In violation of the Political Parties Act 2002 – which prohibits public office holders from holding positions in political parties simultaneously – almost all senior leaders of PTI succeeded in securing important positions in the government while still retaining offices within the party.

“The holders of elected public offices shall not hold any political party office, or where a holder of an elected public office was already holding a party office at the time of his appointment to a public office, s/he shall relinquish the party office before joining such public office,” reads the text of the act.

The public offices for which it is mandatory to resign from party portfolios include the offices of the president of Pakistan, prime minister, governor, chief minister of a province, chairman senate, speaker, deputy speaker, federal minister, minister of state, provincial minister, advisor, special assistant to prime minister or chief minister and holders of other elective executive offices as may be modified by the federal government, it adds.

“The issue is under consideration, but so far it seems the party’s provincial leadership is not willing to relinquish their party posts,” admitted PTI Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Secretary Information Aqeel Razzaq.

He added it was also against the party’s constitution for a member to hold dual offices at the same time and PTI Chairman Imran Khan will take action in this regard soon. Razzaq revealed several PTI leaders have started lobbying to contest intra-party elections for the positions, which may soon be vacated by elected officials.

However, when questioned about the violation of the Political Parties Act, Razzaq argued other political parties’ public office holders were also violating the Constitution by holding dual offices.

Presently, K-P Chief Minister Pervez Khattak holds PTI’s central general secretary office, while K-P Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser is also serving as PTI’s provincial president.

Furthermore, information and health minister Shaukat Ali Yousafzai is the provincial general secretary of PTI, revenue minister Ali Amin Gandapur is PTI’s southern region president, public health minister Shah Farman is the party’s central deputy information secretary and elementary education minister Atif Khan serves as the PTI’s Peshawar region president.

New assignments: 10 lawmakers made advisors, assistants 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2013.

“CNG stations will remain closed till 6am today (Sunday) due to a technical fault in the main gas pipeline,” said the local chairman of the All Pakistan CNG Association, Pervez Khattak.

Long queues of vehicles were seen waiting for the resumption of gas supply at filling stations, whereas transporters who had enough gas in their vehicles turned the situation to their favour by fleecing commuters with higher fares.

On Ring Road, Suzuki van drivers were charging Rs10 from commuters instead of the normal fare of Rs5 per stop, while on University Road there were hardly any public transport buses and wagons available.

“I couldn’t catch a bus, rickshaw or taxi though I was ready to pay thrice as much. After waiting for more than an hour at Saddar Stadium I had to walk home,” said resident Taimur Khan.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2013.

Shaukat Yousafzai

Considered the most influential figure of Pakistan Tehreek Insaf’s (PTI) provincial chapter, Yousafzai has been awarded the information and health ministries. Born on February 1, 1963 in Bisham Qilla, Shangla district, Yousafzai has a BSc degree in Agriculture from Agriculture University Peshawar along with a professional background in journalism. He has been the chief editor of Daily Surkhab since 2001.

Yousafzai joined PTI in 1996 and unsuccessfully contested the 1997 general elections from Shangla. Before emerging as PTI’s provincial general secretary in the intra-party elections held in February, he acted as PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s political advisor and convener of the PTI K-P organising committee.

Shah Farman

Shah Farman took oath as the Minister for Public Health. He is widely regarded as the most vocal person of PTI in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Born in March 1965 in Badhaber, Peshawar, Farman has a bachelor’s degree in law from Khyber Law College and is one of the founding members of PTI. Like Shaukat Yousafzai, he has been elected member of provincial assembly for the first time.  Farman joined the party in 1996, and since then, has been appointed on various important party slots including district Peshawar general secretary, district Peshawar president, provincial joint secretary, provincial secretary information and political advisor to PTI chief Imran Khan. Farman is believed to be a close aid of PTI provincial president and newly-elected assembly speaker Asad Qaiser.

Sirajul Haq

The JI’s central deputy chief is a seasoned politician from Upper Dir. He was senior provincial minister in the MMA government and is now the party’s parliamentary leader in the K-P Assembly. Haq has been inducted as the Minister of Finance in the PTI-led government.

Sikandar Sherpao

The QWP’s provincial president has secured victory from Charsadda for the third consecutive time. Sherpao is also the QWP’s parliamentary leader in the K-P Assembly and has been inducted as Minister for Irrigation, Power and Energy. He is the son of QWP chief Aftab Ahmad Sherpao.

Habibur Rahman

After winning from Buner on a JI ticket, Rahman has been given the zakat and ushr portfolio in the provincial cabinet. He was elected as an MPA on a JI ticket in 2002, and belongs to an influential political family from the area.

Shahram Khan Tarakai

Former district nazim in Swabi, Tarakai is now the provincial president of the Awami Jamhori Ittehad Pakistan (AJIH), a Swabi-based political party. He has been sworn in as agriculture minister and belongs to a well-known industrialist family in
the area.

Ali Amin Gandapur

Hailing from DI Khan, Gandapur won the PK-64 constituency on a PTI ticket and is the party’s president for the province’s southern region. Gandapur belongs to an influential political family in the region. His father, major (retd) Aminullah Gandapur, was a caretaker cabinet member in former president Pervez Musharraf’s tenure.

Israrullah Khan Gandapur

Hailing from Kulachi, DI Khan, Israrullah Gangapur was elected MPA from PK-67 (DI Khan-IV) as an independent candidate. He later joined PTI and has now been given the Law and Parliamentary Affairs ministry. Being the son of the then NWFP chief minister Sardar Inayatullah Gandapur, Israrullah also served as a member of provincial assembly in 2002 and 2008.

Yousaf Ayub Khan

Yousaf Ayub Khan has been awarded the Communication and Works portfolio. Born in August 1963 in Haripur, he has been active in politics since 1988 and was elected member of the provincial assembly for the third time in the 2013 general elections. Having an influential political background, Ayub has served as District Nazim Harripur and provincial education minister of PML-N from 1997 till 1999. He joined PTI in 2012 and is currently a member of PTI’s regional steering committee.

Mahmood Khan

Hailing from Matta in Swat, Mehmood Khan was elected from PK-84 (Swat-V) and has now been inducted into the provincial cabinet as Minister for Higher Education. Previously, Khan’s family was associated with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). However, soon after the 2008 elections, they joined PTI. Since then, Khan has remained an enthusiastic activist of the party. In the 2005 local body elections, he was elected Union Council (UC) Nazim of Kharerai, Matta. Earlier, his brother Ahmad Khan was elected UC Nazim in the 2001 local body elections.

Khan has an MSc degree in agriculture; his family has vast farm lands and is considered one of the influential landlords of Matta.

Bakht Baidar Khan

The QWP stalwart is the party’s general secretary. He belongs to Chakdara in Malakand, and was sworn in as Minister for Labour and Industry.

Ibrar Hussain Tanoli

Tanoli was elected to the K-P Assembly for the first time on a QWP ticket. Hailing from Mansehra, he is a businessman engaged in transport and timber sectors. As far as his political background is concerned, Tanoli is a newcomer. He has been given the forestry portfolio in the new cabinet.

Muhammad Atif

Known as ‘little Imran’ in PTI circles because of his resemblance to the party’s chief, Atif has been allotted the elementary education portfolio. He is the regional president of PTI and has been elected as an MPA from PK-30 (Mardan-VIII) for the first time. He has an MBA degree and also owns a pharmaceutical company.

Inayatullah

Previously holding the position of health minister in the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) government on a JI ticket, Inayatullah has now been sworn in as minister for local government in the newly formed cabinet. An active political worker, he comes from Upper Dir.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2013.

PESHAWAR: After much fanfare, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-eIslami (JI) have finally reached an agreement over the much coveted education ministry in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) cabinet.

“JI has accepted the request of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, over ministry of education in the provincial cabinet on the condition that certain recommendations put forward by us for the promotion of education in K-P will be incorporated,” said JI central Deputy Chief and K-P Senior Minister Sirajul Haq.

Addressing a press conference at Chief Minister house late on Tuesday, the two coalition partners announced that they had reached a compromise over the ministry allotments.

Flanked by PTI provincial information secretary and deputy parliamentary leader in K-P Shuakat Yousafzai, and JI’s Shabbir Ahmad, Sirajul Haq informed that “the ruling PTI government had earlier reached an agreement to give three departments to JI, including finance, education and Zakat & Ushr in the provincial cabinet.”

However, the PTI chairman had requested their coalition government partners to let the education ministry remain with the ruling party. “We honoured the request of PTI chief and have settled for the local government,” Haq announced. He revealed that the PTI had also the offered the ministry of communication and works to sweeten the deal, but the JI refused this.

PTI though still had to agree to certain conditions of the JI for retaining the education ministry.  Yousufzai said that the PTI had agreed to consult the JI and other coalition partners before finalising education syllabus in the province. Among other JI recommendations were establishing a joint commission for framing policies in the education sector.

Yousafzai said that the speculations in media about differences between the coalition partners were totally wrong, adding that there was no such issue between them. He added that the PTI-led coalition government was on same page, and would jointly work for elimination of terrorism, establishment of sustainable peace, and eradication of corruption in the province.

He furthermore said that the government would take steps for the creation of job opportunities and attracting local and foreign investments. He informed that the foreign investors were showing their willingness to invest in energy sector, which could helpful to address the growing shortages of electricity in the province.

Yousafzai informed that the 12 members of the K-P cabinet would take oath on Thursday, June 14. When asked about the finalisation of names of ministries, he replied that the final decision would be taken on Wednesday in a meeting of coalition partners.

Responding to a question about presentation of K-P budget, Haq said that the ministry of finance had proposed the date of June 17 but a formal date would be announced after consulting with the Speaker of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.

The alarm was raised by a frightening increase in water levels in Kabul River which caused the embankments in Jamat, Charsadda to give way.

When contacted, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Emergency Operation Centre Communication Officer Ilyas Khan said the water level at Kabul River on Saturday was recorded at 103,000 cusecs, indicating medium-intensity floods. High-level floods start from 134,000 cusecs, he added.

“We are vigilantly tracking water levels, and would issue an early flood warning if there is a possibility of a high-intensity flood,” claimed Ilyas.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Meteorological Office Director Mushtaq Ali Shah told The Express Tribune due to rising temperatures, glaciers in Malakand division – which includes Upper and Lower Dir, Swat, and Chitral – are melting at a rapid speed. This is causing rivers Swat, Panjkora, Chitral, Balakot and Kabul to swell, explained Shah.

However, the director refuted any possibility of major floods; levels will gradually return to normal from June 15 to June 20. “Kabul River will return to standard water levels after June 15 as the mercury drops in hilly areas of Malakand division,” he claimed.

“From June 15, the River Indus water levels will gradually increase as glaciers in the Northern Areas, including Gilgit, will start melting,” added Shah.

When asked about the imminent monsoon season, which starts roughly in mid June and lasts till the end of August, Director Shah said the rain will bring no possibility of major floods in K-P.

“The relevant departments hold coordination meetings to assess flood-related scenarios after every 15 days. District administrations, Provincial Disaster Management Authority, Irrigation and Met departments are fully prepared to deal with any untoward situation.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2013.

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) office bearers in the city have asked the party’s central leadership to make decisions on merit while distributing provincial ministries.

In a hastily called meeting chaired by PTI Peshawar General Secretary Younas Zaheer Mohmand on Monday, party office bearers asked appropriate representation be given to MPAs elected from the city in the provincial cabinet. At the meeting, several PTI activists raised concerns and questioned the party’s policy in nominating female candidates on reserved seats.

“We believe the Peshawar district party cabinet has been ignored and was not taken on board in making important decisions pertaining to the formation of the cabinet,” said PTI district Senior Vice President Malak Wajidullah Khan. “No female activist was considered for reserved seats from Peshawar.” The senior vice president informed PTI office bearers a committee, which would shortlist the names of candidates contesting the local body elections, would soon be formed at the district level.

Gul Bacha, PTI town-1 president and aspiring candidate for NA-1 Peshawar-I in the by-elections, also urged the central leadership to give female activists from the city representation. He suggested selecting a women party worker would help address concerns of the women’s wing.

“Imran Khan has promised a female activist based in Peshawar will be adjusted in the government,” General Secretary Younas Zaheer revealed. He asked the central leadership to give the local body ministry to an MPA elected from the city.

The general secretary informed, candidates for local body elections would be decided solely by the district-based leadership. The central leadership, including Imran Khan, Asad Umar and Saifullah Niazi, have already agreed it should be the right of the district leadership to shortlist candidates for the local body elections, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 4^th, 2013.

“There is tough competition between the newly-elected MPAs within inner circles as they all want to secure a position for themselves in the provincial cabinet,” said a senior PTI leader, wishing anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media. “The party’s central leadership has held several consultative meetings with the provincial leadership to form a consensus over the cabinet but little progress has been made. Powerful party leaders are jostling to induct their own favourites in the cabinet.”

According to a power-sharing formula proposed by the PTI to facilitate the formation of the provincial government, the party will get eight ministerial slots out of a total 15. Three ministries each will be given to coalition partners Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) while one minister will be inducted from the Awami Jamhuri Ittehad Pakistan (AJIP).

So far, a consensus has been reached on Shaukat Yousafzai as the information minister, Atif Khan as health minister, Ali Amin Gandapur as finance minister and Amjid Afridi as the special assistant to the chief minister on housing.

Owing to their past experience, the coalition partners were quick to nominate candidates for the cabinet.  The PTI, on the other hand, is yet to make any formal announcement.

Decision making for the PTI has been tricky, especially with the inclusion of eight independent candidates who are also eyeing ministerial slots. Insiders claim independent MPA Israrullah Gandapur, who recently joined the PTI, could be given law ministry.

Additionally, names of other PTI aspirants looking to lay claim to cabinet positions are also cropping up. These include Shah Farman, Ziaullah Afridi, Sardar Idress, Shakil Khan, Mehmood Khan, Dr Amjad, and Dr Mehr Taj Roghani. However, it remains unclear who will end up with a ministry.

Previously, Yusuf Ayub, Yaseen Khalil, Javed Nasim, Arif Yousaf and Imtiaz Shahid were being considered for cabinet positions. According to party sources, however, these names are no longer in the running.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 2^nd, 2013.

The Election Commission of Pakistan issued a list of names of women elected on reserved seats in both the provincial and National Assembly on Tuesday. The PTI has 14 members on the list.

However, senior female activists have alleged the tickets were either issued to close relatives of the senior leadership or to a select few members.

Former information secretary of the PTI’s provincial womens wing, Esmat Ara Khattak, told The Express Tribune, “Even though the party had secured enough seats to be able to adjust older party workers in the assemblies, the leadership favoured their relatives and friends by selecting them on the reserved seats.”

She alleged Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser ignored senior female PTI leaders.

The PTI had named Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak for the National Assembly reserved seat for women. She is the elected general secretary of the party’s K-P women’s wing and is also Pervaiz Khattak’s sister-in-law. Sajida Begum is another PTI member named for a reserved seat in the National Assembly. She is Pervaiz Khattak’s niece and was not very well known within PTI circles before her nomination.

Ayesha Gulalai, another MNA named by the PTI, joined the party seven months ago after resigning from the All Pakistan Muslim League FATA chapter. A PTI insider requesting anonymity said Gulalai was only named for the NA seat because she was on good terms with PTI K-P President Asad Qaiser.

Mussarat Ahmad Zeb was another lesser-known member nominated for an NA seat. Zeb hails from Nowshera and is the daughter-in-law of Wali Swat. She joined the party in March.

“The PTI’s leadership has also violated merit in presenting names for female reserved seats for the provincial assembly,” said PTI Peshawar Town-1 women’s wing president Dr Saiqa.

Out of 10 MPAs on reserved seats, five have been selected from Mardan and Swabi, she alleged, adding female activists who had worked hard during the election campaign to get votes from women had been ignored completely for reserved seats.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2013.

The committee will probe means to enable the implementation of plans developed to improve education, health, local government, planning and development, energy and power sectors.

The committee will be headed by PTI chief Imran Khan and will consist of handpicked members including Asad Umar, Jahangir Tarren, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Javed Hashmi, Asad Qaiser, Pervaiz Khattak and Atif Khan.

It was further learnt former Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairperson Attaur Rehman and PTI Senior Vice President Ishaq Khan Khakwani may also be included in the group.

“The committee is supposed to work as a liaison body. It will coordinate with the provincial government and administration, giving advice on various development plans to be executed according to the party’s manifesto,” said someone familiar with the matter.

The members will have more powers as compared to elected MPAs as far as planning and initiating developmental projects are concerned, he informed, adding the members would also play a key role in suggesting reforms in various provincial government departments.

When contacted, PTI Peshawar President Atif Khan, a member of the said committee, confirmed the formation of the body. Atif stated the committee had been constituted in order to fully ensure the implementation of PTI’s development plans for the province, as previously pledged to the people.

In response to a question, the district president said PTI’s decision making was not centric as suggestions from party members were always welcomed.

Earlier, Awami National Party Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) President Afrasiab Khattak had criticised the PTI’s central leadership for its involvement in provincial matters, alleging important decisions regarding K-P would now be imposed from PTI’s leadership sitting in Punjab.

However, when contacted, K-P PTI Secretary Information Aqeel Razzaq said in response that people would judge the party by its performance as opposed to who made decisions when it went to the polls again in five years.

“PTI has competent people in every field, and it is our right to utilise their experience in the interest of the province,” Razzaq maintained.

He further added it was the party’s utmost priority to deliver what it pledged to the people. “We cannot take any risks. If the PTI fails to deliver in K-P, there will be no justification in asking people to vote for us in five years.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26^th, 2013.

“A committee has been formed, chaired by former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) chief minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti to discuss ANP’s participation in the by-polls,” the statement said. ANP will not step back from elections and leave the field open for political rivals, it further read.

Prior to the statement being issued, ANP K-P President Senator Afrasiab Khattak alleged in a meeting of the party’s provincial cabinet that foreign elements were involved in covert efforts to prevent the party from carrying out its election campaign.

“From March 30 till May 11, a total of 31 attacks were carried out against the ANP, killing 62 workers,” Khattak said.

He claimed his party had found strong evidence of security officials and returning officers interfering in the polling process and trying to rig the elections in favour of specific parties.

“Despite widespread irregularities, our central leadership has accepted the result for the sake of continuing the democratic process,” the senator said.

Khattak further added the fact-finding committee, formed earlier to investigate ANP’s defeat, will present its findings within two months, following which, action will be taken against those found responsible.

The leader also promised action against those activists who had opposed the party’s nominated candidates during the election campaign.

Several diehard ANP workers who could not succeed in getting party tickets such as Abdullah Baitani from NA-41, Nisar Mohamand and Gul Nawaz Khan from NA-36, Imran Mohmand from PK-27 and Atifur Rehman from PK-5 had contested elections independently against ANP candidates, leaving a bulk of activists disgruntled.

Talking about internal differences regarding the leadership of the party’s president, Khattak said “ANP is united under Asfandyar Wali Khan’s leadership and those who are trying to create rifts within the party will not succeed.”

ANP achieved many successes during its tenure such as the 18th Constitutional Amendment, renaming the province and standing up to militants. Defending K-P caused the deaths of over 800 workers too, Khattak stated.

The cabinet members also decided to form the long overdue ANP Youth Wing within the next two months, with the first youth convention to be held in the city.

ANP Provincial Secretary Arbab Tahir Khan Khalil, Provincial Secretary Information Malak Ghulam Mustafa, the fact-finding committee chairperson and its members Bashir Khan Matta, Haroon Bilour, Sardar Hussain Babak and Mian Iftikhar Hussain were all present at the cabinet meeting.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd, 2013.