Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sher Afzal Marwat stated on Sunday that his support for other leaders of the party will end once former Premier Imran Khan is released from jail.
Appearing on the private media outlet, Marwat remarked, “I promise the entire nation that the day Khan Sahib is released, I will not be seen anywhere.”
Asked whether Marwat was quitting politics after Khan’s release, the PTI firebrand said, “I step into politics solely for Khan,” adding that he is not seeking any benefits.
His remarks followed a highly public spat between the party’s Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and Sher Afzal Marwat on a private television on Thursday.
While Raja had downplayed the Marwat remarks about the party founder, the latter challenged Salman Akram Raja’s position in the party.
Marwat had said that according to the party constitution, Salman Akram Raja cannot become the party’s secretary general. “Only an elected person who has contested the intra-party election is eligible for the position of party secretary-general,” he explained.
He went on to say that Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan and PTI Additional Secretary General Firdous Shamim Naqvi are public officeholders. “Salman Akram Raja is a stranger [to the party],” he added.
Marwat, on Sunday, while responding to the former PTI Information Secretary Raoof Hassan’s remarks about him, stated that he did not want to comment about Hassan since he faced physical assault previously.
Earlier, reacting to the heated exchange between Marwat and Raja, former PTI spokesperson Raoof Hassan, while speaking to a private news channel on Friday, sternly said, “I’ve stopped talking about him [Sher Afzal Marwat] because no one has been spared his wrath, including me.”
Without taking the names of specific persons, Marwat stated that they were concerned about his frequent appearance on media channels, adding, “They [party leaders] wish that I must not appear on any news channel.” In the same breath, Marwat avowed that he will continue to appear on screen and cause them discomfort.
He said that except for Chief Minister (CM) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Ali Amin Gandapur, party chairman Barrister Gohar Khan and Ali Muhammad Khan, he is not answerable to anyone in the party. “They are my well-wishers,” he added.
Meanwhile, PTI served a show cause notice to Marwat on Monday after he assailed Secretary General Salman Raja.
“You have, amongst others, made disparaging remarks against the Secretary General of PTI and even made adverse comments on the ongoing negotiations. This is a clear violation of the Party Policy and Instructions issued by Founding Chairman Imran Khan,” the notice reads.
As per the notice, the PTI maverick has been given seven days to respond and explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against him. During this period, Marwat has been advised to avoid appearing in the media.