Not willing to meet Imran, says Marwat after expulsion from PTI

PESHAWAR: Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Sher Afzal Marwat on Thursday termed his expulsion from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) “repeated disrespect” and added that he was not willing to meet party founder Imran Khan to clarify his position.

The firebrand lawmaker made the statement after being thrown out of PTI over repeated violations of party discipline following the directives of the incarcerated party founder a day ago.

The former ruling party had organised a protest rally in Swabi against alleged election rigging on February 8 where Marwat alleged that “bad people” (like him) always became helpful during “bad times”, but some “good people” have remained silent.

The PTI founder expressed outrage over Marwat’s unnecessary speech and ordered party leaders to immediately issue a notification to terminate the latter’s basic membership, sources told Geo News.

Later, the party issued a notification for the lawmaker’s expulsion, stating that Marwat’s “reply and actions are subject to the show cause notice”.

“My expulsion was not the PTI founder’s decision,” claimed Marwat today and alleged that a group within the party, protecting their interests, had got him expelled. He further alleged that the PTI founder was kept isolated by the same group.

He said that he was being repeatedly disrespected by being expelled from the party and he would not tolerate the humiliation anymore.

The party leader, who launched criticism against the PTI leaders many times, also claimed that his ouster was completely unjust as neither his stance was listened to nor his firm support to the party in difficult times was remembered.

Last month, the PTI issued a show-cause notice to the lawmaker for violation of the party’s discipline for his remarks against PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja.

He was issued another show cause notice in May last year, and ultimately his basic party membership was cancelled and he was asked to resign as MNA. However, further action was not taken against him after ex-PM Khan pardoned him.

The notices were served to Marwat for making harsh comments regarding the negotiations between the PTI and the coalition government, whereas, he also questioned Raja’s legitimacy as the party secretary general without having contested the intra-party polls.