(Web Desk) – Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Sherry Rehman has called on Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan to issue an apology after a heated exchange with Senator Palwasha Khan during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Communications on Friday.
The confrontation occurred when Senator Palwasha, also a PPP leader, questioned the construction of a road in Lahore, alleging that public funds may have been used to benefit a private housing scheme. The discussion quickly escalated into a sharp verbal exchange between the senator and the minister.
In a late-night post on social media platform X, Sherry Rehman said the incident was unacceptable and should not be normalised. She stressed that no federal minister had the right to speak in such a manner to an elected member of parliament during a committee meeting. Rehman added that questioning government actions and holding authorities accountable was Senator Palwasha’s legitimate responsibility.
What happened today in a Senate Standing Committee can neither become normalised nor considered acceptable. No federal minister should speak the way Mr Aleem Khan did with Senator @PalwashaKhan18 in a Communications committee meeting. It is her absolute responsibility and right…
— SenatorSherryRehman (@sherryrehman) December 19, 2025“She deserves respect as a parliamentarian, regardless of gender,” Rehman said, insisting that the minister must formally apologise.
During the meeting, Abdul Aleem Khan responded angrily to the questioning, warning that personal remarks would be answered in the same tone. He said the government was prepared to clarify its position but would not tolerate what he described as personal attacks. The exchange intensified when the minister accused committee members of dishonesty and blackmail, drawing strong objections.
Senator Palwasha later said she felt humiliated by the minister’s remarks and announced plans to take the matter to her party’s senior leadership. Although the minister offered an apology after intervention by Committee Chairman Pervaiz Rashid, the senator declined to accept it.
Speaking to reporters afterward, Palwasha defended her questioning, saying it was her right to seek transparency over the use of taxpayers’ money. She also described the incident as reflective of the overall conduct of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet.