SHAISTA Pervaiz
“Alas! The tragedy of this country is that voices that are appreciated by the world are the ones that are suppressed; whatever good has been accomplished will be rolled back.”
“Today, I’m hearing that people are ready to give it in writing that the caucus is doing nothing,” she said, imploring the house to keep the caucus alive and not let it fall prey to politicking.
“Whoever has the will, come forward and lead. I promise, the credit will go to you alone,” she concluded.
But before she was back in her seat, Pervaiz Malik, who was chairing the session, offered the mic to the current head of the caucus, Shaista Pervaiz.
“It is true that when the seed was planted, this caucus accomplished a lot, thanks mostly to the role of women lawmakers from the opposition. But today, I tell this house with a heavy heart that the opposition women of this assembly did not give us the support that we showed them,” she posited.
Ms Pervaiz, who also happens to be Mr Malik’s wife, then alluded to the unpleasant exchange between Dr Shireen Mazari and Khawaja Asif, saying that she, in her capacity as head of the caucus, had condemned the incident on the house floor and admitted that it was something that should not have happened.
“But even after those remarks were expunged and an apology — both verbal and written — was tendered, my sister [Ms Mazari] refused to accept it and expressed a lack of confidence in the caucus,” Ms Pervaiz continued.
“Institutions are not formed overnight, especially those that have brought a [good name] to our parliament and worked for the women of this country. Such an institution is falling prey to personal rivalries. I have personally asked all members to voice their concerns so we can find a solution together. But unfortunately, all my requests were ignored.”
“I have even offered to step down myself if I have not been able to fulfil the expectations of women members, but to no avail. Since it is his party members who are concerned, I request the leader of the opposition to instruct his party colleagues that this forum is no one’s personal fiefdom. The one who planted the seed should definitely get the credit, but taking it forward is our shared responsibility,” Ms Pervaiz concluded.
Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2016