Another blow for Imran Khan as close adviser Fawad Chaudhry leaves PTI

In another blow to ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, his close aide and former information minister Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday resigned from his party, which is under government pressure over the May 9 violence.

Chaudhry’s resignation came a day after former human rights minister Shireen Mazari resigned from Khan’s 70-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, condemning the actions of the former prime minister’s supporters who attacked and burned down facilities. sensitive defense stations across Pakistan on May 9. .

“My previous statement in which I unequivocally condemned the incidents of May 9, I decided to take a break from politics, therefore I have resigned my position in the party and parted ways with Imran Khan,” he tweeted.

Chaudhary served as Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Minister for Science and Technology during his government. He was a senior vice president of the PTI and spokesperson for the party.

Mazari, 72, announced her resignation and retirement from active politics after being released following her fourth arrest since May 12, when police took her from her residence and sent her to jail in connection with the violence of the May 9.

She served as the human rights minister from 2018 to 2022, under the Khan regime.

On May 9, violent protests broke out after paramilitary Rangers arrested Khan at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises.

Workers from his party vandalized a dozen military facilities, including the Lahore Corps Commander’s House, the Mianwali airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad in response to Khan’s arrest.

The Army Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi was also raided by the mafia for the first time.

Police put the death toll in violent clashes at 10, while Khan’s party says 40 of its workers were killed when shot by security personnel.

Thousands of Khan’s supporters were arrested after the violence that the powerful military described as a “dark day” in the country’s history.

Several senior PTI leaders, including Chaudary and Mazari, were arrested in the aftermath of the riots.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday that those involved in attacks on military installations would be tried in military courts, while those accused of attacks on civilian targets would be prosecuted under civilian laws.

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on Wednesday the government was considering a possible ban on Khan’s PTI party following attacks by his supporters on military installations following the former prime minister’s arrest.

Khan was ousted from power in April last year after losing a vote of no confidence in his leadership, which he claimed was part of a US-led conspiracy that targeted him over his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China and Afghanistan.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency – PTI)