PESHAWAR, May 14: The People’s Party Parliamentarians has expelled two women MPAs from the party on the charge of horse trading in the recent Senate elections.
However, Salma Baber and Muniba Shahzadi — accused of selling votes to the Pakistan Muslim League candidates — enjoy the support of PPP parliamentary leader in the NWFP Assembly Abdul Akbar Khan, who says that he cannot take any action against them because they had not tendered resignations like the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal’s expelled MPAs.
“I haven’t anything with me to use against them”, he added.
PPP circles say that three of their 10 MPAs sold votes to a nominee of the ruling PML, but none of the PPP leaders was able to single out the third MPA ‘who shared the amount with his immediate boss.’
Muniba Shahzadi told journalists that she was not a card-carrying member of the PPP.” How they can expel a non-member from the party. They had given me the party ticket because Begum Shahzadi Sulaiman wanted me to be an MPA”.
PPP provincial chief Rahimdad Khan expressed opinion that two PPP MPAs and an Awami National Party MPA had not voted the parties’ joint candidate for a Senate seat, Farhatullah Baber. He said they were trying to find out the third MPA who had sold his vote.
The PPP and the PML have equal numbers of lawmakers in the house. Despite that, the PML bagged three Senate seats and the PPP failed to win even a single seat.
