The former premier maintained that he is not bothered by several PTI leaders who have in recent days called it quits….reports Asian Lite News
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan claimed on Tuesday that members of his party are being forced to leave the PTI at “gunpoint”, media reports said.
Speaking informally to journalists at an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad, Khan said, “People are not leaving the party on their own, they are being forced to do so, and that too at gunpoint,” The Express Tribune reported.
However, the former premier maintained that he is not bothered by the several PTI leaders who have in recent days called it quits, saying that “parties never die down like that; they are weeded out like the [ruling coalition] PDM is eroding, the way their vote bank is depleting”.
“I am only worried about the workers, especially the women,” he added, The Express Tribune reported.
The PTI chief made these remarks ahead of his hearing at the ATC where judge Raja Jawad Abbas was hearing his petition for bail in eight different cases. The ATC granted interim bail to former Prime Minister Imran Khan in eight cases registered against him until June 8 related to violence that erupted at the Judicial Complex in March.
Multiple cases were registered against Imran Khan after clashes erupted between police and his supporters before he appeared at the judicial complex on March 18. Security was beefed up at the judicial complex and the NAB office ahead of the PTI chief’s arrival and a heavy contingent of police were deployed there to deal with any untoward incident, reported ARY News.
Today, Khan reached the Islamabad judicial complex, ahead of his appearance before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) at its Rawalpindi office in the Pound 190 million settlement case.
The accused has to join the investigation after security interim bail but Imran Khan is saying his leg is injured and he cannot join the probe.
Slew of leaders exit PTI
PTI leaders Shireen Mazari and Fayyazul Hassan Chohan announced quitting the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in a major setback to the top opposition party, which has seen a slew of leaders parting ways with it following the May 9 violence, media reports said.
The development came as several party leaders and lawmakers, including Aamir Mehmood Kiani, Malik Amin Aslam, Mahmood Moulvi and Aftab Siddiqui, among others, have publicly denounced the attacks on the state installations and announced leaving the former ruling party since the May 9 vandalism triggered by the arrest of Imran Khan, The News reported.
Addressing a press conference here, Mazari, a former federal minister and a close aide of Khan, condemned the May 9 riots during which PTI supporters ransacked and torched public and defence installations across the country, The News reported.
“I strongly condemn the May 9 violence. I have always condemned violence of any kind,” she remarked.
Mazari said she is not only leaving the party, but also politics.
“From today onwards, I am not a part of any political party,” she said.
The senior PTI leader also said that her health deteriorated during in the last 12 days of detention.
“My children and parents are [now] my priority. I condemn the violence against state symbols like the GHQ, parliament and the Supreme Court,” she added.
Sharing her ordeal, Mazari said her daughter, Imaan Mazari, had to go through a tough time due to her repeated arrests.
“When I was taken to jail for the third time, my daughter was crying a lot, I saw her video,” she said.
The seasoned politician went on to say that she had also submitted an affidavit to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) pledging that she will not become part of any violent protest in the future, The News reported.
The senior vice-president of the former ruling party had been arrested several times during the past few days following the May 9 riots triggered by the arrest of the former Prime Minister in the Al-Qadir Trust case.