Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) government continues to face challenges both in Punjab and KPK. Three senior leaders who were deprived of their respective offices in KPK have now decided to publicly discuss what went wrong. The ousted ministers allege that senior leaders sitting in Islamabad are conspiring against some minister of KPK.
Political commentators believe that the move is likely to be counterproductive for the PTI which is already battling in Punjab.
Abruptness of this action is shocking! PTI is proving itself incapable of handling intricacies of power politics! Youth brigades on Twitter will not be able to save this party, if these stupidities continued! https://t.co/8YCCR3SUYE
— Moeed Pirzada (@MoeedNj) January 26, 2020
Muhammad Atif Khan, who is among three ministers of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet sent packing by PM Imran Khan on Sunday, has claimed that Federal Minister for Defence Pervez Khattak was conspiring against him and does not want him to be a minister.
Talking in a TV show on Monday, Khan said that he and fellow former ministers Shahram Tarakai and Shakeel Ahmed were not conspiring against KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan. “How can we think of ousting a chief minister backed by PM Imran?” he said, adding that Pervez Khattak wanted other people in charge of their ministries.
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Speaking in the same show, Shakeel Ahmad said that they have never violated party discipline in seven years of their association with Imran Khan. He said that people should ask the reason for dismissal from those who ousted them. He added that he went to Hayatabad for a dinner and not a meeting, where Khan, Tarakai and a few other people were also present.
Tarakai, who was also present on the occasion, said that their stance was not even heard in this issue. He added that others benefited from their fights within the party, and no one listened to them when they emphasized on reform to improve governance.
Atif held the portfolio of the senior minister for sports, culture and tourism whereas Tarakai was the health minister and Shakeel held the revenue and estate portfolio.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday sought a report on the performance of the KP provincial cabinet.
In a statement, the premier said that every leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) whether he is a minister or adviser has to follow party discipline. There will be no compromise on rules and regulations set by the party, he asserted.
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KP Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai, while referring to the issue in his talk to the media, revealed that the three former ministers had opposed the policies set by the government and were involved in the grouping for a long time, including an attempt to form a group within the provincial cabinet.
Khattak blames the ministers
It is worth noting that Pervez Khattak on Sunday said that the conspiracy against the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had been foiled and assured that the problems in Punjab would be resolved and the issues in Balochistan would also be over soon, reported The News.
“Those who violated the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf discipline will face strict action. They will have to answer for taking the party’s internal affairs to the media and carrying out the media trial of Chief Minister Mahmood Khan,” Khattak told reporters.
Khattak was also critical of his party’s lawmakers for making intra-party differences public. “They should have discussed the issues within the party,” he said, without naming former provincial ministers Atif Khan, Shahram Khan Tarakai and Shakeel Ahmad.
“They hatched a conspiracy. Had their personal issues been resolved, they would have not called chief minister corrupt and found fault with the KP government,” said Khattak. He alleged that these “elements” started calling the incumbent chief minister and the party corrupt after their personal demands were not met.
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Khattak shared that the three ministers had been dismissed over violating party discipline, and also threw his support behind the actions taken by Prime Minister Imran Khan. The trio of ministers had been sacked earlier in the week by the provincial government.
It is yet to be seen how the PTI ultimately deals with unfolding political situation which seems to be a serious challenge.