–Party spokesperson says Dost Muhammad Khosa not welcome in party over his ‘criminal’ past
LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday inducted disgruntled Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML) leader Zulfiqar Khosa into the party while denying entry to his son, Dost Muhammad Khosa, after receiving criticism on social media.
Khosa, who has remained the governor of Punjab, had in 2014 announced a plan to oust the Sharif brothers from the PML-N in order to “cleanse the party”. In 2016, Khosa had demanded Nawaz to step down as prime minister after he was caught up in the Panama Papers scandal.
“I am happy with the inclusion of Zulfiqar Khosa,” said PTI chief Imran Khan while welcoming him to the party in Lahore.
Earlier, it was being reported that both, the father and son, had joined the PTI; however, PTI Spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry denied Dost Khosa’s inclusion in the first place.
“The PTI has not included Dost Khosa in the party due to certain allegations on him,” Chaudhry told media persons.
In 2012, then MPA and provincial minister Dost Khosa had resigned from both positions after the LHC had charged him in the case pertaining to the kidnapping and murder of actress Sapna Khan.
Actress Sapna was the former wife of Dost Khosa and daughter of Missal Khan who had accused the former Punjab chief minister of kidnapping and murdering Sapna while Khosa levelled the same allegation at his former wife’s family.
This was the second time PTI came under flak for opening its ranks to controversial politicians as the party had to expel a convicted rapist, Farooq Bandial, hours after his inclusion following the criticism it received over Bandial’s criminal past.
Bandial, who hails from Punjab’s Khushab district, was handed a death sentence by a Special Military Court in 1979 for committing “armed dacoity” at the house of film actress Shabnam in Gulberg area of Lahore.
Bandial had joined PTI after meeting party chairman Imran Khan. The photo of the meeting made rounds on social media in which Bandial can be seen standing next to the PTI chairman. Hours after the news broke of him joining the party, a large number of people took to social media to criticise PTI for accepting a “convicted criminal” into the party’s ranks.
