Zahir Shah decides to ignore show-cause notice

PESHAWAR: Pakistan People’s Party’s former provincial president Zahir Ali Shah said he has decided not to reply to the show-cause notice issued to him by the party leadership for violating its discipline.
“I was supposed to reply by June 25 at the end of the 10 days period after the issuance of the show-cause notice. I haven’t done it and don’t intend to do so,” he remarked when approached by The News for his comment.
Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians secretary general Raja Pervez Ashraf had issued the show-cause notice to Zahir Ali Shah for addressing a press conference in Peshawar in which he announced the party’s dissociation from the tripartite alliance with the Awami National Party (ANP) and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F). The show-notice noted that Zahir Ali Shah was in clear violation of the party’s line and policy. It directed him to explain his position within 10 days.
A copy of the show-cause notice was also sent to Makhoom Amin Fahim, the president of the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians, which has its own set of office-bearers than the PPP.Zahir Ali Shah, who served as health minister in the ANP-PPP coalition government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 2008-2013, said his family had 40-year association with the PPP and had been with it through thick and thin. “I want to stay in the party but should be allowed to highlight its shortcomings so that we could overcome the weaknesses and make it strong again,” he argued.
In reply to a question, Zahir Ali Shah said he stood by the views expressed by him in his June 14 press conference as he sincerely believed that PPP’s alliance with the ANP had harmed the party.
“I had opposed the electoral alliance with the ANP and JUI-F in the local government elections and I was proved right. Both ANP and JUI-F violated the agreement by putting up candidates against our nominees in many constituencies. The PPP leadership in the province failed to put up a good performance in these polls,” he stressed.
Zahir Ali Shah recalled that he was in favour of making electoral alliance with the PTI for the local polls in Peshawar district but the party leadership opposed it. He said the PPP would have fared better if it had made an alliance with the PTI.
He added that the PPP provincial president Khanzada Khan in a recent interview with The News expressed the same views that prompted the party leadership to issue show-cause notice to him. “Khanzada Khan said the ANP cheated the PPP in the local government polls. I was issued show-cause notice for saying similar things. I feel the PPP workers have the same views,” he maintained.