Ex-PM Imran Khan’s PTI hit by more resignations in Pakistan

A senior vice president of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Pakistan Movement for Justice, PTI) has quit the party while its secretary general has stepped down from his role, marking another blow to the embattled ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Fawad Chaudhry, the senior vice president and a former federal minister, tweeted 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,” Chaudhry wrote.

Hours later, during a news conference in the capital Islamabad, Asad Umar announced he was also stepping down from his leadership position but added that he would remain a PTI member.

“In view of the events of May 9, it is untenable for me to continue in party’s leadership position so I am resigning from the post of secretary general and my membership of core committee,” said Umar, who had been released from a two-week stint in jail earlier in the evening.

With their resignations, Chaudhry and Umar join more than two dozen other leaders from ex-PM Khan’s PTI who have either left their positions or quit the party since his arrest earlier this month.

On Tuesday, former Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari quit PTI after being detained several times since May 12, when she was first arrested over the deadly protests that followed Khan’s arrest.Chaudhry and Umar were also arrested in Islamabad on May 10 on charges related to public order. Chaudhry told reporters after he was released a week later that he condemned the violence sparked by Khan’s arrest.

“Pakistan exists because Pakistan Army exists, and we must devise our policies keeping this point of view at the front,” Chaudhry told reporters after his release.During his news conference on Wednesday, Umar also condemned the violence.

“Almost everyone condemned what happened on May 9, but I want to talk about why those incidents were dangerous for the country. Lives were lost, people were injured, and state and private properties were damaged,” he said.

“But the most dangerous thing was that installations associated with the army were attacked.”

As more politicians jumped ship, PTI chief Khan tweeted: “We had all heard about forced marriages in Pakistan but for PTI a new phenomenon has emerged, forced divorces.”