No chance of inducting Atif Khan in cabinet again: report

PESHAWAR: There is no plan to re-induct Atif Khan, a senior leader of the ruling PTI, in the cabinet, The News reported, citing sources close to the chief minister on Wednesday.

There is little chance of reconciliation between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and former senior minister Mohammad Atif Khan at this stage due to their mutual distrust, read the publication.

When asked whether Atif Khan could be made a minister again after having been sacked about nine months ago, the sources said: “Not at all!”, noting that the chief minister had tolerated Atif Khan’s problematic comments for long when he was in the cabinet and got him sacked on the behest of the Prime Minister Imran Khan as a last resort.

Atif Khan, on the other hand, made it clear he wasn’t seeking a return to the cabinet. “I have been a minister for seven years so it isn’t something that I crave for. I will agree to become a minister again if Imran Khan asks me,” he was quoted as saying by the news report.

Certain PTI figures wanted him to reconcile with the chief minister and rejoin the cabinet to help the government deliver on its promises and improve governance, he added.

Read more: Differences in KP government come out in the open after dismissal of three ministers

However, he felt the chief minister didn’t want him to be in his cabinet and he too had no real interest in becoming a minister in such a situation. 

“I served the PTI to the best of my ability. I have no corruption charges against me,” he maintained, adding that he was now able to give more time to his business activities and spend two days every week in his Mardan constituency to remain in touch with his supporters.

No chance of inducting Shakeel Ahmad either

The above-mentioned sources also revealed that there was also no chance of re-inducting Shakeel Ahmad — the PTI lawmaker from Malakand district who was minister of revenue when sacked from the cabinet along with Atif Khan and Shahram Khan Tarakai on disciplinary grounds in January this year.

The sources claimed that the sacked ministers had tried to use their contacts to make a comeback in the cabinet, but the chief minister had been given the authority to decide their fate after being empowered by the Prime Minister.

Shahram Tarakai — who belongs to an affluent and influential political family from Swabi, was finally re-inducted in the cabinet in September.

However, Shahram Tarakai was made to wait for weeks before being given a portfolio, and that too not of his choice. 

Dismissal of three PTI ministers

In January this year, KP Governor Shah Farman had de-notified Atif Khan, Shahram Khan Tarakai, and Shakeel Ahmad as provincial ministers, according to a notification issued by the provincial government.

Atif was the minister of sports, culture, and tourism, while Tarakai was heading the health department and Ahmad was in charge of the revenue and estate department.

The notification said that Governor Farman removed the ministers under clause 3 of Article 105 of the Constitution.

Atif Khan, Shahram Tarakai, and Shakeel Ahmad were shown the door after being accused of conspiring against the chief minister and making their own group in the PTI.

The three denied the accusations. It came as a shock as Atif Khan was considered close to Imran Khan and had even been considered as the next chief minister after the PTI’s spectacular victory in the July 2018 general election that took everyone by surprise as the voters in the province had never re-elected an incumbent ruling party in the past.