ISLAMABAD, Sept 26: Desertions of senior leaders from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) continue, as party’s vice president, Dr Shireen Mazari on Wednesday announced parting of ways with the party, citing policy differences and its takeover by ‘corrupt’ elements.
Earlier, Khawaja Muhammad Khan Hoti from Mardan, an ANP dissident had also ditched the party and few others left the party in Lahore, saying that the party had deviated from its claim of taking on corrupt politicians.
Dr Mazari, according to a PTI report, was served a show cause notice on September 19, charging her for “Making unfounded, incorrect, inaccurate and false statements in the media.”
She refused to reply to the PTI secretary general’s show cause notice and instead decided to quit.
“PTI’s role as anti status quo party has changed after October 30 Lahore rally, and it has been literally taken over by ‘corrupt moneyed politicians’ and excessive use of money by them has also played its part,” blamed Dr Mazari, while announcing her resignation as PTI vice-president at a news conference here.
A former Director General of a state-run think tank, who joined PTI in 2008, blamed the huge money influx which took over the culture of ‘plane and helicopter’ transforming the PTI into a status quo entity.
PTI chairman’s phone call to Dr Mazari on Tuesday, asking her to tender an apology to Jehangir Tareen for her public outbursts, seems to have been the final nail in the coffin.
She said that she was left alone among the flood affected people of Rajanpur, while Imran Khan went to Awais Leghari’s area and ignored her request.
Asked about speculations that some leaders had joined PTI on getting signals from the army, she simply said that she was unaware of such reports and she can only guarantee that she had neither joined nor was leaving on any external pressure.
She regretted that following her differences, her daughter was targeted without elaborating how? In the charge sheet issued by PTI, however reasons for Mr Khan’s inability to reach Rajanpur are explained in some detail, stating that it was due to uncertain weather conditions that the helicopter could not take Mr Khan to the destination.
Dr Mazari, recalled that at a key central executive committee meeting, she seconded a resolution moved by Ali Zaidi, asking for an apology from those who (joined PTI) and had served in the Musharraf regime and some even faced corruption cases. But that initiative was scuttled by none other than Imran himself.
She came hard on PTI’s energy and economic policies and claimed the energy policy was a rehash of a policy already given by another political party and pointed out the economic policy was in fact a fiscal policy to please IMF, as all its conditions were met in it — like continuing with GST, withdrawal of subsidies and wealth tax.
She warned if implemented, these would have a double-impact on the common man.
In her two-page resignation, she cites ten reasons for her quitting PTI, she joined in 2008, criticising Imran Khan for his decision to open the floodgates for traditional electables unlike ZA Bhutto, who built up the party on existing leadership of that time, representing large groups of middle class.
She alleged that the party’s fast transformation to a status quo entity was also reflected by handing over Rs5 million to PTI’s students wing by an individual directly instead of going via the party account,” she noted.
