PTI contests Asad’s claim he left office after differences with Imran

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Tuesday strongly contested the party’s former secretary general Asad Umar’s views that he had stepped down from the party post due to differences with Imran Khan’s strategy.

In a statement, PTI Information Secretary Raoof Hassan said confusion in Asad Umar’s views was obvious and plainly refuted his ‘baseless claim’ that he had resigned from the party position due to differences with Imran Khan’s strategy.

He said if Asad did not agree with the decisions of the chairman of the party, he should have left the post then and there. Asad’s claim that he stepped down from the party’s position as secretary general due to a disagreement with the chairman’s strategy was baseless and had nothing to do with reality, which clearly reflected ambiguity and confusion in his views.

However, he said now that the party was being targeted under a well-thought-out plan, it came to his mind to resign, adding that there might be his personal interest, but not of the party. He added that in Asad’s opinion, the PTI should not have closed the doors of dialogue with other political leaders, but the fact was that he as secretary general was aware of all the efforts made to discuss national issues with these political parties to find a negotiated settlement of the issues. Raoof said ambiguity was quite obvious in Asad’s thoughts on finalizing a deal when the Supreme Court provided an opportunity, adding the PTI was not responsible for the failed talks but it were the PDM parties whose fear of defeat in the elections compelled them to sabotage the parleys. He recalled that the PTI demonstrated extraordinary flexibility while staying within the limits of the Constitution, as it even showed flexibility on the already announced May 14 poll date on the government’s desire in order to ensure elections on the same day across the country. He noted that the PTI also offered support for the necessary constitutional amendment to make the negotiations result-oriented. However, he added that it was next to impossible to support negotiations as a ploy to buy time and a source of violating the Constitution and disobeying the order of the SC.

Speaking in a TV show, Asad had said that the job of the party secretary general was not to give free advice but to implement the strategy that had been decided. “If I am against a strategy and opposing it, how can I implement it?” he remarked. He said Pakistan had not seen such a dangerous time since 1971 as the country was standing at a critical juncture where it was necessary for all stakeholders and political players to take two steps back. “You have to give up your ideology and compromise to find a solution. I did not agree with the strategy adopted by Imran,” he said. Asad said he was opposing the PTI chief’s strategy even before May 9. Asad reiterated that he had always maintained that they were not realising the danger properly and finally the alarm bell sounded on May 9.