QUETTA: Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai has expelled all the central executive committee (CEC) members and party leaders who attended the CEC meeting in Kuchlak on Wednesday convened by the sacked secretary general, Mukhtar Khan Yousafzai, and ruled out any reconciliation with them.

Speaking at a press conference at the party secretariat on Saturday along with PkMAP Vice Chairman Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal and other central leaders, Mr Achakzai also announced dissolution of the party’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa executive committee for allegedly participating in activities against the party’s constitution, and nominated an organising committee for running the affairs in KP.

“The party’s provincial presidents of Sindh and southern KP, their committees and the newly formed organising committee have been asked to expel all those who attended the unconstitutional Central Executive Committee meeting in Kuchlak,” Mr Achakzai announced.

He further said the basic memberships of PkMAP Balochistan Senior President Essa Roshan, Vice President Yousaf Khan Kakar, provincial secretary and MPA Nasrullah Zerey, provincial Labour Secretary Abdul Qadir Agha, Office Secretary Faqir Khushal Kasi and executive committee members from Sindh Afzal Khan, Watanyar, Siraj Afghan and Shafiq Tareen had been cancelled and they will have nothing to do with the party from Nov 26.

Dissolves party’s KP executive committee; says CEC members attended ‘unconstitutional’ meeting

“The party will also take action against MPA Zerey according to its constitution,” the party chairman said.

Earlier this week, after the party’s central committee meeting in Kuchlak, Mr Yousafzai had said the body termed the expulsion of senior leaders unconstitutional and against the spirit of the party’s principles. He had claimed he had convened the meeting using his constitutional powers as the secretary general of the party in which most members participated.

Mr Achakzai said on Saturday the central committee comprised163 members out of whom around 20 had passed away, and for a CEC meeting to be convened a majority is mandatory, but in the committee’s “illegal meeting” only 38 members were present. He said all the decisions taken and announced by the expelled secretary general and others had no legal status.

He further said the party had expelled all these members over violation of its national congress decisions taken in January. It had been decided that social media platform Facebook would not be used for party issues, but Mukhtar Yousafzai announced convening a CEC meeting through Facebook instead of talking to him directly. He also did nothing to reorganise the party’s student wing against the national body’s decision.

“I personally went to his home in the larger interest of the party to resolve all issues, but Mr Yousafzai continued violating the party decisions and convened the CEC meeting without consulting the party chairman,” Mr Achakzai said, claiming the ousted secretary general couldn’t call the meeting as he did not enjoy these powers under the party constitution.

He stressed that he and the party were “tolerating” the anti-party activities of the expelled members, but now action had been taken for the sake of survival and in the interest of the party.

Replying to a question, the PkMAP chief said, “I and the party will not hold talks with the expelled CEC members for at least five years.”

However, he said, if any expelled member apologised for his ‘wrong behaviour’ the party could reconsider its decision.

To another question, he suggested convening a roundtable conference for finding solutions to the economic and political crises being faced by the country. He was of the view that leaders of all parties and institutions, including Imran Khan, generals and economists, should sit together in the larger interest of the country that was passing through a serious crisis.

In response to another question, Mr Achakzai said Pakistan should not consider Afghanistan its fifth province, but as a neighbour and fellow Islamic country help resolve its problems.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2022