PTI kicks out Buzdar, Khusro Bakhtiar, 20 others

ISLAMABAD: In yet another move, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Tuesday terminated the basic party membership of 22 ‘deserters’ from south Punjab, including former chief minister Punjab Usman Buzdar and ex-federal minister Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar.

PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan issued the termination notice of the ‘deserters’, which would come into effect immediately. A few days back, the party had resorted to the same measure against 22 PTI members, including ex-chief minister KP Mahmood Khan and some former ministers for deviating from the party policies and parting ways with it, following the May 09 incident.

The PTI members from south Punjab whose membership was terminated included Sardar Muhammad Khan Leghari, Syed Nadeem Zaman Shah, Ehtisham ul Haq Laleka, Prince Bahawal Khan Abbasi, Sabeen Gul, Usman Buzdar, Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Mian Shafi Muhammad, Syed Muhammad Asghar Shah, Mian Tariq Abdullah, Muhammad Akhtar Malik and Muhammad Afzal.

The party also expelled Ehsan ul Haq, Javed Akhtar Ansari, Saleem Akhtar Labar, Muhammad Zaheer ud Din Khan Alizai, Farooq Azam Malik, Salman Khan Gadoka, Akram Kanu, Mohiyuddin Solangi, Makhdoom Afqar ul Hassan and Raja Muhammad Saleem.

The notification reads: “Now, you are served with this notice of termination of your basic membership from PTI. You are directed to refrain from using party name, designation and/or membership in any manner whatsoever, failing which the party reserves to take action against you which may also lead to legal action”.

Meanwhile, PTI strongly rejected the ‘unbearable escalation’ in petrol, diesel and LPG prices and said that it would add to the miseries of poverty-stricken and inflation-ridden masses, who were crushed by the criminal rulers under the burden of back-breaking inflation.

The PTI spokesman said that the ‘puppet and inept government’ opened the floodgate of inflation that would result in fueling poverty, hunger and making cost of living beyond the manageable level before the end of its tenure.

He said that in the wake of skyrocketing prices of electricity and gas, the increase in prices of petrol, diesel and LPG would trigger a tsunami of inflation in the country.

The PTI spokesman said that the cost of production would witness an extraordinary upsurge due to the recent massive increase in fuel prices, adding that the unbearable cost escalation would completely cripple the already paralyzed economy.

He recalled that before the regime change conspiracy, petrol was available at Rs150 per litre but this fascist government escalated petrol price by over 80% during the last 16 months. The PTI spokesman stated that flour was available at Rs78 per kg in March 2022; however, its price witnessed an alarming increase and surged to 170 per kg in July 2023.

Similarly, he said that in March 2022, sugar was available at Rs80 per kg, which is sold at Rs170 per kg now, adding that ghee, which was available at Rs300 per kg in March 2022, witnessed two-fold increase in its price and rose to Rs650 in July 2023.

The PTI spokesperson said in March 2022, electricity was available to the public at Rs14 per unit but its price was increased by three and a half times and had now surged to Rs50 per unit.

Likewise, he went on to say that in the last 16 months, rupee depreciated alarmingly against the dollar and dropped from Rs179 to 287.

Meanwhile, PTI Central Information Secretary Raoof Hasan said the ‘government of thieves’ was making all-out efforts to remove PTI Chairman Imran Khan from their path but it would be an unnatural act, which would not be acceptable to the people of the country.

In a statement, the PTI leader said that in the ‘government of robbers, murderers and merchants’, the existence of a tall and internationally respected figure like Imran Khan was unacceptable to the corrupt elite.