ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Deposed Imran Khansuffered another shock as the head of his economic team and one of his close aides. Asad Umar resigned from all party posts, amid a government crackdown on the opposition following the May 9 violence.
Umar, Khan’s man Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party’s general secretary, announced his resignation from all party posts shortly after his dismissal. Adiala Prison on Wednesday.
“I cannot lead the party in this situation. I resign as secretary general and core committee member of PTI,” he told a news conference.
Umar said he was not resigning from party offices “under pressure”.
However, he made it clear that he is not leaving PTI but merely resigning from party posts.
Umar said that the most dangerous thing that happened on May 9 was that military facilities were attacked.
“I think it was Imran Khan who best explained the state of the army in Pakistan. He said that we would suffer the same fate as Syria without an army as strong as ours. Khan sb said. that my country needs my army more than I do,” he is quoted by the Express Tribune newspaper.
His resignation comes after former information minister Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday resigned from PTI.
Chaudhry resigned after the resignation of former human rights minister Shireen Mazari. Mazari condemned the actions of the former prime minister’s supporters who attacked and burned sensitive defense facilities across Pakistan on May 9.
On May 9, violent protests broke out after the Paramilitary Rangers arrested Khan from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
Workers in his party vandalized dozens of military facilities, including Lahore Corps Commander’s House, Mianwali airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad in response to Khan’s arrest.
The Army Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi was also stormed by a mob for the first time.
Police put the death toll in violent clashes to 10 while Khan’s party claimed 40 of its workers were killed in a shooting by security staff.
Thousands of Khan’s supporters have been arrested following violence that the Mighty Army describes as a “dark day” in the country’s history.
Several top PTI leaders, including Umar, Chaudary and Mazari, were arrested following the unrest.
“I feel the need for a transparent investigation into those involved in these cases. But thousands of PTI workers and supporters have been arrested, many of them innocent.. It’s important that they be released as soon as possible,” Umar said.
The former finance minister said that the military consisted of not only a few generals whose names were heard on TV, but thousands of soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the safety of the nation.
While Khan views the exodus of top leaders as a “forced divorce” from the “gun,” political experts see it as an attempt to divide PTI, the report said. .
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday that those involved in attacks on military facilities would be tried in military courts while those accused of attacking civilian targets would be prosecuted. prosecution under civil law.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday said the government was weighing the possibility of banning Mr Khan’s PTI party following attacks by his supporters on military facilities following the arrest of the former prime minister.
Khan was ousted from power last April after losing a vote of no confidence in his leadership, which he accused was part of a US-led plot to on him for his independent foreign policy decisions toward Russia, China, and Afghanistan.
Umar, Khan’s man Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party’s general secretary, announced his resignation from all party posts shortly after his dismissal. Adiala Prison on Wednesday.
“I cannot lead the party in this situation. I resign as secretary general and core committee member of PTI,” he told a news conference.
Umar said he was not resigning from party offices “under pressure”.
However, he made it clear that he is not leaving PTI but merely resigning from party posts.
Umar said that the most dangerous thing that happened on May 9 was that military facilities were attacked.
“I think it was Imran Khan who best explained the state of the army in Pakistan. He said that we would suffer the same fate as Syria without an army as strong as ours. Khan sb said. that my country needs my army more than I do,” he is quoted by the Express Tribune newspaper.
His resignation comes after former information minister Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday resigned from PTI.
Chaudhry resigned after the resignation of former human rights minister Shireen Mazari. Mazari condemned the actions of the former prime minister’s supporters who attacked and burned sensitive defense facilities across Pakistan on May 9.
On May 9, violent protests broke out after the Paramilitary Rangers arrested Khan from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
Workers in his party vandalized dozens of military facilities, including Lahore Corps Commander’s House, Mianwali airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad in response to Khan’s arrest.
The Army Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi was also stormed by a mob for the first time.
Police put the death toll in violent clashes to 10 while Khan’s party claimed 40 of its workers were killed in a shooting by security staff.
Thousands of Khan’s supporters have been arrested following violence that the Mighty Army describes as a “dark day” in the country’s history.
Several top PTI leaders, including Umar, Chaudary and Mazari, were arrested following the unrest.
“I feel the need for a transparent investigation into those involved in these cases. But thousands of PTI workers and supporters have been arrested, many of them innocent.. It’s important that they be released as soon as possible,” Umar said.
The former finance minister said that the military consisted of not only a few generals whose names were heard on TV, but thousands of soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the safety of the nation.
While Khan views the exodus of top leaders as a “forced divorce” from the “gun,” political experts see it as an attempt to divide PTI, the report said. .
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday that those involved in attacks on military facilities would be tried in military courts while those accused of attacking civilian targets would be prosecuted. prosecution under civil law.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday said the government was weighing the possibility of banning Mr Khan’s PTI party following attacks by his supporters on military facilities following the arrest of the former prime minister.
Khan was ousted from power last April after losing a vote of no confidence in his leadership, which he accused was part of a US-led plot to on him for his independent foreign policy decisions toward Russia, China, and Afghanistan.
