PTM denies expelling Mohsin Dawar, Wazir

Official says they are a movement, cannot be used as a platform to run for elections

PESHAWAR: The Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) on Monday denied reports that it had expelled two of its senior leaders –Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir – for opting to contest the upcoming elections.



Speaking to The Express Tribune, PTM leader Muhammad Bilal confirmed that while the two have not been expelled from the movement, their membership of the core committee had been suspended.

“We have only suspended their core committee membership. It does not mean the party has expelled them,” he added.

Apart from Dawar and Wazir, Bilal said that the core committee memberships of Abdullah Nangial and Abdul Waheed have also been suspended.

Explaining the move, Bilal claimed that since the PTM was apolitical movement, it had barred its members from using the platform to contest the upcoming elections.



While Waheed is no longer contesting elections, Dawar is vying for NA-48 North Waziristan, Wazir is running for NA-50 South Waziristan and Nangial for NA-51 frontier regions.

Earlier in the day, the returning officer for South Waziristan district issued a notification allowing political parties and aspiring lawmakers of NA-49 and NA-50 to hold campaign processions.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2018.