PTI terminates Pervez Khattak’s party membership

The PTI on Wednesday terminated the basic party membership of its former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Pervez Khattak after he failed to respond to a show-cause notice that sought an explanation for “inciting” members to leave the party.

The termination letter, shared by the PTI on Twitter, said Khattak had not provided a “satisfactory reply within the given stipulated time” to the notice issued to him regarding “contacting party members and inciting them to leave the party”.

“Now, therefore, you are served with this notice of termination from your basic membership of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf,” it stated, adding that Khattak had been terminated with “immediate effect”.

The show-cause notice — issued by party secretary general Omar Ayub Khan — was served to Khattak on June 21 and sought his reply within seven days.

“If your reply is unsatisfactory or you do not respond, further action will be taken against you as per the party’s policy and rules,” the notice said.

Khattak, who led the first government of PTI in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 2013 to 2018 and then served as defence minister in his party’s government in the centre, was made provincial president of the party following the ouster of its government.

Earlier this year, in light of the crackdown on the PTI after the violent protest on May 9 in the wake of Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest, Khattak had resigned from his party position during a press conference.

Last month, it was reported that the former chief minister had held several meetings with former PTI lawmakers including MPAs and MNAs besides other stalwarts to convince them to leave the party.

A senior party leader in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on the condition of anonymity, had told Dawn that the PTI chief had come to know about Khattak’s overtures to party members and said that those who could not bear pressure and arrest could leave the party.

However, he also took strong exception to Khattak’s efforts to lure other members into leaving PTI, he further said, adding, “This is the precise reason for which the show-cause notice has been issued to him.”