Distrust, fear keep Sindh PTI’s remaining leaders from contacting one another

The Sindh chapter of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has lost many members since the May 9 violent incidents, and those who remain are afraid to contact one another as the provincial government has registered dozens of FIRs against PTI leaders who believe that this is a political witch-hunt.

Those who have gone underground and even severed ties with their families out of fear of arrest are cautiously waiting for relief under a wait-and-watch strategy. Some PTI members left the party to protect their businesses, while others were under pressure or used the May 9 incident as an excuse to quit. Before May 9, four out of 30 PTI members of the provincial assembly (MPAs) had already left during the Senate elections. After the incident, eight MPAs -- Sanjay Gangwani, Dr Imran Shah, Bilal Ghaffar, Rabia Azfar, Omar Omari, Abbas Jafri, Malik Shehzad and Ali Aziz — also parted ways with the party. Among them, three were elected on reserved seats.

According to party sources who spoke with The News, around 18 MPAs still hold party positions, although some of them are not considered trustworthy. In the 2018 general elections, PTI won 17 seats in the National Assembly. However, before May 9th, two MNAs named Abdul Shakoor Shad and Nuzhat Pathan had already quit the party, while after May 9th, eight MNAs, including Mahmood Moulvi, Jai Prakash, Aftab Siddiqui, Ali Haider Zaidi, Aslam Khan, Saima Nadeem, Capt Jameel, and Ghazala Saifee bid farewell to the party. Among them, two were elected on reserved seats.

Speaking to The News earlier this week, a party source claimed that the remaining party leaders, including MPAs and MNAs, are not in close contact due to their mutual fear and lack of trust. They are hesitant to share their whereabouts with one another.

The source lamented the reasons behind those who left the party, stating that the Sindh government has filed around 32 FIRs against PTI members. Out of these, two FIRs include about 900 workers and leaders. As a result, when PTI leaders or workers are arrested, law enforcement authorities also name them in these two FIRs if they find no evidence against them.

Leaders complain that violent incidents occurred in Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar, but the Sindh government registered numerous FIRs against the PTI in Karachi. They claim that this move is nothing but political revenge and victimisation.

Regarding Karachi PTI former president Aftab Siddiqui, sources claimed that he was threatened that his business would suffer significant losses if he didn’t quit the party. Thus, he was forced to leave the PTI.

Discussing the story behind Sindh PTI former president Ali Haider Zaidi, a source claimed that before the May 9 incident, he [the source] had met Imran Khan, who expressed dissatisfaction with Zaidi’s performance and remarked that “Zaidi has no future in PTI”. He said Khan wanted to remove Zaidi from his party position, but Zaidi was a friend of Asad Umar, who always came to his rescue.

The source also revealed that Zaidi recommended Mahmood Baqi Moulvi twice for party tickets. When Zaidi became the ports and shipping minister, he appointed Moulvi as a member of the Board of Port Trustees. The source further claimed that before leaving the PTI, Zaidi contacted all his close friends to distance themselves from the party, and Imran Ismail did the same after parting ways with the party.

Currently, only three senior leaders — Haleem Adil Sheikh, Khurrum Sher Zaman, and Arsalan Taj — remain in the PTI. They are unsure about their future working relationship and are suspicious of other party leaders, causing them to be reluctant to contact one another.