There is no end in sight for the all-out battle between Imran Khan and the Pakistan military. Since the 9 May violence across the country triggered by the former prime minister’s arrest, his woes have only worsened. Leader after influential leader has quit Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which holds the government crackdown responsible for the exodus.
Why are PTI leaders jumping ship? Who is to blame? And what does this mean for Khan? We take a look.
Also read: How Imran Khan crossed a line with Pakistan’s military
Who has quit Imran Khan’s party?
The past couple of weeks have seen a flurry of resignations in Khan’s PTI. One of its biggest setbacks came on Wednesday after his key aide Fawad Chaudhry resigned from the party. The former information minister is the highest profile to distance himself from the firebrand Opposition leader.
Chaudhry said on Wednesday that he was “parting ways” with Khan and the party. “I have decided to take a break from politics, therefore, I have resigned from party position and parting ways from Imran Khan,” he wrote.
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
His announcement comes a day after former human rights minister Shireen Mazari left the party. She was detained several times since first being arrested on 12 May over the deadly protests, forcing her to take the decision.
On Tuesday, Mazari was among the five leaders who decided to quit PTI. A vocal critic of Pakistan’s military and the Shehbaz Sharif-led government she was held five times in 10 days.
Announcing her decision to step down, the 57-year-old politician said that she will not continue in politics. “The constant release and arrest and the ordeal it put my daughter Imaan under had an impact on my health, too. Due to these reasons, I have decided I will quit active politics. And I want to add that from today onwards, I will not be a part of PTI or any other political party,” she said.
Since the 9 May violent protests, which saw mob attacks on several army installations and government property, several members of the PTI have decided to step down. Some of the most prominent names include secretary general Asad Umar, former Cabinet ministers Aamir Kiani and Malik Amin Aslam, PTI’s Hindu leader Jai Prakash, PTI leader from Balochistan Mubeen Khilji, among others.
Umar quit on Wednesday following his release from jail after two weeks, saying it was “untenable” for him to continue in the party’s leadership “in view of the May 9 events”.
The PTI has reportedly lost at least 35 party leaders in the past 16 days.
Also read: Pakistan Protests: Why is Imran Khan so popular among the masses?
Why are PTI leaders quitting?
The army is the most powerful establishment in Pakistan and Khan’s ongoing clash with it now seems to be backfiring. The military’s interference in politics is an open secret and defections from political parties at its behest are not new.
PTI leaders, who were arrested, now seem to be toeing the line, condemning the violence caused by supporters of Khan.
“Pakistan exists because Pakistan Army exists, and we must devise our policies keeping this point of view at the front,” Chaudhry told the media after his release.
Sameen Mohsin Ali, lecturer at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, told Al Jazeera that political careers in Pakistan are usually built around “opportunistic and not ideological lines”. “Their decisions on when to stay and when to go is shaped not by party leanings, but by political logic or dynamics in their constituencies and their prospects for power.”
What is Imran Khan saying?
In cricket-speak, there seems to be chaos in Team Khan, as one wicket after another falls.
In a video address on Wednesday night, slamming the arrest of PTI leaders, Khan said, “This is a crackdown that I have never seen in the history of Pakistan before… If you say that you are part of PTI, then you will face oppression and violence, you will be locked up.”.
“If you say the magic words, ‘We are no longer in PTI’, then you will be released,” he added.
The PTI leader alleged on Tuesday that his party leaders were being forced to leave without spelling out who was behind the exodus. “People are not quitting, they are being forced to leave the party at gunpoint… Political parties cannot be dismantled through such tactics,” he told the media, adding that a political party “could only be ceased with depletion of its vote bank.”
In a tweet, Khan said that the desertions were like “forced divorces”.
“We had all heard about forced marriages in Pakistan but for PTI a new phenomenon has emerged , forced divorces… Also wondering where have all the human rights organizations in the country disappeared,” he wrote on Twitter.
We had all heard about forced marriages in Pakistan but for PTI a new phenomenon has emerged , forced divorces.
Also wondering where have all the human rights organizations in the country disappeared.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 23, 2023
What next for Khan
Khan who is up against the army and the government has problems aplenty. With more than 100 cases registered against him, there is a fear that he will be re-arrested, a fate he is trying to avoid.
Top leaders quitting the party means that he is losing more support within the political circles only compounding the challenges he faces.
According to Lahore-based political analyst Benazir Shah, it is not easy to predict how politicians leaving the party will affect its future. She said that efforts by the establishment to break up the Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz have “rarely worked”, reports Al Jazeera.
However, Asma Faiz, associate professor of political science at Lahore University of Management Science, told the publication that this could impact the PTI’s prospects in future elections. “There is no doubt that Khan has massive support among the people, but he needs strong candidates who bring their own vote bank with them,” he said.
Leaders quitting is not Khan’s only worry. There is talk of banning the party.
Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif told reporters on Wednesday that the government is considering banning the PTI for attacking the “very basis of state” and this could not be tolerated.
PTI party lawyer Ali Zafar said any such step would be challenged in court. He said an entire party cannot be blamed for acts committed by individuals, reports Reuters.
Khan is the country’s most popular leader and a ban could only enrage his supporters and exacerbate the confrontation with the military establishment.
For now, the future of Khan and that of his country remains uncertain.
With inputs from agencies
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
0 Comments: