PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf on Friday formally initiated disciplinary action against some of its senior leaders and newly-elected councillors by issuing show cause notices to them for the alleged violation of party discipline during the elections for district and tehsil nazims and naib-nazims.

“The show cause notices were issued on Friday evening,” a source in the PTI provincial secretariat told Dawn.

He said besides dozens of members of district and tehsil/town councils, Senator Azam Swati and MPA Yaseen Khan Khalil were also among those who were put on notice.

“They all will receive show cause notices by tomorrow (Sunday) and will be bound to reply within a week,” he said.

When contacted, PTI provincial organiser Fazal Khan confirmed the issuance of show cause notices.

When asked about the allegations against Azam Swati and Yaseen Khalil, he said 10 councillors of Town-III were found sitting in the house of Khalil at the time when elections were underway at the Government Higher Secondary School City No 1 on August 30.

Fazal Khan said four PTI councillors of Mansehra district council had voted for PML-N candidate on the alleged orders of Azam Swati and thus, causing the defeat of the PTI candidate in the elections.

“The party membership of Mr Swati and Mr Khalil will be terminated if their explanation is found to be unsatisfactory,” he said.

On Wednesday, Fazal Khan had told a news conference along the chief minister that show cause notices would be issued to 52 councillors of district and tehsil/town councils, including 10 in Peshawar, four in Karak, one in Charsadda, 11 in Buner, two in Malakand, 11 in Abbottabad, six in Havelian and five in Mansehra.

He had said two newly district nazims would also be put on notice for violating party discipline.

When contacted, MPA Yaseen Khalil said he had already explained to senior party leadership over the telephone that he had not asked any councillor to stay away from elections or be at his house during that time.

He said on August 30 (election day), the party leadership was present at the Chief Minister’s House, which had not decided names for the nazim and naib nazim until 7am, so he left the place for home.

The MPA said he was asleep when around 30 members of Peshawar district council and 11 of Town-III gathered at his house.

He said when he asked councillors the reason for coming to his house, they replied that they were confused and didn’t know about the PTI candidate for the district and town nazims.

“However at 2pm, I asked them (councillors) to go participate in elections,” he said.

The MPA said members of district council cast vote in favour of PTI candidate Mohammad Asim Khan but 11 councilors of Town-III couldn’t participate in the elections as when they reached there after the election process ended.

Senator Azam Swati couldn’t be reached for comments as he is currently in Dubai.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2015

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