Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sher Afzal Marwat has been expelled from the party’s core and political committees on the directives of party founder Imran Khan, said PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan on Thursday.

The development came a day after outspoken Marwat publicly blasted the PTI top leaders, refusing to work under them.

“I refuse to work with Shibli Faraz and Omar Ayub […] they didn’t allow me to meet Imran Khan [in prison],” Marwat said while speaking to the media outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday.

Speaking to the media after meeting jailed PTI founder in Adiala Jail today, the PTI secretary general said Imran Khan directed to issue a show-cause notice to Marwat as he attempted to “spoil” ties with Saudi Arabia.

Ayub, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, said Marwat was warned time and again against violating the party’s policies.

“The PTI founder said Marwat tried to damage his personal relations with the kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] as he has excellent ties with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman,” Ayub said.

Marwat, speaking during a TV talk show last month had alleged that Saudi Arabia, alongside the United States, played a part in the ouster of Imran Khan’s government in April 2022.

As soon as the controversial statement went viral on the media, the PTI top brass distanced itself from Marwat’s allegation that the kingdom had a role in the so-called “regime change operation”.

The political committee has been directed to take disciplinary action against Marwat, said Ayub in today’s media talk.

Ayub said although he is secretary general of the party, the authority to make final decisions rested with incarcerated leader and added that he was appointed leader of the opposition on Khan’s instructions.

He said it not his authority to decide about the people meeting the PTI founder in jail.