Imran Khan Suffers First Major Blow As Close Aide Quits Party And Active Politics After Her Arrest

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In the first major blow for Imran Khan, Shireen Mazari, a former minister and his close aide on Tuesday quit the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party and condemned the actions of the former prime minister’s supporters who attacked and torched sensitive defence installations across Pakistan on May 9.

Mazari, 72, announced her resignation and retirement from active politics after she was released following her arrest for the fourth time since May 12 when she was picked from her residence by police and sent to jail in connection with the violence on May 9. She served as the minister for human rights from 2018 to 2022, under Khan’s regime.

Addressing a press conference here, she condemned the violence after the arrest of Khan, also the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on May 9, adding that she had given a similar undertaking in the Islamabad High Court.

“Not only the May 9 and 10 violence, but I’ve always condemned every kind of violence especially against state institutions and symbols like the General Headquarters, Supreme Court and Parliament,” she said.- She then announced her decision to quit Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party as well as active politics, saying the arrest had adversely affected her health and family.

“From today, I’m not part of PTI or any active party because first [for me are] my family, my mother and kids,” she said. Following the unprecedented protests, at least 13 PTI leaders, including Mazari, were arrested under the Maintenance of Public Order ordinance.

She was granted bail by courts on multiple occasions but was re-arrested immediately every time. Feeling the heat of legal processes, several PTI leaders have quit the party but none of them had enjoyed the stature of the liberal-minded Mazari. Her decision to part ways with Khan is considered a big political loss to the party.

The aftermath of the May 9 arson incident has led to an increasing number of PTI leaders parting ways with the party, with the total now reaching 24, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. Joining Mazari in parting ways with PTI is Abdul Razaq Khan Niazi, a former PTI Member of the Provincial Assembly from Khanewal.

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At a press conference, Niazi condemned the attacks on military installations and suggested that such actions could not have occurred without the support of the party leadership. Khan has strongly condemned Mazari’s arrest from outside Adiala after her release orders were issued by the court.

“This regime is sinking to new lows. Her health is fragile and subjecting her to this ordeal by rearresting her despite courts giving her bail is simply trying to break her spirit,” Khan tweeted. “Shireen won’t break as she has more courage than most people I have come across in my life. However, the country is rapidly descending towards becoming a Banana republic where might is right,” he wrote, criticising the government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Meanwhile, civil society including journalists expressed dismay at Mazari’s decision and Geo News anchor Hamid Mir termed her retirement a “huge loss” for democracy and human rights activism. Political analyst Mosharraf Zaidi said the development was “an absolute disgrace for the government, the military and the country at large.”

Mazari was arrested for the fourth time on Monday after the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court had directed authorities to set her free if she was not required under any other case. Her daughter Imaan Mazari-Hazir talking to the media after the court orders had said that “the government should think and not destroy homes like this”. Mazari-Hazir had also lambasted Khan, saying that “it is a pity that party chief Imran Khan has forgotten the workers and leadership”.

Mazari was first arrested on May 12 from her residence in Islamabad as part of a crackdown launched by the federal government on PTI supporters following the May 9 attacks. On May 9, violent protests erupted after the arrest of Khan by paramilitary Rangers. His party workers vandalised a dozen military installations, including the Lahore Corps Commander’s House, the Mianwali airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad. The Army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi was also stormed by the mob for the first time. Police put the death toll in violent clashes to 10 while Khan’s party claims 40 of its workers lost their lives in the firing by security personnel.

Thousands of Khan’s supporters were arrested following the violence that the powerful Army described as a “dark day” in the history of the country. Mazari has been a vocal critic of Pakistan’s military and the government of Prime Minister Sharif. Mazari’s arrest came after a series of arrests of several other PTI leaders, including Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Omer Cheema, Ali Mohammad Khan, Senator Ejaz Chaudhry and others.

Prime Minister Sharif said on Sunday that those involved in attacks on military installations would be tried in the military courts while those charged with attacks on civilian targets would be prosecuted under civilian laws.