PDM Chief Maulana Fazal ur Rehman said that the letter written by over 60 Congressmen for the ‘protection’ of Imran Khan showed who was really behind the PTI Chairman.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the PDM chief said that the letter had made it clear whose agenda Imran was working on and why he was launched.

“We will not accept foreign interference,” Fazal said.

A group of 65 congress members had written a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, asking to ‘push’ for protection of human rights in the country.

Imran Khan tweeted that the police were planning to bring terrorists with them and then accuse him of ‘harboring’ terrorists.

He added that the police had done the same thing when they raided his house and planted petrol bombs and guns.

“When the illegal caretaker Punjab govt announced that 40 terrorists were hiding in my house. Should they not have named them?”

President Arif Alvi said that the events of May 9 should be ’openly condemned by Imran Khan.

Speaking to Hamir Mir in an interview on Geo News he also said that the incidents should be investigated and the people involved should be brought to justice.

Imran Khan told journalists in Zaman Park that he has no issue with the establishment but is being pitted against them.

“I have no fight with them (army),” he said, adding that the only one benefiting from the conflict between the army and PTI was the current PDM government.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan told journalists in Zaman Park that the party was facing ‘unprecedented’ pressure.

Referring to PTI leaders announcing their departure from the party, he said he ‘understood the pressure’ they were in and sympathised with them. He added that he had been particularly upset by Amir Kiani’s resignation.

However, he said that he would continue his struggle even if he was left alone.

In response to a question about whether he ‘condemns’ the May 9 events, Imran replied “Who would not condemn the burning of buildings.”

PMLN Leader Miftah Ismail has voiced his support for the business community’s initiative to break the ice and lower the political temperature in the country.

“There are reports that Karachi businessmen have met Imran Khan. This is positive step towards lowering the political temperature.” He said on Thursday.

Earlier this week, unconfirmed reports suggested that Aqeel Karim Dhedi had met Imran Khan at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore — The first such meeting since Khan’s arrest on May 9.

Miftah said politicians, judiciary, military, and rulers should come together to resolve the end the ongoing crisis.

Miftan Ismail, who has recently criticized the economic policies of the PMLN government, also revealed that when he was the finance minister his party pressured him to impose a tax on shopkeepers but he refused to do so.

Former Advisor to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam has parted ways with the PTI. Alsam, who is from the Attock district of Punjab, announced his decision at a press conference in Islamabad.

Malik Amin Aslam also headed of the Billion Tree project under the Imran Khan government.

At the press conference he officially announced his resignation from Tehreek-e-Insaaf and said the PTI was no longer the party he joined 13 years ago.

Malik Amin said that he joined PTI on the agenda of eradicating corruption, started the Billion Tree Tsunami project, and completed it in a transparent manner. “But the events of May 9 came as a shock to people like me.”

Malik Amin Aslam said that on May 9 even the memorials of martyrs were not spared. The PTI leadership should have conducted an intra-party inquiry and exposed the elements involved in the incidents themselves, but the agenda [of the party] is strengthening the hands of our enemies, he said.

The former adviser said there was no pressure on him to quit the party. “I cannot go with PTI’s agenda anymore. This agenda has hijacked the party. The party’s movement has gone in the wrong direction. So today I announce to quit PTI without any pressure.”

Senator Saifullah Abro’s may leave PTI

Amin Alsam is among a host of PTI leaders who have either quit the PTI or condemned the violence but stopped short of leaving the party.

Sources say that Senator Saifullah Abaro has also decided to leave Tehreek-e-Insaf, and he will hold a press conference in 24 hours.

Nearly a dozen former lawmakers from south Punjab have condemned the violence that followed Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9.

They held a joint press conference in Multan on Thursday afternoon.

The former PTI MPAs included Niaz Gashkori, Aon Hameed Dogar, Abdul Hai Dasti , Zaheeruddin Alizai, Alamdar Qureshi, Ashraf Khan Rind, Malik Jahanzeb Warren, Qaiser Magsi, and Malik Mujtabi Maitla.

There were reports that the former MPAs will be quitting the PTI, but no such announcement was made at the press conference. When reporters asked if they were planning to leave the party, the former MPAs ended the press conference without offering a categorical answer.

Zaheeruddin Alizai said that the state of Pakistan was above politics and there was nothing without Pakistan.

Ashraf Rind said the group of former MPAs strongly condemned the events of May 9, especially the storming of the GHQ in Rawalpindi.

It is not about the party, it is about Pakistan, said Ashraf Rind.

A Punjab government ultimatum for the PTI to hand over 40 terrorists allegedly hiding at Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence has expired at 2pm on Thursday.

Imran Khan on Wednesday refuted the government claims the terrorists involved in attacks against military installations on May 9 were hiding at his residence. He offered the police to sweep Zaman Park provided they came with a warrant.

The Punjab government deployed a heavy contingent of police near Zaman Park on Wednesday evening, causing alarm among the PTI leaders and supporters. Imran Khan took to Twitter to say that he was going to be arrested at any moment and it was “probably my last tweet before my next arrest.”

The government has 101 days to circumvent court orders, the Islamabad High Court judge Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb remarked on Thursday.

“I can take action against those who are in Islamabad,” he said while hearing a petition against the arrest of PTI leader Shireen Mazari. They want to disavow the court writ, the judge added.

In the latest installation of desertions from the PTI, the party’s deputy information secretary Mohammad Amjad has decided to quit.

Mohammad Amjad confirmed the development in a phone conversation with Aaj News.

He will announce his decision at a press conference at 6pm on Thursday (today).

On Wednesday, former minister Aamir Mehmood Kiani and two MPAs from the Sindh province, Sanjay Gangwani, and Karim Gabol, quit the PTI.

A day earlier, Mahmood Moulvi, an MNA from Karachi, said he was going to resign from his National Assembly seat and leave the party.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has come under a massive crackdown following attacks against military installations and other government buildings soon after Imran Khan was arrested on May 9.

• On Thursday, May 18, in a major boost for the PTI, the Islambad High Court ordered the release of PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

• PTI Chief Imran Khan was due to appear before NAB in Islamabad, but sources said that he would likely skip the hearing.

• After the Punjab government claimed that around 40 ‘terrorists’ involved in May 9 attacks were hiding at Khna’s Zaman Park residence, the former prime minister expressed fears that he might be arrested again. The Punjab government deadline for the surrender of alleged terrorists expires at around 2pm on Thursday.

• In an interview with Aaj News on Wednesday night, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that Imran Khan could be arrested at any moment after midnight.

https://www.aajenglish.tv/live/politics-may-18-2023