PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf expelled its 12 members of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly including three women from the party on charges of receiving money in the Senate elections.

The party had issued show-cause notices to 20 MPAs and directed them to give reply to the four-member board headed by KP Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar. Eight MPAs had submitted their reply to the board and explained their position while 11 lawmakers did not reply.

Spokesman for chief minister Shaukat Ali Yousafzai told Dawn here on Wednesday that 12 MPAs were expelled from the party after they failed to submit their reply. He said that basic party membership of those MPAs had also been terminated.

According to the list, MPAs Nagina Khan, Dena Naz, Khatoon Bibi, Yaseen Khalil, Qurban Ali Khan, Amjad Ali Afridi, Wajeehuz Zaman, Zahid Durrani, Ubaidullah Mayar, Javed Nasim and Abdul Haq have been expelled from the party.

Mr Yousafzai said that Ziaullah Afridi was already expelled from PTI on corruption charges and violation of the party discipline. He said that PTI chairman Imran Khan had announced names of 20 MPAs, who allegedly received money in the Senate polls. He said that those MPAs were given sufficient time to give reply to the board.

The Spokesman said that other MPAs, who were charge-sheeted including Arif Yousaf, Fozia Bibi, Nasim Hayat, Nargis Bibi, Meraj Hamayun, Samiullah Alizai, Faisal Zaman and Sardar Idrees, had submitted their reply and the board was likely to decide their fate within the next two days.

This is worth mentioning that several MPAs, who were issued show-cause notices, had left PTI and joined Pakistan People’s Party. Ubaidullah Mayar and Zahid Durrani and a woman lawmaker had formally joined PPP. MPAs Qurban Ali and Yaseen Khalil, who had switched over from PPP to PTI, have yet to announce their future line of action.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2018