Inside PTI: Women wing’s president refuses to replace provincial head

K-P women’s wing head Samina Abid was replaced by Mehar Taj Roghani in less than a month.

PESHAWAR: Rifts in the women’s wing of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf continue to widen as its central president on Sunday refused to change the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa women’s division head, in violation of a recently issued party notification.

PTI Women’s Wing Central President Munazza Hassan appointed Samina Abid the K-P president of the party’s women wing in June. However, within a month, another notification was issued, replacing Abid with Mehar Taj Roghani, who is the special assistant to the chief minister on social welfare.

Roghani’s appointment created differences among women leaders of the PTI, with Abid calling it a conspiracy against her. Abid claims that her opponents in the party attempted to suppress her and did not let her convene party meetings at her office. She added that the notification of Roghani’s appointment is “misleading.”

Central party president Hassan told The Express Tribune on Sunday that she was a member of the party’s constitution committee and she stands by the notification of Abid’s appointment. “Legally, only I can replace Abid because I am the elected president of the women’s wing. Roghani’s appointment is illegal and unconstitutional,” said Hassan. The central president maintained that since Roghani is serving as the special assistant to the CM she could not hold office in the party.

According to Hassan, the notification replacing Abid with Roghani did not have Imran Khan’s signature.

Meanwhile, Naeemul Haq, Imran Khan’s office in charge confirmed to The Express Tribune on July 9 that Abid was no longer K-P women’s wing president. “Roghani has been appointed on the directives of Chairman Imran Khan since he is the only one entitled to appoint officials until intra-party elections are held,” said Haq.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 21^st, 2014.