ISLAMABAD: Two top Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Dr Shireen Mazari and Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan, Tuesday while denouncing attacks on national institutions by the PTI supporters and workers on May 9, 2023, announced to quit PTI.
Both the leaders announced parting ways with the PTI in separate press conferences.
First, senior PTI leader and former minister for human rights Dr Shireen Mazari, while strongly condemning attacks on national institutions including General Headquarters (GHQ), and Corps Commander House Lahore on May 9, 2023, announced quitting active politics and Imran Khan-led PTI.
Shireen Mazari, one of the most vocal leaders of PTI, announced this here while addressing a press conference soon after her release from prison. She condemned the violence on May 9 and announced that she will not be a part of the PTI or any other party as her family is her priority.
The development came as 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.
Mazari told the media persons that her family especially her children and mother were her first priority after the death of her husband. She said for the sake of her family and her health which has gone badly down during the last 12 days in detention, she cannot continue active politics anymore. She declared that she has decided to quit active politics. Due to her poor health condition, she requested the media persons that she cannot talk further and left the venue. “I strongly condemn the May 9 violence. I have always condemned violence of any kind,” she remarked. Mazari said she is not only leaving her party but also politics. “From today onwards, I am not a part of any political party.”
The senior PTI leader also said her health deteriorated during the last 12 days of detention. “My children and parents are [now] my priority,” she remarked. “I condemn violence against state symbols like the GHQ, parliament, and the Supreme Court,” she added.
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 further stated that she had also submitted an affidavit to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) pledging that she would not become a part of any violent protest in future.
Later, Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan, former provincial minister Punjab while addressing a press conference also announced leaving the PTI.
Speaking to the media, he said his family was imbued with the love of the army, adding that he would keep uncovering the conspiracies against Pakistan. “No one from the party leadership tried to stop PTI chief Imran Khan from doing violent politics,” he added.
“It was only me who tried to convince Mr Khan to do non-violent politics,” he said. “He was banned from entering Zaman Park after he was granted the designation of media adviser by Mr Khan,” he added.
He said that he had conveyed a message to the PTI chief to keep his struggle purely political instead of targeting institutions. “I told Khan that the people around you are not advising you in the right way,” he maintained.
PTI bigwigs including Fawad Chaudhry, Alia Hamza, Murad Saeed, Mussarat Cheema, Shireen Mazari, and others kept advising Khan to stand against the army, adding that he was not allowed to even sit in the PTI’s core committees. “Khan did not even tweet a single line condemning attacks on houses of members of his family,” he complained.
Khan was told by other party leaders that Chohan was affiliated with the army, he said, saying that he was not left to face his opponents in the assembly. He said that former CM Parvez Elahi saved his dignity by appointing him his spokesperson.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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