The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTIalleged )’s dissident MNAs responded to the party’s show-cause notices on Saturday, calling the allegations against them “baseless.”
More than a dozen PTI members of the National Assembly are said to have defected to the joint opposition after voting against the Prime Minister in a no-confidence motion. Last week, the PTI issued show-cause notices to 13 dissident lawmakers on this issue.
Following the decision of the dissident MNAs to “seek refuge” at Sindh House, the notices were issued.
The dissident lawmakers have been given seven days to appear before Prime Minister Imran Khan and explain their actions, ahead of a crucial vote on a no-confidence motion against him.
According to the notices sent to the members, interviews given to media outlets by these members indicate that they have left PTI, and they have been ordered to appear before the party chairman.
The dissident MNAs responded to the show-cause notices by claiming that the party had made “baseless allegations” against them. They also claimed that their actions do not violate Article 63(A), which prohibits parliamentarians from defecting from their parties from being disqualified.
The MNAs responded in their letters, stating, “We have neither left the PTI nor defected from the parliamentary party.” They also expressed their reservations and concerns.
“We decided not to appear before the prime minister in person because the allegations are without merit,” they added.
Noor Alam Khan (NA-27 Peshawar-I), Ahmed Hussain Deharr (NA-154 Multan-I), Muhammad Abdul Ghafar Wattoo (NA-166 Bahawalnagar-I), Dr. Muhammad Afzal Khan Dhandla (NA-98 Bhakkar-II),Nawab Sher (NA-102 Faisalabad-II),Raja Riaz Ahmed (NA-110 Faisalabad