Senate Elections 2018: Videos of KP MPAs taking 'bribes' go viral

PESHAWAR: Taking notice of a video clip showing certain PTI lawmakers receiving wads of banknotes and stuffing them into bags during the March 2018 Senate election, Prime Minister Imran Khan removed Sultan Mohammad Khan as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs.

Sultan Mohammad Khan, hailing from Charsadda district, was later asked to submit his resignation. He penned down his resignation on a piece of paper, which Chief Minister Mahmood Khan promptly accepted.

In his resignation, the law minister said it was his moral duty and obligation after the surfacing of the video in which his name was mentioned to offer his resignation. Describing himself as a committed team member of Chief Minister Mahmood Khan's cabinet and follower of Prime Minister Imran Khan, he remarked it was an honour and privilege to serve in the cabinet.

"I unconditionally offer myself for an inquiry of any kind. I am also confident that InshaAllah justice will be done and I will be able to clear my name," he added. Imran Khan had cancelled membership of 20 PTI lawmakers and expelled them from the party in 2018.

They were blamed for selling their votes during the Senate elections in 2018. The video exposed how the MPAs were paid big amounts of money in 2018 to vote for wealthy Senate candidates instead of those fielded by their party.

They can be seen eagerly looking at and counting the notes. Imran Khan had claimed in April 2018 that he possessed videos of MPs taking money during 2018 Senate elections in which they were counting notes.

The videos were shared by the PTI's official Twitter account. Soon after the video surfaced, PTI's top leadership started holding internal discussions to handle the situation. According to party insiders, it was not possible for the top leadership to ignore what was shown in the video.

"It was a huge embarrassment for the party, particularly for Prime Minister Imran Khan. How can you allow someone proven guilty to continue as minister and that too to hold the portfolio of law and parliamentary affairs," one cabinet member in Peshawar told The News when reached for his comments. Pleading anonymity, he said the video went viral on the social media making it difficult for the party leadership to ignore it.

Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, after removing Sultan Khan as cabinet member, constituted a high-level inquiry committee to probe the alleged "sale and purchase" of votes by certain MPAs during the 2018 Senate election in KP.

In a tweet the chief minister said, “As Chief Executive of KP, I've asked Law Minister Sultan Khan to step aside & resign, due to his alleged appearance in a video released on social media, to clear his name. We will, as per vision of PM, uphold highest standards of accountability & transparency in this province.

Sultan Mohammad Khan had become MPA on the ticket of Aftab Sherpao-led Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) during the previous general election in 2013. In 2018 before the general election, he joined the PTI and was elected MPA from his native Charsadda district.

Though he was a newcomer in the party, the PTI leadership assigned him the important portfolio of law and parliamentary affairs. He had studied law in the UK and belonged to a landowning family. In the video, a number of former MPAs of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, including Sultan Mohammad Khan, PPP's Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha, a former PTI MPA from Mardan and two lady legislators are shown sitting on a sofa and eagerly watching several bundles of money paid to them.

According to sources, Prime Minister Imran Khan personally initiated action against Law Minister Sultan Mohammad Khan.

"Let me clear to you one thing. Prime Minister Imran Khan doesn't spare anyone when there are solid proofs of corruption or misuse of power. And if the issue like this one is highlighted on social media, then it becomes difficult for anyone to defend it," a cabinet member told The News in Peshawar.

According to sources, the former MPA of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) from the erstwhile Malakand district, Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha, had played a key role in making the deal and bringing together the MPAs. They said the payment was reportedly made in Islamabad.

Meanwhile, people of other political parties claimed the video was intentionally released by the ruling party to stop voting by secret ballot in the Senate election scheduled to be held in early March.

Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to hold Senate elections through the open ballot in 2021 in order to eliminate vote-trading. However, his political rivals claim the prime minister doesn't trust his party lawmakers and that is the reason he has been campaigning for an open ballot in the Senate election.

Besides moving the Supreme Court, the PTI-led federal government also issued an ordinance to pave the way for holding the Senate election via open ballot.

Peshawar Bureau adds: The two women MPAs seen in the video footage in which money is being paid to the lawmakers for selling their votes in the 2018 Senate elections are Meraj Humayun Khan and Dina Naz.

Meraj Humayun Khan, hailing from Swabi district, was elected on the ticket of Aftab Sherpao's Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) on the seats reserved for women. She is seen sitting on a sofa in a room and in front of her is a large table where numerous bundles of currency notes are kept. She also founded a non-governmental organisation.

Dina Naz, belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and hailing from Karak, is also seen in the video sitting on an adjacent sofa and counting the bundles of currency notes laid out on the table. Both had denied selling their votes at the time. Both were expelled from their respective parties.

The PTI had taken tough action against its 20 disloyal lawmakers, almost all unknown political workers who won their first seats in the provincial assembly in the election due to the popularity of the party founder Imran Khan and became known and rich.

Islamabad News Desk adds: Earlier a video of PTI lawmakers, allegedly receiving bribes before the Senate elections in 2018, had surfaced on the social media amid a heated debate between the government and opposition on the issue of balloting for this year's Senate elections.

In the video, stacks of currency can be seen sitting atop a table in front of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa PTI MPAs. Current KP Law Minister Sultan Mohammad Khan and MPA Ubaid Mayar can be seen in the video as well.

The government and opposition parties are at loggerheads over the issue of open balloting in the upcoming Senate elections. The opposition has rejected the government's demand to hold an open ballot. Bacha, the former PPP MPA who can be seen allegedly distributing the currency notes to the PTI lawmakers, spoke to Geo News to say that the video was an edited one. "Neither did I pay anyone nor did I receive (any bribe)," he said, adding that two separate videos were joined together to make this one.

Meanwhile, a former PTI MPA Sardar Idrees, who can also be seen in the video, rejected allegations that he had sold his vote to the rival party.

"The viral video is a result of political opponents' conspiracies," he said. "This is an edited video, it has nothing to do with reality," Idrees added.

The lawmaker said he will prove that he voted for the PTI in the Senate elections 2018 and hailed PM Imran Khan's stance of holding an open ballot in the upcoming polls. He demanded that his vote be checked before a forensic audit of the video is conducted.

According to Dr Shahbaz Gill, a "detailed inquiry" will be held on the matter. In a follow up tweet, Gill said that PM Imran Khan had suspended the memberships of 20 PTI lawmakers who were found guilty of taking bribes and selling their votes.

"On the other hand, the PML-N has bestowed more honour on its member Rana Mashood ever since his video came to the fore," tweeted Gill. "This is the difference between Imran Khan and these thieves," he said.

Sultan Khan said he had sent his resignation to Prime Minister Imran Khan. "I am tendering my resignation on ethical grounds," he said, adding that it had been an honour for him to work as a member of the chief minister's cabinet.