Series of resignations shake Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party
Imran Khan labelled these resignations as 'forced divorces'. (Photo Credits: Reuters)
Imran Khan's key aide and senior vice-president of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Fawad Chaudhry, on Wednesday (May, 24) quit the party in a serious blow to the former Pakistan Prime Minister. Chaudhry served as the Minister of Information and Broadcasting in Khan's cabinet and had been the party's mouthpiece for some time.
Ref. My earlier statement where I unequivocally condemned 9th May incidents, I have decided to take a break from politics, therefore, I have resigned from party position and parting ways from Imran Khan
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) May 24, 2023
After the vandalism and violence on May 9 that followed Imran's arrest, there has been serious crackdown on PTI workers. This has led to more than a dozen leaders either resigning from the party or quitting party posts.
Series of resignations
- Former Finance Minister and PTI Secretary General Asad Umar stepped down from party posts after his release from jail in Rawalpindi yesterday (May, 24). However, he has not abandoned his party membership yet.
“Pakistan is today at a critical moment. At the moment the most important stakeholder of Pakistan is the Awam, the citizens that in the past 13 months have witnessed worst conditions”-@Asad_Umar pic.twitter.com/48JqBO3Ge0
— PTI (@PTIofficial) May 24, 2023
- Another former minister, Dr Shireen Mazari who had been critical of the 'establishment' and the Sharifs, resigned from the party upon her release from jail on Tuesday (May, 23).
- Quetta's Suri family decided to part ways with PTI and condemned the nationwide violence. “We have nothing to do with Pakistan Tehreek Insaf and are peaceful and patriotic citizens of Pakistan,” said Hashim Khan Suri the younger brother of Qasim Suri.
- Former minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, left the party too, while questioning Inran's silence on his family's arrest and vandalism of his house.
- Environmentalist turned politician Malik Amin Aslam announced his departure from the party on May 18, as he was unsettled by the May 9 incidents and feels the party 'has veered off course".
- Nadia Sher, a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa member also quit the party citing she doesn't want to be associated with a part that attached military installations.
List of leaders who quit PTI so farhttps://t.co/EGBIaRPJDB#PTI @PTIofficial pic.twitter.com/rOpuzYq9eM
— The_Nation (@The_Nation) May 24, 2023
- Imran reacted to these resignations sharply by hinting towards the establishment's pressure tactics.
ہم نے پاکستان میں ”جبری شادیوں“ کے بارے میں تو سُن رکھا تھا مگر تحریک انصاف کیلئے ”جبری علیحدگیوں“ کا ایک نیا عجوبہ متعارف کروایا گیا ہے۔
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 23, 2023
میں تو اس پر بھی حیران ہوں کہ اس ملک سے انسانی حقوق کی تنظیمیں کہاں غائب ہو گئی ہیں!
- According to India Today, other leaders to resign include Karachi East MNA Mahmood Moulvi, former health minister Amir Kayani, Jai Prakash, Saleem Akhtar Labar, Aftab Siddiqui and Dr Sanjay Gangwani.
Why do the resignations matter?
- At a moment when Imran has gone all out against the establishment, many of these leaders don't want to be seen as anti-establishment as most of them have cited the May 9 violence as the reason for their resignation.
- PTI, in the initial days, had leaders from other parties like the Pakistan People's Party, and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), who didn't have an ideological affinity with the PTI, and they joined the party only for Imran Khan.
- Especially now, with the general elections a few months away, the leaders would be looking for a face-saving exit to face their vote banks, as the establishment looks slightly bent towards the Pakistan Democratic Movement(PDM).