Resignations from key positions: Questions raised over how Asad Qaisar, Shah Farman quit

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leaders in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa claimed that former speaker of National Assembly Asad Qaisar and erstwhile governor Shah Farman knew that the new government would replace them so they “staged a drama of quitting their positions” in a bid to curry favour with Imran Khan.

“Both Asad Qaisar and Shah Farman are smart. They played their innings well. However, the party chairman is smarter than them and he was well aware of their intentions,” a senior PTI leader and former Member National Assembly from Peshawar told The News.

Asad Qaisar and Shah Farman resigned from their prized positions to express loyalty to Imran Khan. As speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaisar had refused to let the no-trust motion go through his chair against Imran Khan. His act created a constitutional crisis and political turmoil.

He came under tremendous criticism from within and outside the country and people of his own party also felt there were better ways of paying homepage to the party leader. According to the party insiders, they knew about the plan of the joint opposition parties and the first thing they wanted to do was to replace the speaker of the National Assembly and the Senate chairman.

“Asad Qaisar played to the gallery to win the hearts and minds of the PTI workers,” the PTI leader explained. Another PTI leader from Swabi, the home district of Asad Qaisar, also shared similar views.

Some people on social media challenged Asad Qaisar’s claim when he stated on the floor of the National Assembly before resigning from speakership that it was difficult for him to let the no-confidence motion take place against Imran Khan as he had joined him since his student life.

An old acquaintance of Asad Qaisar, Aamir Jamal, Associate Professor of International Social Development, and currently working as Director, Global Engagement and International Partnerships at the University of Calgary, Canada, said he had known Asad Qaisar since his association with Islami Jamiat Talaba, a student wing of Jamaat-I-Islami (JI). He said Asad Qaisar opened a school in his native Swabi district where he used to invite him as a guest speaker. He was a member of Paasbaan before joining PTI in 1994, he recalled. “Asad Qaisar may have made the remark due to emotions or tension,” Aamir Javed said, claiming he lied even on his last working day as speaker of the august house.

Asad Qaisar worked hard to rise through the ranks from being a schoolteacher in Swabi to a politician at the national level. He contested his first election on the PTI ticket and became a member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. After his election, he was tipped as the chief minister but he ended up being made the speaker of the provincial assembly.

However, it was Pervez Khattak, who managed to get the coveted position. In an attempt to curry favour with Imran Khan, Shah Farman also announced stepping down, saying he would be unable to give protocol to the new prime minister.