Former advisor to KP chief minister, Ajmal Wazir Khan and two other leaders quit the PTI on Saturday, in the latest installation of desertion from the party.

Ajmal Wazir, Zulfiqar Ali Shah, and Hisham Inamullah announced their resignations at press conferences separately, where they condemned the violence that follow Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9.

Ajmal Wazir Khan, who was a member of the KP assembly, said the idea of honor was everything to him. He also referred to a series of audios of the PTI leaders that have surfaced since May 9.

Wazir said following the May 9 violence, India claim that Pakistan had ended. It was extremely painful. This is a country of 230 million people, it does not belong to a single person, he said at the press conference in Islamabad.

Earlier, PTI’s Zulfiqar Ali Shah announced his resignation from the party membership at a press conference in Islamabad.

Zulfiqar Shah said that on May 9, the memorial of martyrs was burnt. “I cannot go against Pakistan, I live and die with Pakistan.”

Hisham Inamullah Malik addressed a press conference in Peshawar.

Inamullah, the former provincial health minister, said he had joined the PTI for justice and to serve his country. But now the situation is very different now, he said.

The ruling alliance was under no pressure, the government spokesperson said on Saturday as the United States and Canadian lawmakers express concerns over the situation in Pakistan.

“I want to explicitly as a government’s spokesperson tell you that we are under no pressure,” Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said at a press conference in Islamabad which was centered on May 9 riots and PTI’s social media campaigns.

Her comments came after as many as 66 US lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, urging him to push for democracy and human rights in Pakistan.

On Friday, around 16 Canadian MPs wrote a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and expressed their “grave concern over the situation unfolding in Pakistan”. They added that people’s “right of peaceful protest to be respected”.

Moreover, human rights organisations have also expressed their concerns over arrests of political opposition and the government’s decision to try civilians in the military courts.

Marriyum was whether the government was under pressure amid such letters and what countermeasures were being taken.

“We have the pressure of those whose schools and hospitals have been burned, we are under pressure of those whose martyrs’ statues were desecrated,” she said, adding that the government same kind of “pressure” when the incumbent government was termed “imported”.

“Even then letters were written even then there was pressure. Even then letters were written as even then lobbyists were hired and today also they are hired. We have a duty to safeguard people and not violate the rights and protection of citizens is our responsibility.”

The information minister advised those who were writing letters on Pakistan’s situation to do some soul-searching.

Marriyum gave the example of January 6, the Capital Hill attack, saying that people involved in the violence were “still in jail”. To some extent, she was referring to the government’s measures to arrest the May 9 rioters.

When asked about rumours of an extension in the government’s tenure for a year, she negated such claims.

“Neither have I heard this. This rumours are by those who are ‘political martyrs’, those whose politics is based on rumours. Hopefully, the constitutional tenure will be completed and elections will be held on time,” she said.

Marriyum further accused the PTI of circulating “AI generated” images on social media to allegedly defame law enforcement agencies and incite hatred against them among the public.

She blamed Imran Khan for instigating his supporters to attack the police and utilising fabricated images to fuel animosity towards law enforcement officials in the country.

She claimed that Khan deleted the AI generated after it was reported by France 24 that the images used were not true.

Like some government leaders, Marriyum expressed her regret over the “lack of condemnation” from Khan over attacks on monuments of martyrs and sensitive installations on May 9.

• Earlier, Bolton warned of hurting Pak-US relations over Khan

An audio clip purportedly containing a Zoom conversation between PTI Chief Imran Khan and US Congresswoman Maxine Moore Waters has been leaked to the internet. The audio clip suggests Imran Khan urged the US Congresswoman to issue a statement in favour of the PTI which has come under a massive crackdown from the government following May 9 violence.

Aaj News cannot independently verify the authenticity of the audio clip that ends with Imran Khan thanking two men, Adnan and Salman, in Urdu.

The alleged leak follows a letter written by 66 members of Congress to the US secretary of state “to express our concerns about the current situation in Pakistan.” They urged him “to use all diplomatic tools at your disposal to pressure the government of Pakistan towards a greater commitment to democracy.”

The leak also coincides with a call between former US National Security Advisor John Bolton and Imran Khan. Two days before the call, Bolton warned that the crackdown against Imran Khan could damage Washington’s relations with Pakistan.

Leaked audio

Khan’s alleged Zoom conversation with Waters seems to revolve around the ongoing crackdown against the PTI.

The PTI chief provides a brief account of the events since April 2022 when he was removed from government, saying his government was removed with the ex-army chief. “You know the Army is powerful, the secret agencies. They toppled my government.”

Khan tells US Congresswoman to independently verify what he is saying and issue a statement. “We have the worst crackdown in our history. No democratic party had ever had such violation of the fundamental rights. You know… what we want is for you to simply find our yourself … that what is going on is unprecedented. So, we would appreciate here because … it goes a long way when someone like you Maxine … gives a statement…”

“When Maxine someone like you speak it makes a lot of waves in our country,” he said.

In the clip, Maxine’s voice is not heard and it ends with Imran Khan thanking Adnan and Salman. “Zabardast hogia na papa,” a man says.

Bolton warns Pakistan

Earlier, PTI leader Atif Khan said that the former national security adviser to US President Donald Trump, John Bolton had spoken to PTI chairman Imran Khan.

Atif, the former focal person for the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis said the former UN Ambassador had a phone call with Chairman Imran Khan on Friday.

Bolton shared his concerns regarding the arrests taking place in the wake of violent protests in Pakistan which were triggered by Imran Khan’s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

“The US has critical interests in Pakistan. Continued instability and violence are not in anyone’s interests. The treatment of Pakistan’s former premier Imran Khan hinders relations and raises tensions,” he wrote on Twitter.

“Civilians should not be tried in military courts where they have no access to basic rights,” he added.

The Lahore High Court has suspended the detention orders of 123 people, including leaders and workers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, from Faisalabad.

LHC judge Justice Anwarul Haq announced the reserved decision while hearing a petition of PTI leader Farrukh Habib, challenging the arrest of its 123 workers.

Habib’s lawyer Ahmed Pansota contended that dozens of PTI workers were arrested from Faisalabad after May 9 riots. He claimed that IG police of Punjab had admitted on media. “Arrests and detentions are violations of basic rights and are illegal,” he said.

He urged the court to invalidate the detention orders given by the Faisalabad deputy commissioner.

The court sent notices to parties in the case and has sought response from them.

Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister Hisham Ullah Khan has announced his decision to part ways with the PTI over May 9 violent protests and central party leaders’ “anti-military” narrative.

“I consider my association with the PTI as an insult,” he said at a press conference in Peshawar on Saturday. “I do not want to stand with those who spread anti-nationalism.”

Earlier, Aaj News while quoting sources within the party reported that Hisham would leave party following violent protests in the wake of May 9 protests, the day when Imran Khan was arrested.

Over the past couple of days, many PTI leaders have quit the party citing concerns similar to what Hisham has. In the protests, which continued for two days, state buildings and “sensitive” places were attacked.

But Khan claims that his party leaders were under pressure to quit. He has condemned the violence and called for an inquiry conducted by the chief justice of Pakistan. The government has decided to try civilians under the army act, however, rights organisations have condemned such a move.

“I resign from my PTI membership right here and now because I do not have disloyalty in my blood as a Pashtun,” Hisham said.

He announced that he and his family Saifullah Brothers and their supporters were thinking to contest elections on all Lakki Marwat seats and reserved seats of the Southern district through the ‘Marwat Bettani Qaum’ platform.

He went on to add that they can have an alliance with the mainstream parties.

Why Hisham decided to quit?

In addition to the May 9 violence, sources said that Hisham was angry about Khan’s “anti-establishment” narrative. They added that the PTI leader had differences with the party which was exacerbated when he was accused of neglecting local organisation.

This prompted the local organisation to oppose him and Hisham was apparently neglected in private events of the PTI.

Hisham joined the PTI in 2018 and was elected MPA from Lakki Marwat, KP. He served as the provincial minister for health in the last PTI tenure.

Sources claimed that Hisham was already fired from the party for his “anti-party election” in the local government polls. They alleged that he was using the PTI’s name to secure his political future.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan underwent a medical check-up and different tests at the Shaukat Khanum hospital in Lahore in the early hours of the day.

The former premier was suffering from stomach pain since the last day due to which he was shifted to the hospital, sources told Aaj News. He travelled with a convoy from Zaman Park to the hospital.

Earlier, party leader Iftikhar Durrani tweeted that the former PM would be paying a visit to the SKMCH for a check-up post his release. It was a detailed check-up after his “illegal arrest”, he added.

Sources added that Khan was examined for four hours by doctors at the hospital.

Meanwhile, the district administration carried out an operation against encroachment in Zaman Park. PTI tents were pulled down, containers and campuses were removed. A heavy contingent of police force was deployed at the site. Roads adjacent to Zaman Park were closed.

On Friday, Khan refused police permission to search his Lahore home for suspects involved in this month’s attacks on state and army buildings and laid out his own terms for any such operation.

He has denied sheltering anyone involved in the violence and said a search could only be conducted by a panel set up by a high court, with members form both the government and his party - and on the condition that a female officer accompanies them.

“They first said that there were terrorists (inside), but then they said that there were wanted men,” Khan told reporters.

“I asked them, they could come and see inside if there were any wanted men, but they said they wanted to search my home, which I couldn’t allow,” he said.

“If they have to search, it will be under a court order, like it said earlier, that there will be persons from both sides with a woman included.”

https://www.aajenglish.tv/live/politics-may-20-2023