PTI chairman Imran asks the whereabouts of all human rights organizations in the country after their heads defect over “forced divorces.”
LAHORE:
On Tuesday, Imran Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), responded to the continued flight of leaders from the party, bringing the total number of defectors from the organization to 24 since the violent arson episodes on May 9. Khan made a cryptic allusion to “forced divorces” in his remarks.
For PTI, a new phenomenon has evolved in Pakistan after years of public discussion about forced marriages: forced divorces. The ex-prime minister tweeted, “I’m also wondering where all the human rights organizations in the country have disappeared.”
The comment was made as ripples from the horrific events of May 9 spread across the party. Some political observers believe that pressure from “external forces” is to blame for the public defection of as many as 24 PTI leaders.
Senior PTI leaders Shireen Mazari, a former Federal Minister for Human Rights, and Fayyazul Hasan Chohan, who served in the same role, both declared their separation from PTI earlier on Tuesday.
At a press conference, Mazari announced her retirement from politics, while Chohan vowed to keep fighting but leave PTI behind.
Imran responded by asking what this meant for human rights in the country and implicitly challenging the unexpected silence of human rights groups in the face of these occurrences.
The PTI, which was deposed from power on April 9 of last year after Imran Khan lost a vote of no-confidence, has been rocked by a wave of resignations in recent weeks.
Abdul Razaq Khan Niazi, a former PTI MPA from Khanewal, has also left the party. He, like Mazari and Chohan, was a member of the Provincial Assembly.
Niazi spoke out against the attacks on military installations at a press conference, suggesting that they would not have been possible without the approval of party officials. Insinuating a link between the PTI’s activities and India’s interests, he went on to say that the events of May 9 had given delight to India.
After considering the changing political climate and the increasing influence of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in south Punjab, PTI leader Khawaja Qutab Fareed Koreja of Liaqatpur has chosen to switch parties and join the PPP.
It has also been reported that imprisoned PTI officials Jamshed Iqbal Cheema and Musarrat Jamshed Cheema is considering leaving the party in the wake of the violence on May 9. Their attorney has met with them separately in jail and is convinced that they would leave PTI once they are released, a fact he confirmed. Musarrat Cheema is a member of the PTI and a former lawmaker in the Punjab Assembly. He is the party’s official spokesman.
Several members of the PTI have resigned in protest of the attacks on military monuments and buildings. Some political scientists have hypothesised that ‘external forces’ are to blame for the mass departure. PTI Chairman Imran Khan has said on multiple occasions that there is tremendous pressure on PTI members to defect.
Former federal health minister and PTI founder Aamer Mahmood Kiani, as well as Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain (brother of PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain), Malik Amin Aslam, Dr. Hisham Inamullah Malik, PTI West Punjab President Faizullah Kamoka, and Dr. Muhammad Amjad, have all recently left the party.
Mehmood Moulvi (PTI Sindh Vice President), Aftab Saddiqui (PTI Karachi President), Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah, Jay Parkash, Sanjay Gangwani, and Dr. Imran Shah are just few of the prominent members that have recently resigned from the party in Sindh.
Former K-P Chief Minister spokesman Ajmal Wazir, adviser on media Usman Tarakai, and Malik Jawad Hussain have all left the PTI in the province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). Former Balochistan provincial minister Mubeen Khilji has also left the party.
