PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly members Yaseen Khalil and Qurban Ali Khan have served legal notices on Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan seeking his unconditional public apology for falsely accusing them of selling votes in the recent Senate elections.

The notices said if the PTI chief didn’t apologise, the MPAs would initiate legal proceedings against him for defamation.

The two MPAs, who were elected on PTI tickets in the 2013 polls, have served separate notices on Imran Khan under Section 8 of the Defamation ordinance, 2002.

In almost identical notices, they asked Imran Khan to tender apology within 14 days of receiving the legal notice, to withdraw all the allegations made by him against them and to pay a sum of Rs one billion as damages, failing which legal proceedings will be begin against him in a court of law.

The notices were served through a panel of lawyers comprising Advocates Danish Afridi, Barrister Mian Tajammul Shah and Khalid Ali Khan.

The notices said on Apr 18, 2018, during a press conference Imran Khan had uttered highly defamatory and slanderous accusations to defame the two MPAs. It is added that Imran Khan had alleged that they had sold their votes against Rs 40 million and he had called them votes sellers.

Yaseen Khalil in his notice said in the said press conference Imran Khan had held that a committee was formed to probe into the matter and after an elaborate inquiry the committee came up with his name as well as some others, wherein severe allegations of involvement in corruption by accepting illegal gratification for casting vote in Senate elections held on Mar 3, 2018, and hence to be expelled from party membership. It is added that Yaseen Khalil was neither informed about any inquiry nor was he asked to prove his innocence before any forum.

He said he belonged to one of the most respectable families of Peshawar and he had remained nazim of Town III from 2001 to 2005 with an unblemished past record.

He added that he was not new to the field of politics, on fact it was inherited to him from his fore fathers, through credibility, self respect and good reputation among the general public.

Similarly, in the notice sent by Qurbal Ali Khan it was mentioned that he belonged to a respectable family of Nowshera and had also remained an MPA after winning in the 2002 general elections. Both of them said since day one, on the floor of the Assembly as well as on various other forums they had strived in favour of the party slogans which was Rule of Law and ultimate justice to everyone, which was not liked by some of the party leaders, who created hindrance in their smooth flow of work to deliver to their people. They said they even tried to approach him (Imran Khan) to redress grievances. They said they tried their best to bring to his notice the direct and personal involvement of the chief minister in recruitment of his blue eyed, to which he being the party head paid no heed.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2018