Seven members of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement's (PTM) core committee were removed from the PTM for their involvement in the upcoming elections, a senior leader told DawnNewsTV on Sunday.

Dr Syed Alam Mehsud confirmed that Mohsin Dawar, Ali Wazir, Abdullah Nangiyal, Irshad Tony, Hamid Sherani, Abdul Wahid and Jamal Maliyar were all removed from the core committee as they are contesting the upcoming polls.

Dr Mehsud said the decision was taken in the presence of the PTM's core committee led by Manzoor Pashteen.

He explained that since the PTM has no membership process and comprises just of the core committee, removal from the committee effectively means removal from the PTM.

Dr Mehsud said that the PTM is a movement that was created to fight for people's rights, and has no ambition to be involved in politics or elections.

Sharing details of the core committee members standing for elections, he said that Mohsin Dawar planned to contest from NA-48 North Waziristan Agency, Ali Wazir from NA-50 South Waziristan, and Abdullah Nangiyal from NA-49, adding that Hamid Sherani was standing from Zhob, Balochistan and Jamal Maliyar and Abdul Wahid from Frontier Region (FR) areas.

“We have clearly told the members contesting the election that they have to choose one: the PTM or the election,” he said, adding that there is no space in PTM for those who want to use the movement for political motives.