PESHAWAR: PML-N will sue Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan for including the name of one of its MPAs Babar Saleem in the list of lawmakers accused of involvement in horse-trading in the recent Senate elections.

This was announced by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz provincial president Amir Muqam during a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Friday. Referring to Mr Khan, he said that the so-called champion of principles had made a blunder by accusing PML-N MPA Babar Saleem of selling his vote in the Senate elections. He said that the PTI chief had presented only those things which had been given to him by Chief Minister Pervez Khattak.

Mr Muqam alleged that both Mr Khan and Pervez Khattak were involved in horse-trading and they were busy in buying loyalties of PML-N MNAs and MPAs.

Babar Saleem says answerable to his party, not PTI chief

In this regard, he asked about the criteria followed for joining of PTI by Ayub Afridi and Khayal Zaman and then the award of tickets to both of them.

He said that PTI had awarded tickets to billionaires by ignoring its ideological workers in the Senate elections.

He alleged that Mr Khan was deceiving people in the name of merit and justice in the country.

The PML-N leader said that Imran Khan repeatedly said that he would not shake hands with PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, but he supported PPP nominees in the Senate elections, which proved the difference in his words and deeds.

Flanked by party’s parliamentary leader in KP Assembly Aurangzeb Nalotha, Babar Saleem and others, Mr Muqam said that Mr Khan had issued show-cause notices to party members to hide failures of the provincial government.

He said that Mr Saleem had joined PML-N before the Senate elections and he was not bound to answer any notice of the PTI chief. He said that they would soon serve a defamation notice on Imran Khan over false allegation against the MPA.

Mr Muqam claimed that the provincial government could not live up to the expectations of people. “Critics of Metro Bus service in Lahore have launched a similar project in Peshawar, creating problems for the masses,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, MPA Babar Saleem said that he was never part of PTI, clarifying that he joined PML-N before the Senate elections.

“I am only answerable to PML-N,” he said and asked the PTI chief to apologise for levelling ‘false’ allegations against him. He claimed that PML-N would again form its governments in the centre and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by getting majority of seats in the upcoming general elections.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2018