PTI suspends basic party membership of Khan

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehrik-e-insaf (PTI) has suspended the basic party membership of one of its founding members and senior lawyer Hamid Khan and issued to him a show cause notice for “defaming and maligning” the party through his statements on print and electronic media.

Reacting to it, Khan said the prime minister has gathered around him mafias and the PTI was not what it used to be in the beginning.

The show cause notice has been issued by PTI secretary general Amir Mehmood Kiyani, asking Khan to explain his position in writing within seven days.

Khan, a member of the team which had written the PTI’S first constitution, invited the wrath of the party leadership when he accused the party of playing into the hands of the “establishment” during a TV show recently.

Khan has previously too criticised the leadership for accepting turncoats in the party, stating that such inductions would damage the basic ideology of the party.

“It has been noted by the undersigned and Chairman of the party Imran Khan that you have repeatedly, in the print and electronic media, spoken against and maligned/defamed the party without any justification, and on the basis of fake and false allegations which amount to mala fide,” says the show cause notice issued to Khan and released to the media by the PTI’S Central Media Department.

Through the notice, Khan has been “charged with having committed misconduct, violated party discipline and party constitution by making fake, false, frivolous and wrong allegations, bringing the party matters in the media for ulterior motives and thereby acting against party interest and also hurting feelings of party members and workers.

“In view thereof, your behaviour has badly damaged the cause of the party and attracted a bad image of the party, within the country and outside the country,” says the notice, adding: “You are hereby given a show cause notice to explain your position in writing within seven days as to why action should not be taken against you” under the party constitution, which included expulsion from the party.

Suspending the basic members of Khan with immediate effect “till the final decision” of inquiry, the PTI secretary general has also barred him from “speaking, commenting on media (electronic, print and social) against party matters and policy decisions of the party and also against members of PTI.”

Khan claimed that he had not received any formal notice from the party and had only seen it on the media.