The ongoing exodus of workers and leaders from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf continues with no seeming end in sight, as several prominent personalities have announced they are exiting the party, with several adding that they are also stepping away from active politics entirely.
On Friday, PTI leaders Abrarul Haq, Firdous Ashiq Awan and Saifullah Nyazee all addressed separate press conferences in which they announced they were parting ways with party chief Imran Khan. The first to make the announcement was Awan, who served as information minister of Punjab during the PTI’s government but had subsequently been sidelined from the party leadership.
Stating that she had joined the PTI to serve the country, she lamented that the objectives of the party had now changed. “Pakistan’s progress and Imran Khan are incompatible with each other,” she said, highlighting the May 9 riots as an example of the party’s “violent and terrorist activities” that had forced her to quit.
Paying tribute to martyrs, she said anyone who had targeted their monuments and disrespected them had in fact attacked Pakistan’s foundation and ideology. Clarifying that she had been in “self-exile” from the PTI for the past year over differences with the party’s narrative, she alleged that Khan had a habit of “becoming any enemy to his friends.” Accusing the former prime minister of using people like “tissue papers” before discarding them, she claimed this was why the PTI was facing a “dead end” today.
A few hours after Awan’s announcement, former Punjab education minister Murad Raas conducted a separate press conference in which he, too, announced he was leaving the PTI. A visibly emotional Raas—who had not been granted a ticket by Khan for elections to the Punjab Assembly—said he was also stepping away from active politics, stressing that no amount of condemnation was enough for the riots of May 9. “I never thought I would part ways with the party,” he said, blaming Khan’s advisers for the party’s turn toward violent agitation.
“We do not believe in the PTI’s politics of violence,” he added.
The third “wicket” of the PTI to fall on Friday came from former singer Abrarul Haq. A long-time member of the PTI, he said he, too, was quitting the party and stepping away from active politics to focus on social welfare. “I regret standing with Imran Khan,” he said, saying he had grown up in a family with a political and military background and had been blessed “with fame by Allah” that had pushed him to work for the betterment of the country.
Stressing he respected all martyrs, he claimed he had no “greed for fame or position.”
The fourth press conference of the day came from Senator Nyazee, who also announced he was parting ways with the PTI. “I remained very disturbed during the past year,” he said. “I now want to focus on my family,” he said, while condemning the May 9 riots.
Several other PTI leaders, including Irshad Kathia from Okara; Azmat Saeed Chishti from Sahiwal; and Tahir Amin Ghauri from Lodhran also announced they were quitting the party in separate news conferences.
The resignations continued into Saturday morning, with PTI Karachi’s Ali Zaidi and Khusro Bakhtiyar of South Punjab also announcing they were exiting the party. In separate video statements, both leaders said they would no longer be affiliated with the party. Zaidi said he was retiring from active politics, as he wished to focus on his business.
On May 9, Imran Khan was arrested in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case, triggering mass rioting. The rioters, purportedly belonging to the PTI, targeted various military buildings and installations, prompting swift backlash from the military and civilian leadership, with both announcing the culprits would be prosecuted under all relevant laws, including the Pakistan Army Act and the Official Secrets Act.