Islamabad, Pakistan – Since his controversial arrest and the violence that followed, more than two dozen leaders of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have left the party, which it blames for the exodus to the government’s continued repression.
In the biggest setback for Khan’s party since the exodus began, Shireen Mazari quit the PTI on Tuesday after the former human rights minister was detained several times since she was first arrested on May 12 by the deadly protests that followed Khan’s arrest.
In a press conference at her residence in Islamabad on Tuesday evening, the 57-year-old politician condemned violence, including attacks on military installations, and said she will not continue in politics.
“The constant release and detention and the ordeal that my daughter Imaan underwent also had an impact on my health. For these reasons, I have decided that I will leave active politics. And I want to add that from today I will not I will not be a part of PTI or any other political party,” he said.
As more politicians jumped ship, PTI chief Khan tweeted: “We all had heard about forced marriages in Pakistan, but for PTI a new phenomenon has emerged, forced divorces.”
We all had heard about the forced marriages in Pakistan, but for PTI a new phenomenon has emerged, the forced divorces.
He also wonders where all the human rights organizations in the country have disappeared to.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 23, 2023
The defections compound Khan’s problems as the 70-year-old politician fights more than 100 legal cases and tries to avoid being arrested again.
Speaking to reporters in an Islamabad court on Tuesday, Khan alleged that his party leaders were being forced to leave, without saying who.
“People aren’t quitting, they’re being forced out of the game at gunpoint,” he said. “Political parties cannot be dismantled with these tactics.”
Shibli Faraz, a key aide to Khan, told Al Jazeera that while it was unfortunate that some “good people” were forced to leave the party, he also called it a blessing.
“There were people who were opportunists and were not an asset to the party but a liability. It is the people that matter and not the leadership except Imran Khan himself. He has the main attraction and that is how our people gain strength from him,” Faraz said.
He said the defections will not affect the PTI in the upcoming general and provincial elections, calling Khan the country’s most popular leader.
“Everything that has happened in the country is being done to avoid elections because the government is afraid that the PTI will sweep it. If it is a democratic society, let the people decide who will rule them,” Faraz said.
Khan was ousted from power after losing a vote of confidence in parliament in April last year. Since then, he has been campaigning nationally to demand immediate elections, scheduled for October this year.
‘Establishment’ blamed
According to experts, due to the outsized role of the Pakistani military in domestic politics, defections from political parties are not a new phenomenon.
They say these defections are happening at the behest of the “establishment,” a euphemism for the military that has ruled the country directly for nearly three decades.
Sameen Mohsin Ali, a professor at the University of Birmingham in the UK, told Al Jazeera that political careers in Pakistan are often built around “opportunistic, non-ideological lines”.
“Their decisions about when to stay and when to leave are shaped not by party trends, but by the logic or political dynamics of their constituencies and their prospects for power. That’s why we see politicians switch to party with a better chance of winning national or provincial governments,” he told Al Jazeera.
Political analyst Benazir Shah said while some politicians who “abandon the PTI ship” were known for their “toxic brand of politics”, their decision to stay in politics should be decided by the common people.
“Voters should have the right and should be given the opportunity to remove these politicians from the political arena. But as of now, it seems the establishment is making that decision for them, deciding which party politician may or may not participate in elections,” Shah told Al Jazeera.
Shah said it was not easy to predict how politicians leaving the PTI would affect the party in the future.
“The establishment has tried in the past to break up political parties like the PPP [Pakistan People’s Party] and the PMLN [Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz]. But the plan rarely worked. These political parties proved resilient because of a loyal party base, which was willing to endure long jail terms and court cases for the leadership,” said the Lahore-based analyst.
But Asma Faiz, an associate professor of political science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, was more skeptical about the PTI’s chances in future elections.
“These defections may have a dampening effect on the PTI’s performance in the upcoming elections. There is no doubt that Khan has massive support among the people, but he needs strong candidates who will bring his own vote bank.”
