LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) 126-day sit-in’s ‘lifeline’ DJ Butt has eventually spoken out over non-payment of his sound system services by the party that amount to over Rs80 million. He says all assurances from the PTI leadership have fallen flat and nobody is taking his calls now.

A committee headed by the PTI chairman’s political adviser Abdul Aleem Khan was supposed to finalise the payment issue until February, but it seemed the issue could not be resolved.

After knocking all doors, including Bani Gala’s in Islamabad, Muhammad Asif alias DJ Butt, who had been playing background music and party songs during the sit-in and public meetings of the PTI, reached out to the media and claimed the PTI had partially paid him Rs52.9 million, while the total bill had crossed Rs140 million.

Aleem Khan claimed the party had already paid Butt around Rs60 million, which was being audited. He said the party’s finance board had assigned him a task to check the cost and payment made to Butt and he would report back to the board soon.

PTI warns against blackmail

“I will neither be blackmailed nor yield to pressure by anyone,” he said and added that DJ Butt’s entire system was not worth Rs80 million. He also said the party would hold an audit and any payment due would be cleared. However, if Butt tried to accuse and blame the party chief on “someone’s instructions” then the DJ would be responsible for the consequences.

Talking to Dawn, DJ Butt said party chief Imran Khan had constituted a committee headed by Aleem Khan and he was assured that the remaining amount would be paid by February-end. Butt said he was waiting for the payment for six months, adding he had hired some of the equipment and the vendors were demanding their dues. He said some vendors had even approached police for registration of cases against him.

“I have made partial payments to some vendors and requested others to wait till I get my payment from the PTI,” he added.

Answering a question, Butt said initially a one-day contract was made and later extended for two more days as the PTI expected the sit-in would not go on for more than two days. Later, he said, the contracts were constantly made for two or three days.

He, however, expressed gratitude to Imran Khan who took him to the heights of fame and said that only the party management was creating hurdles for him. He said he had not made up his mind yet about moving the court and wished the party resolved his payment issue amicably.

PTI Information Secretary Naeemul Haq has called DJ Butt to Islamabad and assured him the matter would be resolved soon. Lauding Butt’s role for the party, Haq said the expenses had been approved by the finance board of the party beforehand but the sit-ins continued beyond the agreed duration.

Meanwhile, Federal Information Minister Pervaiz Rasheed said the PTI had collected billions of rupees in donations from Europe and it could not even pay dues to DJ Butt.

“Such an attitude of the PTI will not help it build Naya Pakistan,” he added.

Responding to the federal minister’s statement, DJ Butt said Rasheed’s party had got him arrested, adding that the minister had no right to interfere in the PTI’s internal matters. He further said the PTI was his party and he would fight for it till the last drop of blood.

Minister Rasheed went on to say that depriving a labourer of his payment exposed the real character of PTI chief Imran Khan.

“The government will support the protest of DJ Butt if the PTI does not pay him for the services he had been providing,” he added.

Rasheed said Imran himself claimed to have collected billions of rupees in donations and asked him to provide details of its spending.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play