ISLAMABAD: PTI leader Shireen Mazari has finally brought on record her serious reservations against the inclusion of opportunists and remnants of the Musharraf regime, but PTI’s central secretariat, while issuing her statement, deleted her remarks about Musharraf from the Urdu version of their press release. In her statement issued by the PTI’s central secretariat on Monday, Shireen confirmed her differences with the top leadership but said she was not leaving the PTI.
She also hoped in the press release that a parliamentary board constituted under the decision of the CEC of the party will ensure that opportunists and remnants of Musharraf and Zardari regime were kept away from the PTI.
Shireen’s statement has confirmed The News story that there are severe reservations among the workers and leaders of the PTI regarding inclusion of Musharraf’s cronies into the party’s fold. The News had reported on Monday that Shireen was having these differences with the top party leadership and ‘thinking’ to leave the party.
The press release said: “PTI Vice President Foreign and Security Affairs, Dr Shireen Mazari, has strongly denied the news item appearing in an English daily that she is leaving the PTI. She has been out of the country for over a week and is still not back in Pakistan.
“As in any democratic set-up, the PTI has a strong democratic tradition of discussion and dissent, there are issues on which there are disagreements amongst the members of CEC and the party leader, but these are part of the party discourse through which policies are finally formulated. The party’s position on drones and the US war on terror continue to remain unchanged, and its CEC’s decision to form a parliamentary board to whet all applicants for election tickets will protect the party and its principles from the opportunist remnants of the Musharraf era and Zardari regime now scrambling to enter the PTI’s fold. The chairman continues to place his trust in Dr Mazari as vice president foreign and security policy, and there has been no discussion of her either leaving the post or the party.
“Clearly, someone within the party has sought to create mistrust and misunderstanding by taking discussions within the party out of context and making them public. This is regrettable.”
In the Urdu translation of the press release, the PTI secretariat deleted the real point regarding Shireen’s remarks about inclusion of Musharraf and Zardari remnants trying to enter the party fold. All the points raised by The News story were confirmed in the press release and The News stands by its story.