Bulk resignations; Khan loses party leaders before Pakistani elections
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Former Pakistani Prime Minister and leader of the opposition, Imran Khan, suffers a heavy blow, months before the national elections, after dozens of his party members resigned.
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Pakistan's former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, talks to the media before signing the documents to submit a surety bond over his bails in different cases, in Lahore Gigh Court in Lahore, on July 17, 2023. (AP)
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan suffered a major blow months before national elections, after one of his most trusted leaders quit his party, according to the Bloomberg agency.
In a video message from Peshawar, Pervez Khattak, who served as Khan's chief minister in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 2013 to 2018 and as the defense minister for the next four years, said he quit Khan's party in the "interest of the country."
Such a move, described as a "political rebellion" against Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, came two months after deadly protests shook the country at the beginning of May.
Read more: Pakistan considers banning Imran Khan's party: Defense Minister
Khan's supporters were enraged after his arrest in a corruption case, and they protested for several days. The bloody violence that ensued amid the police crackdown did not subside until after Khan was released by order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
In the weeks that followed, several senior members of his party also resigned, with reports revealing that they were pressured to do so.
In an unprecedented move on Monday, 57 members of Khan's party - most of them former MPs and other well-known politicians - announced their resignation from the party to form their own party, which they called Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians.
Read: Khan washes hands of corrupt system, to quit legislative assemblies
Khan, 70, faces more than 170 court cases ranging from corruption to murder and violence since he was removed from power in April of last year.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who took over from Khan, said he will step down before the National Assembly completes its five-year term next month, and elections could be held by November.
A few days ago, Tanveer Rajput, the lawyer of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, stated that the latter will file a request in court to challenge a non-bailable arrest warrant issued against him by the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Khan had appeared before three different courts in the capital, Islamabad, and was granted bail in several other cases.
