ISLAMABAD: The Pakis­tan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) formally charged its president Makhdoom Javed Hashmi on Monday with violating the party’s constitution and sought his personal appearance before its disciplinary committee on Sept 29.

“This is to notify that in view of your repeated statements regarding the PTI, the chairman has suspended you in accordance with the constitution of the party,” PTI General Secretary Jahangir Khan Tareen said in a letter sent to Mr Hashmi at his home address in Multan Cantonment.

This is the first instance in the country’s chequered political history that the elected president of a party has been suspended and asked to appear before the disciplinary committee.

Stirring up the already polarised national politics, Mr Hashmi had on Aug 30 distanced himself from the PTI ‘Azadi march’ and accused Imran Khan of following the script written by the powers that be. Since then he has launched a relentless diatribe against the party and claims that he is still its president.

According to Mr Hashmi, PTI’s protest movement, which he had supported till Aug 30 and addressed the participants of its sit-ins from the top of a container, has been morphed into an anti-democracy march which he could not support.

Mr Hashmi could not be contacted for his comment on the suspension.

During his 40-year political career, the veteran politician remained associated with democratic parties as well as military dictators but couldn’t develop lasting relationship with any of his patrons. Before joining the PTI, he was a senior member of the now ruling PML-N.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Tareen said Mr Hashmi had ceased to be part of the PTI the day he left the Azadi march. “His formal removal from the party is just a procedural requirement which will be completed in due time.”

RESIGNATIONS: Meanwhile, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has formally invited for personal hearing 25 PTI lawmakers who had submitted their resignations.

According to a National Assembly spokesperson, six legislators – Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Eng Ali Mohammad Khan, Asad Umar, Arif Alvi, Shireen Mazari and Munazza Hassan – have been asked in the first phase to personally visit the speaker’s office on Sept 25 and 26 for confirmation of their resignations. The five PTI lawmakers whose resignations needed corrections have been asked to submit fresh ones.

Under the Constitution, mere submission of a written resignation is sufficient for the speaker’s office to forward the notification to the Election Commission for further processing. But under the National Assembly rules, the speaker may ask such an MNA to personally confirm his resignation.

The PTI earlier issued show-cause notices to three MNAs who refused to submit their resignations.

The speaker accepted Mr Hashmi’s resignation after he himself announced it on the floor of the house.

At the request of leaders of opposition parties who are trying to negotiate a peace accord between the government and PTI, the speaker has delayed the acceptance of their resignations.

Does this mean the government has now changed its mind?

A source in the PML-N said a decision on the matter would be taken after consultations with the heads of parliamentary parties, adding that most of the parties were in favour of giving the opposition jirga, headed by Jamaat-i-Islami Emir Sirajul Haq, sufficient time to end the impasse between the two sides.

PTI leader Shafqat Mehmood said they had submitted their resignations to the speaker’s office.

The PTI wants the prime minister to go on leave for one month so that a proposed judicial commission could investigate the allegations of rigging in 2013 general elections without any pressure or influence.

But the government insists that under Article 225 of the Constitution, only the ECP can decide on an election petition.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2014