June 25, 2007	Monday	Jamadi-us-Sani 09, 1428

BANNU, June 24: The provincial vice-president of People’s Party Parliamentarians, Malik Riaz Khan, and 44 other office bearers of Bannu district have quit their posts in protest against the attitude of the party’s provincial president, Rahimdad Khan.

Addressing a hurriedly-called press conference on Sunday, Malik Riaz said that the provincial president was an incompetent person and had become a threat to the party in the province. He said: “Provincial president Rahimdad Khan had levelled baseless allegation against me that I had not supported the party’s candidate during by-elections in Bannu, whereas the candidate was himself taking the election lightly.”

Malik Riaz Khan demanded that an impartial inquiry be conducted to find the people responsible for the defeat in the by-election and action should be taken against them.

Those who resigned from their posts included the entire district organisation, office bearers of students and office bearers of lawyers’ wing.

Mr Riaz warned that if the leaders concerned did not pay heed to their protest then they would start taking steps immediately for the removal of the provincial president, Rahimdad Khan.