The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was dealt a major blow on Tuesday when two senior party leaders, Shireen Mazari and Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, announced they were leaving the party according to Aaj News.

After her release from prison, Mazari also announced quitting politics, citing health problems and her daughter’s difficulties since her arrest.

During the press conference, she also condemned the violence that followed Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9.

“I condemn the violence on May 9 and 10. I also gave an undertaking to the Islamabad High Court in this regard,” Mazari said.

“I have always condemned the violence on state symbols like GHQ, Parliament, and Supreme Court,” she added.

She mentioned that her husband had passed away five months ago. “When Dr Tabish was alive, I could have many things, as he was also there for the children.”

“My children, mother, and health are now my priority.”

In the past few weeks, Mazari was arrested several times.

She was arrested on May 12 under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (3MPO). She was granted bail on May 14 but was re-arrested as she was leaving the Adiala Jail.

Last Wednesday, she received bail again but was arrested from her residence in Islamabad.

On May 29, PTI leader Farrukh Habib said Mazari was again arrested outside the Adiala Jail by the Punjab police, despite securing bail from the Lahore High Court.

Fayyazul Hassan Chohan says no one in PTI opposed ‘policy of violence’

Meanwhile, talking to reports in the Islamabad press club, Chohan announced his decision, saying that no one else in the party opposed the “policy of violence”.

“There was no one who could make Imran Khan understand that politics should be done with patience and tolerance,” he said.

“From the entire leadership, if anyone tried to stop this, it was Fayyaz Chohan. And this is why I was sidelined in the party for the last year.”

Chohan said he told Imran Khan to stop the politics of confrontation against the state and institutions.

Chohan said that despite the number of sacrifices he had made for the party, the PTI chief did not utter a single word of sympathy for him.

“Someone had told Imran that I support the army a lot.”

Following the events of May 9, Mazari is not the first PTI member to leave the party.

Earlier on Tuesday, PTI’s Mian Jalil Sharaqpuri announced parting ways with the party and blamed former prime minister Imran Khan for the violence that ensued on May 9.

Salman Qureshi, a councilor-elect of the PTI, announced parting ways with his party on Saturday.

Last week, Amir Mehmood Kiyani left the party, saying May 9 violence was a painful event for everyone.

PTI MNA from Karachi, Mohamood Moulvi has also announced to quit the party over May 9 vandalism against military installations. Mahmood, who was PTI’s MNA from Karachi’s NA-25, also announced his resignation from the seat.

PTI chief Imran Khan claimed on Tuesday that members of his party were being forced to leave the party at “gunpoint”.

Speaking to journalists at an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad, Imran said: “People are not leaving the party on their own, they are being forced to do so, and that too at gunpoint”.

However, he maintained that he was not bothered about the development as PTI’s vote bank was set to increase following recent events.