Horse-trading allegations: Imran told to apologise or face court action

Four MPAs term the allegations attempt by K-P CM of trying to protect his chosen ones

PESHAWAR: The ongoing crisis in the ruling party ever since the party leaders issued a list of 18 lawmakers who had allegedly indulged in horse-trading during last month’s Senate elections, came to a head on Monday when a group of provincial lawmakers included in the list warned the party chief to either issue a public apology or get ready to defend himself in court.

A group of four Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers, including one who had joined from the rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), held a news conference in Nowshera on Monday.

They warned PTI Chairman Imran Khan to withdraw his allegations and issue an apology within 15 days. Failing to do so, they warned that they would move the court against the party leadership and urged the chief justice of Pakistan to take suo motu action of against the PTI chief.

Provincial lawmakers including Qurban Ali Khan, Yasin Khalil, Wajiuz Zaman and Abdul Haq — who were all named in the list of lawmakers whom Imran had accused of selling their votes during the Senate elections — rejected allegations against them.

They went on to claim that the list was just a publicity stunt by Imran to support his flagging popularity.

Addressing the joint news conference at his Nowshera residence, PTI lawmaker Qurban claimed that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had protected his own people who sold their votes and had instead named them as scapegoats.

He went on to allege that Imran, for boosting his popularity in Punjab, had staged the drama of horse-trading in K-P.

Qurban then questioned why Imran had supported the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate for Senate chairman from Balochistan. He went on to claim that it was the right of K-P but Imran had deprived K-P of claiming the Senate chairman seat.

“Imran chooses wrong ways to gain popularity. We see that his future dark in the upcoming elections because by blaming others you cannot make someone successful,” he expressed.

The PTI MPA warned that unless the party leadership apologises and withdraws allegations leveled against them within 15 days, a Pandora’s Box would automatically open against them and the real scheme would be exposed.

Zaman disclosed that many people in the chief minister’s fold had sold their votes and he was now protecting them.

Haq rejected the allegations levelled against him by Imran and announced that he was resigning from his position as advisor of inter provincial coordination to the chief minister. 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 24^th, 2018.