Marri Condemns Khawaja Asif’s Remarks About Women in National Assembly
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MNA Shazia Marri has condemned remarks about women made by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif in the National Assembly, saying lawmakers should avoid such language for female members or any woman in Pakistan.
Speaking on a point of order during Friday’s session, Marri said the defence minister had made “very inappropriate remarks regarding women” in the heat of his speech the previous day. A video of her remarks was shared by ARY News.
“Yesterday, the defence minister, in the heat of his speech, made very inappropriate remarks about women. I condemn them,” Marri told the House.
She said such remarks should be condemned openly, no matter which side of the aisle they come from. “These were regrettable remarks. And I think that at least the honourable members of this house should refrain from using such remarks for the honourable female members or any female in Pakistan,” she added.
What sparked the row
The issue began on Thursday, when Khawaja Asif grilled JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in the National Assembly.
A day earlier, Fazlur Rehman had mocked Asif for staying home while high-level talks were held in Tehran. In his reply, Asif said no defence agreement was being negotiated in Tehran and that he was at home instead. He also questioned Fazlur Rehman’s political record.
It was in that exchange that Asif accused Fazlur Rehman of hiding behind female lawmakers. Marri later condemned those remarks on the floor of the House.
Marri also told the House that women lawmakers from the JUI-F had approached the PPP in the Assembly over the matter, and that the party had also felt at the time that the issue should be raised.
Not the first such criticism
It is also not the first time Asif has faced criticism over remarks about women in parliament. In 2023, women parliamentarians strongly protested comments he made about them during a joint session.
That history is part of why Marri’s intervention carried weight. She did not frame her objection as a party-political point. She framed it as a standard for the House itself: members should refrain from such remarks about female members, or about any woman in Pakistan, regardless of which side they come from.
The point matters because the National Assembly has a growing number of women members, and debates about their treatment in the chamber have recurred across governments. When a senior minister’s language becomes the subject of a formal condemnation on the floor, it becomes a matter of parliamentary record, not just a passing exchange.
A week of heated debate
The latest exchange comes during a week of heated debate between the government and the JUI-F. Fazlur Rehman has been a vocal critic of the government, including over the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and government ministers have answered him sharply in parliament.
Asif has meanwhile said that Pakistan will defend Saudi Arabia with full force under the Makkah defence pact, a statement that reflects the government’s current foreign policy messaging.
The row over remarks about women is separate from those policy arguments, and Marri’s intervention kept it separate. She did not take up the substance of the Asif-Fazlur Rehman dispute. She addressed only the language used about women, and asked the House to hold a line on it.
What to watch
No apology or response from Asif was reported in the ProPakistani account of the session. The question now is whether the matter ends with Marri’s condemnation, or whether the Speaker or other members take it further.
Parliamentary rows of this kind often fade once the news cycle moves on, but they also set a marker. Marri’s words are now on the record, and any repeat will be measured against them. For women members of the House, that record is the practical outcome of Friday’s session.
Frequently asked questions
What did Shazia Marri condemn?
She condemned remarks about women made by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif in the National Assembly, calling them very inappropriate and regrettable.
What led to Asif’s remarks?
Fazlur Rehman had mocked Asif for staying home during high-level talks in Tehran. Asif replied that no defence agreement was being negotiated there, and in that exchange accused Fazlur Rehman of hiding behind female lawmakers.
Has Asif faced such criticism before?
Yes. In 2023, women parliamentarians strongly protested comments he made about them during a joint session.
Did Marri make it a party-political point?
No. She said such remarks should be condemned openly no matter which side of the aisle they come from, and that members should refrain from them for female members or any woman in Pakistan.
