Former defense minister Pervez Khattak on Monday announced he is forming a new political party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTIP), days after the PTI revoked his basic membership for “inciting” people into leaving the party.
While initial reports had suggested Khattak had the support of at least 57 former lawmakers of the National Assembly and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, several of the names highlighted in an unconfirmed list have since made it clear they remain a part of the PTI and are not joining the PTIP. The PTI defectors confirmed to be joining the PTI include former KP chief minister Mahmood Khan; Ishtiaq Armar, Ziaullah Bangash, Ghazan Jamal, Agha Gandapur, Ahtesham Javed, Ahmed Hussain Shah and Falak Naz.
In a statement, the PTIP said Khattak would serve as its chief and claimed it would induct several new members in the coming months. It further claimed that the splinter party was created due to the politicians’ differences with the PTI leadership over the May 9 riots that have triggered a crackdown against its workers and leaders. All politicians joining the PTIP held PTI chief Imran Khan responsible for the May 9 riots, it added.
“Imran Khan’s anti-national agenda was not only rejected by the public but also the party’s own leadership. These patriotic politicians parted ways with the PTI over the May 9 events,” it said.
In a speech to members of the new party, Khattak questioned why the PTI had wasted several opportunities for general elections, ostensibly referring to several rounds of negotiations between the ruling coalition and the party prior to the May 9 riots. Reportedly, the government had offered the PTI several opportunities to proceed for elections, but Khan had rejected them all.
“Do we want to walk the path of democracy or the path of anarchy?” Khattak questioned during his speech and regretted that the PTI had refused to accept past election results. “It must be asked why the PTI refused to acknowledge the results of the elections and why we are still heading towards turmoil,” he said, adding the reasons for the PTI’s refusal to accept the elections remained a mystery. “When this mystery unravels, everyone’s eyes will be opened to the true nature of PTI’s agenda,” he alleged.
The former senior PTI leader maintained that the PTIP’s decision-making would be in the national interest. He also said the party would unveil its manifesto and flag “soon.” Reiterating that he condemned the May 9 riots, he claimed the PTI was now “completely finished in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.”
The PTIP is the second splinter faction to break off from the PTI since the May 9 riots. Earlier, the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), led by Jahangir Khan Tareen, had announced its formation with the inclusion of several former members of the PTI from Punjab.
In a statement, the PTI claimed that the new splinter group would be “washed away” by the public reaction, maintaining that its popularity remained undiminished in the public. It also thanked the “Department of Agriculture”—a reference to the military establishment”—for “exposing the dirty eggs involved in behind-the-scenes conspiracies and separating them from PTI.”