ISLAMABAD: The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday suspended the basic party membership of one of its founding members and senior lawyer Hamid Khan and issued to him a show cause notice for “defaming and maligning” the party through his statements on print and electronic media.

The show cause notice has been issued by PTI secretary general Amir Mehmood Kiyani, asking Mr Khan to explain his position in writing within seven days.

Hamid Khan, who is stated to be a member of the team which had written the PTI’s first constitution, invited the wrath of the party leadership when he accused the party of playing into the hands of the “establishment” during a TV show recently.

Mr Khan has previously too criticised the leadership for accepting turncoats in the party, stating that such inductions would damage the basic ideology of the party.

Senior lawyer, who is one of PTI’s founding members, says he will give a ‘befitting reply in writing’ after receiving notice from party

“It has been noted by the undersigned and Chairman of the party Imran Khan that you have repeatedly, in the print and electronic media, spoken against and maligned/defamed the party without any justification, and on the basis of fake and false allegations which amount to mala fide,” says the show cause notice issued to Mr Khan and released to the media by the PTI’s Central Media Department.

Through the notice, Mr Khan has been “charged with having committed misconduct, violated party discipline and party constitution by making fake, false, frivolous and wrong allegations, bringing the party matters in the media for ulterior motives and thereby acting against party interest and also hurting ­feelings of party members and workers.

“In view thereof, your behaviour has badly damaged the cause of the party and attracted a bad image of the party, within the country and outside the country,” says the notice, adding: “You are hereby given a show cause notice to explain your position in writing within seven days as to why action should not be taken against you” under the party constitution, which included expulsion from the party.

Suspending the basic members of Mr Khan with immediate effect “till the final decision” of inquiry, the PTI secretary general has also barred him from “speaking, commenting on media (electronic, print and social) against party matters and policy decisions of the party and also against members of PTI”.

When contacted, Hamid Khan claimed that he had not received any formal notice from the party and had only seen it on the media.

Refusing to make any comment on the allegations levelled against him by the party leadership, Mr Khan said he would give a “befitting reply in writing” when he would receive the notice.

Mr Khan, however, objected to the party’s decision to release the show cause notice to the media before formally sending it to him. He said that on one hand, the party leadership was accusing him of publicly discussing the internal party matters, and on the other, it had made his suspension public.

He said that now he also reserved the right of giving his written response to the media.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2019