Five MNAs are expelled from the PTI party.

On Sunday, the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) expelled five National Assembly members for defying the party line during last month’s October vote on the 26th Constitutional Amendment.

The expelled members are Aurangzeb Khichi, Zahoor Hussain Qureshi, Usman Ali, Mubarak Zeb, and Ilyas Chaudhry, per separate notifications released by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan. In the general elections of 2024, the PTI backed these independent lawmakers.

The notifications, which used similar language, claimed that these lawmakers disregarded party directives and cast their votes in support of the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill on October 21, 2024, despite the party’s unanimous decision to oppose the amendment at a meeting.

“It is hereby determined that you have betrayed your pledge, loyalty, and commitment to the Party. One of the five notifications sent to Qureshi stated, “You have voted in favour of the 26th Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2024, which is against the Party’s instructions.”

“And as a result of [that] behaviour, [you] have joined another National Assembly Parliamentary Party. As a result, you are immediately dismissed from the Party (PTI). It goes without saying that you are also disqualified for the aforementioned behaviour,” it continued.

With a two-thirds majority, the 26th Amendment was ratified. After multiple rounds of negotiations, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), one of the opposition parties, had sided with the government. However, the PTI decided to oppose the bill. However, the government managed to win over five members.

The PTI made the decision to sue its lawmakers for breaking the party’s rules shortly after the bill was approved. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had stated at the time that since these lawmakers were elected as independents, they were not subject to party decisions.

Notices were sent to the dissident members of the National Assembly on November 5, 2024, asking them to explain why they “should not be declared to have defected” from the party, but “you did not respond to the notice,” according to the PTI’s notifications on Sunday.

These members should be disqualified from serving as elected representatives for switching parties, according to the notifications. The speaker of the National Assembly was ordered to disqualify these members by the PTI chairman.

Khichi from NA-159 Vehari-IV, Qureshi from NA-146 Khanewal-III, Usman Ali from NA.142, Sahiwal-II, Muhammad Ilyas Choudhry from NA.62, Gujrat-I, and Mubarak Zeb from NA.8, Bajaur were among the expelled members elected to the National Assembly.