Malik Amin Aslam, who served as the environment minister in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government, on Thursday announced he was leaving the party over the violence witnessed during the May 9 riots.
Addressing a press conference at the National Press Club in Islamabad, he said the events of May 9 had “shocked” him because PTI workers had taken the law into their own hands. Endorsing the government’s plans to prosecute all culprits, he said the party should have taken the lead on this and initiated an internal inquiry. “Whoever is pushing this agenda [of violence] forward does not have the party’s best interests in mind,” he said, adding he cannot remain in a party that is acting on such an agenda. To a question, he also clarified that he was not acting under any pressure.
Aslam also echoed calls from President Arif Alvi for PTI chief Imran Khan to issue an unqualified condemnation of the violence that occurred on May 9. He said he was unable to understand why PTI supporters had only targeted military and state installations during their riots. Recalling that he had joined the PTI to eradicate corruption, he advised Khan to identify the “black sheep” within his ranks rather than demanding a judicial inquiry. “It is the agenda of our enemies to create differences between the Army and masses,” he warned.
Apart from Aslam, PTI leaders Muhammad Amjad and Imran Ali Shah also announced their decision to exit the party. They both gave similar reasons as Aslam for their departure. Additionally, eight former PTI lawmakers of the Punjab Assembly also announced their decision to leave the party while offering their unqualified condemnations of the unrest triggered by the arrest of Khan.
There is an ongoing exodus from the PTI amidst a crackdown against the party over the rioting of last week, which left several military buildings and installations nationwide ransacked and set on fire, including the Lahore Corps Commander’s house. On Wednesday, Aamer Mehmood Kiani, Sanjay Gangwani, and Karim Gabol announced they were quitting the party. A day earlier, PTI MNA Mahmood Baqi Maulvi said he was quitting the party and resigning from the National Assembly.
The civil-military National Security Committee (NSC) earlier this week endorsed the decision of a Special Corps Commanders’ Conference to prosecute culprits of the riots under all relevant laws, including the Army Act and the Official Secrets Act. The military and government have both described May 9 as a “black day” in Pakistan’s history, stressing that the PTI’s workers had accomplished in a single day what the “enemy” could not in 75 years.