PTI suspends senior London members for dissension

LONDON: Following the failure of two factions of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) in Britain to resolve their internal differences, disciplinary action in the form of a formal suspension was taken against the group headed by former PTI co-ordinator Rabia Zia, The News learnt Sunday.
According to sources, the group headed by Rabia Zia and her team refused to recognise the newly elected body ñ headed by Asim Khan ñ after officer bearers were chosen in a controversial intra-party election at the end of January earlier in the year.
Reports revealed that differences between the two factions reached such a level that head of the Committee for Disciplinary Affairs PTI UK, solicitor Shahid Dastgir Khan, was forced to impose ìdisciplinary sanctionsî against Rabia Zia and her team.
Dastagir confirmed to The News that the measures taken have resulted in the “immediate suspension” of Rabia Ziaís group for a period of one year ending April 12 2013.
The PTI solicitor explained that the Disciplinary Committee had adopted an open door policy by providing ample time and every opportunity to all party members facing allegations of serious breaches of code of conduct. “Regrettably, the committee received no response in their defence from Rabia Zia or any of her team members, and therefore in order to maintain and uphold discipline within the party there was no option but to suspend these individuals,” Dastagir maintained Sunday.
Before the election, Rabia Zia, a former PTI UK co-ordinator and a very effective campaigner, had objected to the fact that hundreds of PTI members were not given the right to vote by the leadership in Pakistan which had implemented a decision whereby members who were registered prior to April 2011 were eligible to vote but not those who joined the party after that date.
An online petition and e-mail campaign failed to persuade PTI’s Central Executive Council (CEC) to postpone the election or accommodate the views of more than 600 activists who were all excluded from the election process. Following the election of the new body, the group led by Rabia Zia began conducting its own campaigning and fundraising events. The newly elected group alleged that she did not even hand over any official party papers, and continued to control the party accounts.
Muhammad Bin Qasim from the accused group termed the letters issued by Dastagir as “null and void,” saying they had been sent in the latterís “personalî and not official capacity.
“We sent Mr Dastagir’s letters to CEC members in Pakistan and we were asked to ignore them and not even respond to them,î maintained Qasim. ìSo they can claim whatever they like but the fact is that since the so-called elected body has been unable to deliver, they are resorting to issuing ad hoc letters to attract attention in the media,” he accused.
When contacted for his opinion, UK-based PTI veteran Amjad Khan regretted the split in the party and said it was important for all members to respect decisions of the party leadership and act in the best interests of the PTI in order to truly honour and uphold the party’s reputation. He also added that the efforts were underway to bridge the differences between the two groups to avoid further bad blood.
Asim Khan, the president of the PTI’s London chapter, told The News that following the issuance of notice by Dastagir, Rabia Zia and her group had failed to represent themselves, and ìtherefore the decision to suspend Rabia Zia and her team membership for a year has been recommended by the committee and [the] UK elected body has endorsed that decision.”
According to sources, relations between the two groups have soured to such an extent that a protest was planned against Dr Arif Alvi by dissident members outside an East London hall two weeks ago where he was due to address the new units. However at the last minute Dr Alvi cancelled his UK trip altogether.