ISLAMABAD: The PTI has suspended the membership of Sher Afzal Marwat, a firebrand party leader who was elected to the National Assembly in the Feb 8 polls, after a meeting between incarcerated party founder Imran Khan and the top leadership in Adiala Jail, Dawn has learnt.

Sources said the PTI leaders met Imran Khan on Thursday where the decision regarding Mr Marwat was taken. “A formal statement would be issued on Friday (today) in this regard,” the party sources added.

They claimed that Mr Marwat was constantly violating the party discipline and over the past month, he had made several statements criticising the party leaders and in one statement he purportedly made “derogatory remarks” about the party founder. “During the meeting with Imran Khan, it was agreed that no leader is above the party and all other leaders would face the same fate if they crossed the party line,” they added.

It may be noted that MNA Sher Afzal Marwat was removed from the PTI core and political committees in May by Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan on the order of Imran Khan after he made a controversial statement regarding the alleged involvement of Saudi Arabia in the ouster of Imran Khan in April 2022. Imran Khan was removed from the PM’s office through a no-confidence motion by the joint opposition alliance.

The PTI MNA, known for stirring controversies, accused both the US and Saudi Arabia of conspiring to topple the PTI government. The PTI had publicly distanced itself from his remarks, while Mr Marwat had chalked them off as his personal opinion, though he continued to stick to them.

Likewise, Mr Marwat had also lashed out at the party bigwigs for what he called depriving him of the Public Accounts Committee chairmanship. He had alleged that Senate opposition leader Shibli Faraz was the person who informed Imran Khan about the Saudi ambassador raising reservations regarding his nomination for the apex parliamentary committee.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2024