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| March 13, 2003 | Thursday | Muharram 9, 1424 |
Expelled ANP MPA threatens lawsuit
KOHAT, March 12: Syed Qalb-i-Hassan, Awami National Party MPA from Kohat, who was expelled from the party for allegedly selling his vote during the Senate elections along with other two members has said that the party disciplinary committee has yet to issue him a show-cause notice and warned that he reserves the right to move a court of law against the “wrong decision” which has done a great damage to his position in the society.
It may be recalled that the ANP high command had expelled Syed Qalb-i-Hssan, Atiqur Rehman, son of former NWFP irrigation minister now in jail and Sarfaraz Khan for selling their votes in the Senate elections.
Talking to Dawn here on Wednesday he said that some people had definitely approached him before the Senate polls for vote and offered him a huge amount, but he would explain the circumstances in which the whole drama was masterminded and mention the names only when the party asked him to do so.
He regretted that the party expelled him without providing him a chance to prove his innocence and describe the reality behind all this mess.
About the rumours that the NWFP governor was involved in the deal, he totally rejected the accusation terming it a propaganda of sinister elements within the party and outside who wanted to defame the ANP.
“I will soon expose the names of those people in the ANP who came to him asking not to vote for Asfandyar Wali Khan in the senate elections and also offered him money”, the MPA remarked.
He said that it all happened overnight. The committee constituted to investigate the horse-trading charges on the party members included his name in the list of defectors on the basis of rumours and just because he was a new-comer.
He regretted that parliamentarians from other parties also sold their votes but no action had been taken against them and it was only the ANP which was blowing the issue out of proportion because some of its leaders wanted to gain political mileage out of it due to the continuous decline in the popularity graph of the ANP.
Replying to a question he said: “I am answerable to my voters as well as to my party high-command and I have the courage and proofs to prove myself innocent which I will do after Muharram and tell the real story at a press conference”.
He complained that he spent three days in Peshawar to meet senior members of the party and clear his position but they refused to talk to him although legal procedures were not followed before expelling him from the ANP.
He claimed that Atiqur Rehman who was elected on the ANP ticket from Hangu had admitted to have sold his vote and accepted the party decision of his expulsion and hoped that as far he was concerned he was in a position to prove himself innocent whenever asked.
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