PESHAWAR, March 28: The NWFP chapter of the National Awami Party Pakistan has expelled its central president, Ajmal Khan Khattak, for bringing a shameful defeat to the party during the October elections and showing a disinterest in other organizational affairs.

The NAPP provincial working council, that met here on Thursday at the residence of NAPP provincial chief Arbab Ayub Jan, took a serious notice of Mr Khattak’s stance on party’s merger with the Awami National Party and termed this move unacceptable.

NAPP secretary general Latif Afridi, Shakir Buneri, Dr Saleem Khan and other central leaders opposed the merger of the NAPP with the ANP and criticized their central president for trying to mortgage the NAPP with the ANP leadership.

Arbab Ayub Jan told the party council that Mr Khattak was not ready to go along with them after the rejection of his proposal of party’s merger with the ANP. “Mr Khattak wants to merge their party with the ANP for which he had held several meetings with Khan Abdul Wali Khan and others at Wali Bagh. He never bothered to take us in confidence on this sensitive issue”.

The NAPP leaders had formed a four-member committee to run the party in the absence of its central president. They also decided to hold election for the president’s slot after two months.

The council also formed another six-member committee to hold talks with the like-minded parties and groups on common programme and pave a way for political alliance with nationalist forces.

The rebel group wanted to manage an alliance or merger with the Pakistan People’s Party (Sherpao), said Mr Khattak followers.

On the other hand, Mr Khattak conceded that he had told Arbab Ayub Jan and his likes that he could not go along further with them. He said no one could remove him from the party post. “How a tiny group can dare to expel me from my post. The provincial meeting convened by Latif Afridi and Arbab Ayub Jan held no power to do this”, he added.

He said he had convened a meeting of all the five provincial presidents and members of central executive council to look into the unconstitutional stance of Latif Afridi group.