Voting for PPP in Senate polls: PTI to take action against two ‘rebel’ MPAs

KARACHI: Taking a tough stand, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Sindh Chapter, has decided to take disciplinary action against the two rebel MPAs, who voted against the party’s candidates during the Senate polls held on Wednesday.

The PTI’s two MPAs -- Shehryar Khan Shar and Aslam Abro -- on Monday announced they would not vote for their party’s candidates and, on the election day, voted for the Pakistan People's Party’s candidates.

On Wednesday, the PTI’s Standing Committee on Accountability and Discipline (SCAD) issued show-cause notices to the two rebel MPAs. The SCAD is the party’s forum formed to strengthen internal accountability mechanisms.

In the letter signed by SCAD Chairman Salman Aftab, both MPAs have been told that they “spoke against the party’s policy in the media and hurled accusations on the party’s leadership.”

“This act of yours is against the PTI’s party policy and the party’s constitution,” the letters said. The matter was also referred to the SCAD West region of Sindh for further proceedings within seven days, the letter maintained.

However, the PPP will field the two as PPP's candidates from their constituency in the by-polls, The News has learnt. PTI MPA Shar was in contact with the treasury benches when in October he supported the PPP’s resolution against the presidential ordinance that paved the way for the federal government to take over the islands in the province. Shar defeated PPP’s candidate Jam Mehtab Dahar in PS-18 Ghotki with a margin of over 10,000 votes.

The PPP had offered Shar to field him as the party’s candidate from PS-18 after sending his rival Dahar to the Senate in Wednesday's polls. Similarly, Abro, who has won from PS-3 Jacobabad, has also been assured that he will be fielded on the PPP’s ticket in the by-polls.