The Election Commission of Pakistan has ordered the removal of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s caretaker provincial minister for transport and information technology, Shahid Khattak, for ’participating in a political rally and ‘addressing’ the crowd.

In a statement, the commission said that reports were received about Shahid Khattak’s participation and address in a public meeting in Nowshera, on which a report was sought from the Provincial Election Commissioner, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to the commission, after reviewing this report, the caretaker chief minister has ‘issued an order to remove Shahid Khattak from the cabinet.’

The Election Commission also decided that ‘orders should be issued to the caretaker government of Punjab that none of its officials, including ministers, should be allowed to participate in any political or election campaign.’

Earlier, political parties and social media activists criticised Khattak’s participation in the gathering with some claiming that event was organized by him.