‘Sale’ of votes in Senate: PTI MPAs demand apology from Imran, Khattak

NOWSHERA: The 17 lawmakers belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who were accused by the party leadership of selling votes in the Senate election rejected the show-cause notices issued to them and asked Imran Khan and Chief Minister Pervez Khattak to tender an apology for defaming them.

Speaking at a press conference, members of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Qurban Ali Khan, Wajeehuzaman, Yasin Khalil, Abdul Haq, Javed Naseem, Obaidullah Mayar, Naseem Hayat, Nargis Bibi and Nagina Khan said Imran Khan should not make them scapegoat for his desire to become the prime minister.

They warned to bring the facts to light if the PTI chief Imran Khan did not tender apology to them for accusing them of indulging in horse-trading and causing them embarrassment. “Tender apology before it’s too late,” said one of the lawmakers.

They said that they would challenge the accusation against them in the court if the PTI leaders did not tender an apology to them. They asked the Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar to take suo motu notice of the situation and the award of PTI tickets to candidates for contesting the Senate election.

The legislators alleged the PTI sold party tickets for Senate election to candidates for Rs400 million. They demanded a judicial probe into the award of PTI tickets to Senate candidates. They questioned as to why Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was not given the Senate chairmanship.

The lawmakers asked Imran Khan to also explain as to why he was making the people and elected representatives from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa scapegoats in the hope to win election and form the government in Punjab.

“Imran Khan should tell the people how much money he received for selling the votes of the PTI senators for supporting Mir Sadiq Khan Sanjrani’s candidature for the chairman Senate,” said Qurban Ali Khan who hosted the meeting of the dissident lawmakers in Nowshera.

He alleged that the MPAs who sold votes in the Senate election belonged to the Pervez Khattak group in the party and asked the chief minister to step-down. The lawmakers also announced to support the likely no confidence move of the opposition parties in the provincial assembly against Pervez Khattak. They alleged that Pervez Khattak had sold and purchased votes in the Senate election.

The MPAs also made allegation of corruption in theBus Rapid Transit (BRT) and claimed that the cost of the project had jumped to Rs70 billion. Naseem Hayat, who was elected MPA on seat reserved for women, claimed that PTI paid her money during the Senate polls. He said Pervez Khattak should explain as to why he gave her money. “He distributed money among the PTI MPAs at the Chief Minister House,” she alleged.

She said the MPAs who were issued show-cause notices were targeted for criticising and highlighting the corruption and nepotism by Pervez Khattak. She also accused him of ignoring diehard party workers.

The MPAs said that Pervez Khattak misled Imran Khan over the horse-trading issue and caused serious damage to the party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They also announced quitting the party in the coming few days and said this would cause serious damage to the party in the province.