Expelled PTI MPA to propose PPP’s nominee

PESHAWAR: A member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly who won election on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ticket from the provincial capital is going to propose a candidate for Senate elections from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) today.
Javed Naseem confirmed to The News that he has signed the nomination form of Waqar Ahmad Khan as proposer.The lawmaker, elected from PK-3 Peshawar, has already been expelled from the party after he protested against PTI Chief Minister Pervez Khattak. He rebelled against the chief minister over alleged discrimination and took to the streets in October last. He had chanted slogans of ‘Go Khattak Go’ that had enraged the party leadership. He was expelled from the party the same month.
However, PTI General Secretary Khalid Masood said his basic membership of the party might have been restored. He said he would be able to confirm that today. “Javed Naseem had submitted an application repenting his actions and requesting for restoration of his basic membership. I think he has been restored but I am not sure,” he said, hurrying up to add he would confirm that today.
However, Javed Naseem did not mince words in saying that he had proposed Waqar Ahmad Khan as candidate for Senate polls. “Nothing stops me from that. I am free to propose him and I have done it,” he said. According to him, Waqar Ahmad is going to file his nomination papers today. Asked whether he would vote against the PTI in the Senate elections, he said hardly anyone would reveal for whom he would vote. “It’s a secret ballot and nobody announces in advance as to how he would vote,” he added.
Vote against the party direction could invoke article 63A of the Constitution that provides for disqualification of a lawmaker if he/she defects. Interestingly, the said article is silent on the issue if a lawmaker votes against the party direction in the Senate elections. The existence of grey area in article 63A could create problems for political parties, particularly for PTI which has been facing serious differences in its ranks. The party has a 14-member group of ‘likeminded’ lawmakers in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly that has opposed the party on several occasions. Currently, the group has serious issues with the party that led Speaker Asad Qaiser to postpone the assembly sitting on Monday in a rare move.
Khalid Masood also doubted that article 63A would apply to one who only proposes candidate from another party.Mehmood Jan, one of the ‘likeminded group’ said they would vote for the party candidate. But he clearly said they would not vote for any wrong candidate. He defined a wrong candidate as a person who lands in the party through parachute and gets a Senate ticket. “We will also not vote for Tarakai’s father if they did not formally join the PTI,” Mehmood Jan said.