Gilani’s son responds to allegations by US columnist

LAHORE: The son of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has responded to allegations by US columnist Cynthia Ritchie who has accused senior members of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of rape and sexual assault.

Ali Haider Gilani, the younger son of former the prime minister, said he had filed a complaint against the Cyber Crime Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) over “baseless allegations” against party leader late Benazir Bhutto.

He said this prompted the American columnist,who is now based in Pakistan, to level “filthy allegations” against his father.

“First of all I would like to make it very clear that my father is a man of great integrity and has respected every women he ever met. I have never heard him even speak to a lady in a loud voice at home or outside. He is a champion of women’s rights and has always advocated for women empowerment,” said the younger Gilani.

He claimed that Cynthia Ritchie had herself told him a few months back in 2019 on a public WhatsApp group that “she met my father few days back and he was a true gentleman and wanted to inquire about his health.”

He said that Ritchie after attacking PPP leadership has now attacked his father, asking why the allegations were not raised during the last eight years. “We have been taught to respect women and we will resort to any character assassination,” she said.

2/3 for women empowerment. @CynthiaDRitchie herself few months back 2019 on a public what’s app group had told me that she met my father few days back and he was a true gentleman and wanted to inquire about his health. I thanked her for remarks and told her he is doing good.

— Ali Haider Gilani (@ahaidergilani86) June 5, 2020

Cynthia Ritchie’s allegations

Ritchie took to social media to level several serious allegations against PPP’s senior leadership. In a video broadcast, she alleged that one of the party’s senior members had raped her while two others had manhandled her on a separate occasion.

She stated that the incidents occurred in 2011 when the PPP was in power, and when the individual she accused of rape had been a senior minister.

Ritchie further alleged that two other senior party leaders — a federal minister and former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had “physically manhandled” at the President House.

Gilani responds to allegations

Former premier Yousaf Raza Gilani has responded to the allegations against him, saying that it was unimaginable that a prime minister would ever commit such an act at the President’s House.

He said responding to such statements would be contemptuous, asking who has given her the right to raise such kind of accusation against senior politicians. The former prime minister said that Ritchie “should be ashamed of herself for saying such things”.

He said that Ritchie had recently levelled several accusations at former Pakistani prime minister and late party leader Benazir Bhutto and “no one can tolerate such accusations”.

“I am not worried about what was said about me. I am more concerned about the baseless accusations levelled at Shaheed Benazir.” He said his sons, Ali Haider Gilani and Ali Qasim, have approached the court in this regard.

Later while speaking to a media channel, Gilani said that he had met Ritchie a while back at a diplomat’s residence and had met her subsequently on various occasions in large gatherings.