QUETTA: Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai expelled two leaders from the party over differences on policy issues.

Those expelled include Raza Mohammad Raza and Obaidullah Babit.

In a statement issued by the party, Mr Achakzai said the two senior leaders had been expelled for being involved in “anti-party activities for a long time”.

“Their basic membership has been revoked and their offices abolished,” the party chairman said, adding that they had nothing to do with the PkMAP from Nov 11.

Mr Achakzai said the two leaders had been in contact with the party’s other senior leaders to establish their own group or join some other party. A senior party leader, the late Arbab Mujeebur Rehman, was also a victim of “wrong activities of these elements”, he said.

Mr Achakzai claimed that Mr Raza and Mr Babit were making propaganda against the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition, which had been formed with the approval of the party.

He said that despite repeated warnings, the two leaders had continued speaking against the party policies and the PDM at public meetings.

The PkMAP leader warned all party office-bearers to avoid contacting the two sacked leaders regarding local bodies’ elections and other issues and strictly follow the party policy line on all issues.

The PkMAP leader’s action against the two leaders was expected, as he indicated in a speech at the Pukhtun Cultural Day last month that he would take some tough decisions “in the larger interest of the party”.

In the speech, he warned party members and leaders without mentioning any name that they should follow the party discipline and not violate its policies, and if they were not comfortable with the party’s policies, they should form their own group or party or join some other political party.

Some party insiders told Dawn that the formation of the Taliban government in Afghanistan was one of the reasons that created differences among party leaders and workers, as Mr Achakzai adopted a soft corner for the Taliban government due to 40 years of bloodshed and asked the Taliban leadership to join hands for developing Afghanistan.

Some party leaders did not favour this policy change and wanted the party leadership to reverse course.

The PDM was another issue that increased differences among party leaders, as Mr Achakzai supports the multi-party coalition and its policies.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2022