- According to Asad Umar, Exodus of leaders will not damage PTI’s voter base.
ISLAMABAD: Asad Umar, a prominent leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, recently resigned from all his party positions, including the secretary general. Despite the desertion of party leaders following the May 9 vandalism incident, Umar expressed confidence that the party’s vote bank would remain unaffected.
During a conversation with reporters outside the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Umar stated, “The party’s vote bank is solely due to Imran Khan. It makes no difference whether someone stays or leaves.” He emphasized that his resignation was different from his colleagues’ departures, as he only stepped down from party positions and did not sever ties with Khan.
The arrest of PTI chairman Imran Khan on May 9 triggered widespread violent protests across the country. Unruly protesters not only attacked military and public installations but also prompted both the civil and military leadership to take strict action against the rioters, including trial under the Army Act.
Since then, numerous party leaders, including Shireen Mazari, Ali Zaidi, and Fawad Chaudhry, among others, have chosen to leave the party, citing the attacks on military installations as their reason for departure.
Umar vehemently denied reports suggesting his own departure from the PTI. He stated, “I am in the party, no matter how many times you ask the same question.”
Simultaneously, the IHC granted Umar protective bail in a terrorism case related to his alleged involvement in the May 9 vandalism. The bail was approved upon submission of a surety bond of Rs25,000. The IHC division bench, consisting of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, directed Umar to approach the relevant court before Thursday, June 1, as the case against him had been filed at the Gulberg police station in Lahore.
On May 24, Umar was released from Adiala Jail after the IHC declared his arrest under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) null and void. He had been taken into custody from the IHC premises on May 10, one day after widespread violence erupted during countrywide protests against Imran Khan’s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
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