PPP suspends its Rawalpindi office-bearers for meeting Khadim Rizvi

PPP maintains no official delegation was sent to the Tehreek-e-Labbaik's Faizabad sit-in

KARACHI: The Pakistan People's Party on Saturday suspended its Rawalpindi office-bearers who met firebrand cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik at the latter's Faizabad Interchange sit-in.

Sajid Umar, the general secretary of the PPP Rawalpindi, deputy general secretary Banaras Chaudhry and Sheikh Hameed, a prominent PYO leader, were seen with Rizvi at Faizand Chowk.



Around 2,500 members of the Tehreek Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYR), led by Khadim Rizvi have been camping on Faizabad, the main road into Islamabad, for more than 10 days, hampering the movement of traffic to and from the capital city.

Responding to the meet-up, PPP Vice President Sherry Rehman first tweeted that the office-bearers had been served show-cause notices. Later, she wrote that they had been suspended.

In fact, they have been suspended https://t.co/OgEyj93g2J

— SenatorSherryRehman (@sherryrehman) November 18, 2017

A spokesperson for the PPP maintained that the party had not sent an official delegation to the sit-in and the Rawalpindi office-bearers had met Rizvi on their own.

Sources told The Express Tribune that Sajid Umar and Banaras Chaudhry were served notices on Bilawal Bhutto's directives as their  actions were not in line with the PPP's ideology and narrative.



On November 16, Justice Siddiqui passed two orders on two petitions pertaining to the sit-in. The court summoned the Inspector General of Police (IGP), chief commissioner and deputy commissioner to appear in person along with a report revealing “what preventive measures were taken to lead the protesters, dharna to the designated place”.