KARACHI – Member Sindh assembly Nusrat Sahar Abbasi who earlier threatened self-immolation over verbal duel with PPP’s Imdad Pitafi finally accepted the minister’s apology.
On Monday, the PML-F leader while holding a bottle of petrol in one hand, threatened that she would douse herself with petrol and burn herself if PPP failed to sack Imdad Pitafi over lewd remarks.
However, she forgave Imdad after he headed to her seat during a Sindh Assembly session and drapped a shawl over her head as a symbol of respect and dubbed her ‘Adi’, a local word used for calling someone ‘sister’.
“I accept his apology for the sake of the shawl. It is a tradition in Sindh that when a shawl is used as a sign of forgiveness, then the other person accepts it,” she said.
She however urged Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to ensure avoiding any such incident in future.
Earlier, in an explosive press talk, the legislator threatened to set herself on fire besides staging a brief sit-in infront of assembly hall.
“Everyone witnessed how I was harassed in Sindh Assembly, If Imdad Pitafi is not forced to resign or fired in two days, I will burn myself in front of Sindh Assembly,” she said.
The legislator from opposition benches claimed that her family members were forcing her to stay at home and detach from politics if the minister was not punished for his statement.
She maintained that this was not just her personal matter now but an issue for all women who were harassed at workplaces.
“I am being stopped from doing my work,” she said.
Nusrat Sahar Abbasi called on Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Bakhtawar Bhutto to intervene and force the minister to step down before she sets herself on fire.
“Asif Ali Zardari, you saw what happened in the Sindh assembly,” she said.
“If I am denied justice, no other daughter of Sindh will ever ask for her rights from Bilawal,” she asserted.
Nusrat’s outburst came in the aftermath of a verbal spat on Saturday with PPP’s minister Imdad Pitafi. Nusrat asked the Pitafi to read in English but Pitafi replied to her in a sentence that had a dual meaning.
He had also referred to Abbasi as a ‘drama queen’.
Imdad Pitafi also issued a written apology to Nusrat Sahar Abbasi for the indecent remarks. However, Abbasi refused to accept his apology and instead demanded the Minister for Works and Services to step down.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had directed Nisar Khuhro to issue a show-cause notice to Pitafi regarding the incident after which he tendered his apology.
