Zartaj Gul bursts into tears, seeks apology over May 9 riots

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Zartaj Gul burst into tears as she apologized over the May 9 riots that targeted government and military facilities across the country.

Zartaj Gul, who served as the Minister of State for Climate Change during the PTI tenure, was among the 51 PTI leaders whose non-bailable arrest warrants were issued by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Gujranwala last week.

Speaking to the media inside the Peshawar High Court, where she had filed a bail plea, Zartaj Gul said she did not know whether she was contesting elections or a war, as her nomination papers had been rejected by the returning officer.

She said: “if you want me to condemn the May 9 incidents, I apologize over it with folded hands. My brother Javed Alam was martyred during the war on terror after 9/11. I am the sister of a martyr. I have collected the body of my brother. How can we disrespect and desecrate the martyrs? I apologize for the May incident,” she said, sobbing.

She said that she had done more work for Dera Ghazi Khan, her constituency, than anyone else, and that the election commission staff was taken hostage there by unknown assailants during the last elections.

She said she had faith in the constitution and law, but feared that the police force was waiting outside to arrest her. She urged the court to grant her bail and stop the police from taking her into custody.

“I can go to any court, the whole country is ours, I will not leave here until I get bail,” she said.

What is the worth of Zartaj Gul’s assets?

Meanwhile, women police officers reached the bar room where Zartaj Gul was present, but were prevented from entering by lawyers belong to the Insaf Lawyers Forum, who tried to shield her from arrest.

The ATC Gujranwala has ordered to confiscate the properties of the 51 accused and declare them as absconders, including Murad Saeed, Hammad Azhar, Farrukh Habib, Umar Ayub, Ali Amin Gandapur and Zartaj Gul.