PTI suffers major blow
\nMy children and parents are [now] my priority: Shireen Mazari
\nIslamabad
\nIn a major setback for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Shireen Mazari and Fayyazul Hassan Chohan Tuesday announced quitting the Imran Khan-led party which has lost several seasoned leaders in the recent days in the aftermath of the May 9 mayhem.
\nThe development came as several party leaders and lawmakers \u2014 including Aamir Mehmood Kiani, Malik Amin Aslam, Mahmood Moulvi and Aftab Siddiqui among others \u2014 have publicly denounced the attacks on the state installations and announced leaving the former ruling party since the May 9 vandalism. Addressing a press conference in the federal capital, Mazari \u2014 the former federal minister and close aide of Khan \u2014 condemned the May 9 riots during which PTI supporters ransacked and torched public and defence installations across the country.
\n\u201cI strongly condemn the May 9 violence. I have always condemned the violence of any kind,\u201d she remarked.
\nMazari said she is not only leaving her party but also politics. \u201cFrom today onwards, I am not a part of any political party.\u201d The senior PTI leader also said her health deteriorated during the last 12 days of the detention. \u201cMy children and parents are [now] my priority,\u201d she remarked. \u201cI condemn violence against state symbols like the GHQ, parliament and the Supreme Court,\u201d she added.
\nSharing her ordeal, Mazari said her daughter, Imaan Mazari, had to go through a tough time due to her repeated arrests. \u201cWhen I was taken to jail for the third time, my daughter was crying a lot, I saw her video.\u201d
\nThe seasoned politician went on to say that she had also submitted an affidavit to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) pledging that she would not become a part of any violent protest in future. The senior vice president of the former ruling party had been arrested several times during the past few days following the May 9 riots triggered by the arrest of the former prime minister in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
\nEarlier, she was re-arrested once again after the Gujranwala court approved her bail in a case related to the vandalism and attacks on defence and public installations including Lahore Corps Commander\u2019s House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi during the violent protests.
\nChohan lambasts PTI leadership for May 9 violence Shortly after her presser, Fayyazul Chohan addressed the media and also announced parting ways with the party.
\n\u201cI will continue exposing anti-Pakistan elements. I will say categorically that there was no PTI leader present who could stop workers from violence on May 9,\u201d he remarked while addressing a press conference in Islamabad.
\nOpposing Imran Khan\u2019s \u201canti-establishment\u201d tirade, Chohan said politicians are not supposed to clash with the state institutions. \u201cI had been sidelined in the party for the last one year and even once denied permission to meet Imran Khan in Zaman Park.\u201d<\/p>\n
He announced quitting the party saying he will continue serving the country and playing an active part in politics.<\/p>\n
Reacting to the PTI leaders\u2019 departure, Khan has claimed that they had been pressurised into leaving the party.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sympathies go to all those who are under pressure and have been made to leave the party. And I commend and salute all the senior members who are resisting the extreme pressure to quit the party,\u201d Khan wrote on his official Twitter handle last week.<\/p>\n
Following the May 9 vandalism, the high-powered National Security Committee (NSC), comprising top civil and military leadership of the country, vowed to try the miscreants under relevant laws of the country including the Army Act.<\/p>\n
Subsequently, thousands of party workers have been arrested across the country over their alleged involvement in the May 9 riots with top leadership including party\u2019s vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi and secretary general Asad Umar remained behind bars despite court ordering their release.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PTI suffers major blow My children and parents are [now] my priority: Shireen Mazari Islamabad In a major setback for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Shireen Mazari and Fayyazul Hassan Chohan Tuesday announced quitting the Imran Khan-led party which has lost several seasoned leaders in the recent days in the aftermath of the May 9 mayhem. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":333041,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-333021","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n