Pakistan’s former premier Imran Khan is witnessing an exodus of his party’s senior members after a sweeping crackdown saw many of them arrested as part of a political tug-of-war between the opposition leader and the military establishment.
(Bloomberg) — Pakistan’s former premier Imran Khan is witnessing an exodus of his party’s senior members after a sweeping crackdown saw many of them arrested as part of a political tug-of-war between the opposition leader and the military establishment.
Former human rights minister Shireen Mazari became the most high profile figure to quit. After being detained multiple times over the past few weeks, she said she was leaving the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party and politics entirely, citing health and family reasons, in a press conference that lasted just a few minutes.
Some two dozen PTI leaders have resigned in the last two weeks dealing a major blow to Khan’s authority, as he continues to challenge the government and military in his quest to retake power. Many of them have blamed the violence that followed Khan’s May 9 arrest for their decision.
“He must be worried at this stage because people are leaving and his party is becoming weaker,” said Hasan Askari Rizvi, a Lahore-based political analyst who formerly taught at Columbia University in New York. “But at the same time, he maintained some sort of posture of defiance therefore the conflict persists.”
The military had warned of stern action against protesters who attacked its properties in the days that followed Khan’s detention on corruption charges. The army and the government have vowed to try those responsible under military law.
“Only the army has the power to pressure Khan’s associates to defect from PTI,” said Kamran Bokhari, Senior Director at the New Lines Institute for Strategy & Policy. “The ongoing crackdown on Khan’s movement is a short-term victory for the military establishment.”
The departures began last week with Mahmood Baqi Moulvi, who resigned from the party and his National Assembly seat, in protest against the violence. Soon after Mazari’s exit on Tuesday, two senior leaders Fayaz-ul-Hasan Chohan and Mian Jalil Sharaqpuri also quit, joining a growing list of national and provincial lawmakers to walk away from Khan.
The former cricket star responded to the resignations on Twitter saying: “We had all heard about forced marriages in Pakistan but for PTI a new phenomenon has emerged, forced divorces.” He has repeatedly denied his supporters were involved in the army attacks.
More than 10,000 people have been arrested by police in raids across the nation, including PTI members, supporters and their families, since Khan stepped up his campaign for early elections this year. That’s led to direct confrontation with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who has said stabilizing the economy needs to be the priority.
The South Asian nation is grappling with a deepening fiscal crisis and is on the brink of a default. An agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a $6.7 billion bailout is still not in sight, while the rupee has tumbled to new lows amid record inflation and interest rates.
“For now, the military leadership seems to have won a key battle in what will be a long war with Khan and the broader struggle to maintain its dominant position in a republic that is becoming increasingly fragile,” said Bokhari from New Lines.
(Updates with details throughout.)
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