Sources revealed on Friday that as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders such as Fawad Chaudhary and Senior Vice-President Dr Shireen Mazari abandoned the party, PTI’s chairman Imran Khan ordered the revocation of basic membership of all defectors. Additionally, Khan instructed the removal of defectors from the party’s WhatsApp groups.
Recent large-scale desertions are the result of the increasingly intense crackdown against PTI and its leaders, triggered by the mayhem that ensued across the country after Khan’s arrest on May 9. Those who have abandoned the party and removed from WhatsApp groups include Jamshed Cheema and his wife Mussarrat. The references of defectors will be updated on social media accounts, and while no references have been shared thus far, the PTI’s official Twitter account has shared and retweeted posts declaring the defections to be “forced divorces.”
Meanwhile, in a separate tweet, Khan claimed that his party is facing “the full force of state terror.” He also added that PTI members and leaders are facing custodial torture and being tried in military courts on the pretext of arson in protests on May 9.
The Heat
Khan’s party and its leaders have faced intense pressure following the violent protests that occurred after his arrest on May 9. Several party leaders and thousands of workers have been rounded up in connection with the violent protests. Asad Umar, a close aide of Khan, has relinquished his position of secretary general and core committee member, citing the ongoing situation. Several party leaders and lawmakers including Fawad Chaudhary, Shireen Mazari, Aamir Mehmood Kiani, Malik Amin Aslam, Mahmood Moulvi, Aftab Siddiqui, Fayyazul Hassan Chohan and Maleeka Bokhari, among others, have publicly denounced the attacks on state installations and announced leaving the former ruling party since the May 9 vandalism.
