KARACHI: Pakistan Muslim League – Functional (PML-F) MPA Nusrat Seher Abbasi, today, threatened to set herself on fire if action wasn’t taken against a provincial minister who made offensive remarks against her.

“If I don’t get justice within the next two days, I will set myself on fire outside the Sindh Assembly,” the MPA said while addressing during  press conference in Karachi.

A bottle of petrol clutched in one hand, Nusrat demanded that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) remove Imdad Pitafi from the post of minister for using abusive language against her during a Sindh Assembly session.

“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 the Sindh Assembly,” Abbasi stated.

“I urge you, Bilawal Bhutto, to get me justice. I know you have taken notice of the issue which means you are aware of the incident,”  said Nusrat, who added that her family and friends are pressurising her to stand up for herself.

Meanwhile, Pitafi during Monday’s Sindh Assembly session apologised to the PML-F MPA. “You are a sister to me and I apologise for my comments,” Pitafi said while draping a Sindhi ajrak on her.

Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) MPA Nusrat Sahar Abbasi announced in the Sindh Assembly hall on Monday that she is forgiving Imdad Pitafi after he put a traditional shawl on her head, calling her his sister.

The Sindh Assembly session turned unruly last week after offensive remarks were made by Pitafi against Abbasi. Though provincial minister Pitafi’s ‘vulgar’ outburst was obliterated by the speaker, the opposition members decnounced the incident and demanded action against Pitafi for his derogatory language.

Sindh Minister for Works and Services Imdad Pitafi left his seat and headed over to Nusrat Sahar's seat, where he draped a traditional shawl over the PML-F leader's head and apologised to her.

Nusrat accepted his apology and said that she had forgiven Pitafi for the sake of the shawl. 

"For the sake of this dupatta and because he called me his sister, I am forgiving him. It is a tradition in Sindh that when a shawl is used as a sign of forgiveness, then the other person accepts it," she added.

Pitafi is the Sindh minister for works and services. A day after the incident, Parliamentary Minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro served Pitafi a show-cause notice on the directives of PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.Earlier, in his tweet, Bilawal addressed Pitafi and said that he must apologise to female MPA. “Absolutely unacceptable behaviour and totally against the ethos of our party that has been led by [the] strongest of women.”

Soon after Bilawal’s statement, Pitafi admitted his mistake. “I accept my mistake and will also tender [an] apology on the floor of assembly,” he said in a statement issued on Saturday, adding that he will submit the answer of the show-cause notice and is ready to accept whatever decision is made.