133 (Lahore) as an independent candidate and used harsh language against Hamza. “I cannot become a shoe-polisher of Hamza. I have refused to do this job. I am an honourable man. Lahore is not your and your father (Shahbaz)’s fiefdom. You are promoting your shoe-polishers. I will tell you as how to do politics,” Zaeem Qadri had said.

Mr Qadri contested NA-133 as an independent candidate and got around 2,000 votes. PML-N Lahore president Pervaiz Malik won this seat.

When asked whether the couple was thinking to make arrangement like Asad Umar and Muhammad Zubair -- one brother in PTI and other in PML-N -- Uzma Qadri said: “We do not have such plans. However, Mr Qadri has offer from Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf to join it. There are many in the PML-N who ask my husband to reconcile.”

She said her husband had done nothing wrong as he only raised his voice for merit and against injustices in the party and it’s not a crime. “We were among the few who stood by the leadership after the military coup on Oct 12, 1999,” she said.

Replying to a question about Shahbaz Sharif’s show-cause notice to her, she said: “This matter has been resolved as show-cause notice to her was based on misunderstanding.” She was issued a show-cause notice for her failure to take oath and cast vote for the party candidates in the election of chief minister, speaker and deputy speaker in the Punjab Assembly. She said she conveyed the leadership she was not well that’s why she could not take oath earlier.

Uzma Qadri further said in the previous assembly she had worked for environment and she would like to contribute to this field.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2018