Farrukh Habib, senior PTI leader, parts ways with Imran Khan. Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Farrukh Habib joined Jahangir Tareen’s Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) on Monday.
Estranged PTI leaders Tareen and Aleem Khan, who left the ex-PM’s party over severe disagreements, formed the IPP on June 8, along with several Imran loyalists.
During a press conference at the IPP’s head office in Lahore, Habib said the May 9 events were condemnable and he was taken aback by them. The day will be remembered as one of darkness, he said.
Former state minister for information Habib said he hadn’t been home for five months and hadn’t spoken to his family for a few weeks.
In the past five months, I have constantly wondered whether I joined politics for this reason since we have not faced the law since May 9.
In the wake of the May 9 events, two prominent leaders, Sadaqat Ali Abbasi and Usman Dar, left the former ruling party.
Imran was arrested in a graft case on May 9, resulting in widespread protests by the party throughout the country.
Following the events, hundreds of party workers and leaders – including Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi – were arrested.
Taking issue with Imran’s narrative, Habib said PTI’s battle with the state institutions was not a conflict between believers and non-believers, noting that the ex-premier had put the country on the brink of civil war.
There is no peace
During the presser, Habib mentioned that Imran’s government was removed constitutionally, but he refused to accept it.
A no-confidence motion backed by the Pakistan Democratic Movement ousted Imran as prime minister in April last year. In spite of this, Imran was removed from office by a US-backed conspiracy.
Habib said Imran did not allow his party members to sit peacefully after the no-trust vote. Instead of following the law, Imran preferred violence, according to the ex-minister.
I wanted Pakistan to be Quaid-e-Azam’s Pakistan, but we kept moving away from it. I kept asking myself: what are we resorting to?”
“Instead of advocating the struggle through ballots, Imran pushed people to opt for bullets,” Habib said, noting that Imran used people as human shields to avoid arrest.
Examples
After the National Security Committee meeting during Imran’s tenure, a joint statement was issued on the cipher issue.
It was not a conspiracy, but an intervention, Habib said, slamming Imran for using the cable for political purposes without thinking of national interest.
As a court tries Imran for revealing the details of the secret document, he remains behind bars in the cipher case, where he was originally arrested in May for graft.
During the Toshakhana case, in which Imran was disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan, PTI leaders were forced to defend him.
According to Habib, “We were forced to defend the undefendable. We did not know that the PTI chairman had also stolen watches from Toshakhana.” Imran was questioned: “How did you steal watches from Toshakhana while claiming high moral ground?”
On the first day of the controversy, the PTI chairman should have said he had bought watches from the Toshakhana.
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