TORONTO, Nov 24: Wajid Ali Khan, the first Canadian MP of Pakistani origin, on Wednesday resigned as member of ruling Conservative party following allegations of overspending his limit for election campaign expenses.

Though Wajid has not received any court notice, but he decided to quit the Conservative party. He would now sit in the House of Commons (parliament) as an independent MP.

“Although I have not yet been served with court documents, given the circumstances, I am withdrawing from the Conservative caucus to sit as an independent MP,” Khan said in a statement. “I have also offered the Prime Minister (Stephen Harper) my resignation as his Special Adviser for Middle Eastern and South Asian Affairs.”

The local news agency, the Canadian Press, said Wajid, the prime minister’s adviser on the Middle East, has been “charged” with exceeding his election spending limit.

It further said the Mississauga-Streetsville MP has also been charged — along with his car dealership and former riding association president — with paying for campaign expenses that he wasn’t authorised to cover.

According to the Canadian Press, Khan is to appear in court on Jan 8. It said the charges were laid by Elections Canada, with the approval of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada which will now prosecute the case.

Dan Brien, communications director for the service, said Khan is accused of having overspent his 2004 campaign limit by about $30,000.

Brien said such violations can be settled simply, with the accused signing a “compliance agreement” with Elections Canada, or they can lead to fines or even a jail term. The punishment varies depending on whether violations are prosecuted as either summary or indictable offences, a decision which Brien said has not yet been made in Khan’s case.

Wajid Khan, an ex-pilot of Pakistani Airforce, was twice elected as member of parliament on a Liberal Party ticket in 2004 and 2006, but crossed the floor in January 2007 and joined the Conservative party of Prime Minister Harper.