More than 80 leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the political party founded by former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, have defected since his detention last month and the violence that followed it, including attacks on military sites. Some of these leaders have even declared their retirement from politics.
Imran’s closest allies, like former minister of human rights Shireen Mazari, senior vice president and spokesperson for the PTI Fawad Chaudhry, and the party’s secretary general Asad Umar, are among the several leaders who have left the party.
Several other PTI leaders who have steadfastly stood beside to the former prime minister are currently incarcerated, including the party’s vice chairman and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. This flight of important party members has only exacerbated the former prime minister’s problems. Additionally, after the PTI leader was detained in the Al-Qadir Trust case and eventually released on bail, the police incarcerated thousands of PTI employees for their claimed involvement in the violent protests that erupted on May 9 and 10.
To make matters worse, PTI will be banned for “promoting extremism and violence” by the present ruling coalition, which is comprised of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
According to media accounts, the PTI leaders who have left the party have generally made public pronouncements along the same lines: The party leader would schedule a press conference, usually after being released from prison. They would then denounce the violence and declare their devotion to and love for Pakistan. They would eventually announce their departure from PTI and state that they were either taking a break from politics or choosing to retire from it.
Although these leaders have said that they were not forced to retire by outside forces, many experts believe they did so as a result of pressure from the nation’s mighty military. According to Avinash Paliwal, an associate professor of international affairs at SOAS University of London, the military’s extraordinary crackdown is a clear plot to dismantle all of Imran Khan’s support networks.Khan will take their place once those buildings are gone.
Imran has asserted that his party members are being ejected “at gunpoint” as well. But he assigned no responsibility for the purported coercion.
Imran was ousted from power in April 2022 following a vote of no-confidence in parliament. The former prime minister and the army had a falling out last year. Since then, he has been running an anti-military campaign and calling for early elections. Imran has also claimed that the army attempted to kill him and was responsible for his detention in May.
The Pakistani military elite has attempted to shut down a civil political outlet numerous times before. Popular prime ministers and well-known leaders have frequently come under fire from the army as their relationship soured. For instance, in 2017, when he clashed with the army, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was forced from office and imprisoned for corruption.
The ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement coalition of political parties, which recently announced to try those suspected of attacking military installations under the nation’s army law, has backed and assisted the military’s apparent destruction of Imran’s party. They fear an election, which is the main factor behind their constant support for the military.
Imran was ousted from power in April 2022 following a vote of no-confidence in parliament. The former prime minister and the army had a falling out last year. Since then, he has been running an anti-military campaign and calling for early elections. Imran has also claimed that the army attempted to kill him and was responsible for his detention in May.
The Pakistani military elite has attempted to shut down a civil political outlet numerous times before. Popular prime ministers and well-known leaders have frequently come under fire from the army as their relationship soured. For instance, in 2017, when he clashed with the army, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was forced from office and imprisoned for corruption.
The ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement coalition of political parties, which recently announced to try those suspected of attacking military installations under the nation’s army law, has backed and assisted the military’s apparent destruction of Imran’s party. They fear an election, which is the main factor behind their constant support for the military.
