ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) suspended on Friday senior leader Advocate Latif Khosa’s party membership, a week after serving him a show-cause notice for representing Imran Khan in various court cases.
The move comes after advocate Khosa did not respond to the show-cause notice served by PPP Secretary-General Syed Nayyer Hussain Bukhari on September 13.
Advocate Khosa, who was a member of the PPP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC), was chided by the party leadership for representing the head of another political party, namely Imran, who leads the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), in various court cases.
“You, being a member of the CEC [of the PPP], are defending/pleading/representing [the] head of another party without prior approval of the [PPP] leadership in corruption cases in which he [Imran] has been convicted and in a case against him under the Official Secrets Act [1923],” read the show-cause notice.
The notice also took exception to Khosa’s speech at a lawyers convention in which he reportedly criticized state policy regarding classified information.
“You are hereby, through this show-cause notice, asked to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against you for working against the party policy.
“The reply should reach the undersigned within seven days, failing which action will be taken against you by withdrawing your membership of the PPP,” it added.
Advocate Khosa, who served as Punjab governor during the PPP’s tenure in federal government from 2008 to 2013, has been representing the PTI chief in various cases, including the Toshakhan case, which landed ousted premier Imran in prison in August.
One of the country’s leading legal minds, Khosa, on August 26, reiterated his resolve to spearhead a movement of lawyers in response to the “mistreatment and humiliation” the lawyers are facing.
“The time has arrived to catalyze a transformative movement. Lawyers are prepared to commence this movement from Peshawar. The treatment meted out to lawyers is unacceptable under any circumstances,” he said while speaking to the media at his office near the Lahore High Court.
On August 25, Khosa was among 19 people, mostly lawyers, who were trapped in a malfunctioning lift at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) building for around 40 minutes.
Speaking to the media after being rescued from the elevator, Khosa had described the incident as an attempt to intimidate the lawyers. “The suffocation that we experienced during this ordeal is similar to the suffocation that 220 million people of the country are experiencing for the last 18 months,” he said.
