Pervez-Khattak-speaks (1)Terming Pervez Khattak’s recent statement “baseless and false”, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Information Secretary Rauf Hassan on Sunday said that there is no room for a party member to “play both sides of the wicket”. A day earlier, Khattak — the former PTI president of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chapter — said that he had repeatedly advised the party’s Chairman Imran Khan to have “positive thinking”, but he did not heed his advice. Khattak’s remarks came during a talk with media personnel at his residence in Manki Sharif in Nowshera, where many people had turned up to exchange Eid ul Adha greetings with him. Reacting to his statement, the PTI information secretary said that a party member is either in or outside the party. “Time for such opportunistic people is over,” Hussain said, adding that his party’s roots are linked with ideological workers of the party. “There is no place for faint-hearted people in the party,” he added. It is pertinent to mention here that Khattak had announced stepping down as the party’s KP chapter president earlier this month after reportedly a brief detention. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the PTI stalwart said it was difficult for him to continue serving as the party’s KP chapter president amid the prevailing political crisis. Khattak said he would announce the future course of action after consulting his friends and party colleagues. According to a statement shared on the PTI’s official website, Khattak was trying to mislead the nation via such false and baseless allegations after resigning from the party postilions. Khattak as PTI KP chapter president was fully involved in all the decisions of the party but on the other hand, he was in contact with the establishment, read the statement. Instead of levelling allegations against the PTI chairman, Khattak should decide whether he wants to stay in the party or not. The PTI, on June 22, issued Khattak a show-cause notice seeking an explanation for allegedly inciting members to leave the party. The notice issued by PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan required Khattak to explain his position on the anti-party move within seven days of the notice. It was also made clear in the notice that if his reply was found unsatisfactory or he did not respond, further action would be taken as per the party policy and rules. The senior politician is yet to respond. Moreover, the ex-PTI provincial president had said the May 9 attacks were carried out under a well-conceived conspiracy to undermine the army and desecrate the martyrs. He had said the former prime minister had not taken the party’s leadership into confidence and consulted only a few persons. A handful of workers motivated by “revolutionary thinking” caused immense damage to the country — which even its enemies could not do in the last 75 years — he had added. I reject this revolutionary thinking,” Khattak had remarked, adding that he believed in non-violence and peace. He had said that showing disrespect to national institutions was not his way of doing politics. About his plans, he had said that he was holding consultations with former lawmakers from all over the province to come up with a strategy to steer the country out of the prevailing crises. Khattak had said that the country could not afford revolutionary politics.