20 PTI MPs remain absent from PM’s meeting
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February 23, 2021
PESHAWAR: Taking a stern stance against horse-trading as the Senate elections approach near, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday categorically told the PTI lawmakers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to "leave the party" if they intended to sell their votes.
Sources confirmed that 20 lawmakers -- 14 MNAs and six MPAs -- remained absent from the meeting chaired by the prime minister. The lawmakers did not attend the meeting due to preoccupations and various other reasons, Geo News reported.
The sources said MPAs Sultan Muhammad Khan and Liaqat Khattak, who were removed from ministries over supporting rival candidate in Nowshera by-election, and allegedly accepting bribe for Senate election, respectively, were not invited to the meeting, so they did not come. MPAs Abdul Karim Khan, Ziaullah Bangash and Maleeha Ali could not attend meeting due to personal engagements. NA Speaker Asad Qaiser could not attend meeting due to engagements in the National Assembly, while federal ministers Umar Ayub, Murad Saeed, MNAs Junaid Akbar, Saleh Muhammad, Sher Akbar, Sibghatullah, Ali Khan Jadoon and Yaqoob Khan also could not attend meeting due to different engagements and personal reasons. The prime minister visited the city after the PTI suffered a defeat in the recently-held Nowshera by-election, where the PML-N candidate won from the PTI stronghold.