PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights Sultan Mohammad Khan on Tuesday sent his resignation to Chief Minister Mahmood Khan after he was asked to resign in the wake of a video that went viral on social media showing him and other lawmakers allegedly receiving cash for switching loyalties before the Senate elections in March 2018.

Mr Sultan has held the portfolio of law, parliamentary affairs and human rights for two and a half years after winning the July 2018 general elections on a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) ticket. He had quit Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) in 2017.

In a handwritten resignation letter to the chief minister, the minister stated: “Due to a video that is being circulated on the media today in which my name has also cropped up and being mentioned … I feel it is my moral duty and obligation to withdraw from the cabinet and offer my resignation.”

“As a committed member of your (team)and a follower of Prime Minister Imran Khan, it was an honour and privilege to serve in your cabinet. I unconditionally offer myself for any inquiry of any kind,” read the letter.

CM Khan had earlier sought resignation from the law minister after the video released on social media showed the latter sitting in a room at an unknown location with huge piles of currency notes seen on the table.

CM vows to uphold highest standards of accountability

The chief minister took to his Twitter account, asking the minister to step down immediately. “As chief executive of KP, I have asked minister Sultan Khan to step aside and resign, due to his alleged appearance in a video released on the social media, to clear his name. We will, as per vision of Prime Minister, uphold highest standards of accountability and transparency in this province,” he tweeted.

The video has been leaked when the Senate election is around the corner, while the government has promulgated an ordinance to hold the poll through open ballot and a presidential reference regarding the Senate polls is pending before the Supreme Court.

Caught on the video are the then parliamentary leader of Pakistan Peoples Party Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha, two MPAs of the QWP and some members of the ruling PTI. They are sitting at a table with piles of currency notes.

The video, which has opened a Pandora’s box, clearly shows an unknown person bringing an empty bag and placing it in front of former PTI MPA from Mardan Obaidullah Mayar, who then starts stuffing it with the currency bundles. Mr Mayar was the youngest MPA of the then KP Assembly. It also shows sitting law minister Sultan Mohammad Khan and woman MPA Meraj Hamayun, both of whom then belonged to the QWP. Mr Sultan and Ms Meraj had joined the PTI before the 2018 general elections. Other former MPAs seen in the footage are PTI’s Sardar Mohammad Idrees and Deena Naz. Before joining PTI, Mr Idrees was minister for local government in the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government in 2002-07.

PTI chairman Imran Khan had expelled 20 lawmakers of the party on charges of selling their votes in the Senate polls.

Mr Khan had constituted a disciplinary committee to probe the scandal. The then chief minister Pervez Khattak headed the committee, which had served show-cause notices on the MPAs for receiving money in the Senate election. On the recommendation of the disciplinary committee, the 20 MPAs were shown the door.

The Pakistan Peoples Party had bagged two Senate seats in the election despite having only three members in the House, which generated a controversy about the selling and buying of votes.

Mr Bacha, when approached for comment, categorically denied any role in the scandal. He said clips of two different functions were clubbed together to give an impression that he was present on the occasion when the money was paid to other MPAs.

“I have neither received nor paid money to anyone and the video has been edited,” he said.

“It’s not possible that when such huge sums of money are distributed, a man could not maintain his confidence,” he argued.

Mr Bacha said the timing of leaking the clip was very important and it was leaked when the presidential reference regarding Senate vote was pending before the SC.

He said PM Khan had neither trusted his MPAs at that time nor he did so at present. Astonishingly, he said, the clip was leaked after four years, which raises many questions.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2021