PPP suspends lawyer Latif Khosa’s party membership

LAHORE: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Friday suspended senior leader and lawyer Sardar Latif Khosa's party membership for failure to respond to a show-cause notice served over violation of the party policy.

The PPP spokesperson revealed that the party's Secretary General Nayyar Bokhari also suspended Khosa's membership of the Central Executive Committee (CEC).

On September 14, the PPP issued a notice to Khosa for defending the head of another political party — the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) — without approval, asking why action should not be taken against him.

"You being a member of Central Executive Committee of Pakistan [Peoples Party] are defending/pleading/representing a head of another political party without prior approval of leadership in corruption cases in which he has been convicted and in a case against him under official secret Act, while delivering a speech in lawyers function you criticized the state policy regarding cipher," the notice said.

The notice also mentioned that the PPP leader criticised the state policy on the cipher issue during the event, adding that Khosa's party membership would be terminated in case of no reply within the said time period.

The letter did not mention PTI Chairman Imran Khan's name but said that Khosa — who is also a part of the former premier's legal team — defended the head of another party.

The notice also directed him to respond to the notice within seven days. However, Khosa did not reply to the show-cause notice, eventually leading to his suspension.

Senior lawyer Khosa along with senior PPP leader Aitzaz Ahsan has been at loggerheads with their party leaders for defending the PTI chief's stance on several political matters publicly.

The PTI chief is in judicial custody till September 26 in the case of missing cipher — a classified state document that the former prime minister had waved during his political gathering ahead of his ouster from office last year.

Khan has been imprisoned in jail since his conviction in the Toshakhana case on August 5 for failing to properly declare gifts he received while in office.