Federal Minister for Defence Khawaja Mohammad Asif, who found himself in the centre of a controversy for the controversial remarks towards the women parliamentarians, clarified his stance on Thursday, saying that it was nothing “gender specific”. In a heated speech during Tuesday’s joint sitting of parliament, the defence minister termed the female senators “koora karkat (trash),” “garbage,” and “leftovers” of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan. “This is the garbage left here, which has to be cleaned. Depraved women should not lecture on chastity,” Asif had said, drawing huge outburst of negative reactions from politicians and commoners alike. On Thursday, after the Senate passed the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill 2023, the defence minister was allowed to speak in reference to his discriminatory remarks. He said that PTI Senator Ali Zafar had objected to the passage of bills on Tuesday, saying that the government was bulldozing the laws. “I referred to the night when 54 bills were passed in one or two minutes; the people [involved in it] who have done the same should not lecture us on it. “To dilate this, I made a remark which did not have any gender specification in it. Absolutely not,” Asif said. He said it was “their” choice if they wanted to see his remark in the wrong context, stressing it was “not a gender-specific remark” on his behalf. The minister went on to say that when it comes to gender equality in the house, the men parliamentarians never protested the remarks made against them. “If they claim gender equality, then they should tolerate such references,” he added.