In another major setback for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), its Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry announced Wednesday that he is parting ways with Chairman Imran Khan over the May 9 riots.

“I am parting ways from Imran Khan and stepping down from party position,” he said in a tweet following the mass departure of leaders from the party over the May 9 vandalism.

Chaudhry — a politician hailing from Jhelum — is a vocal critic of the incumbent rulers and a close aide of the PTI chief. He had also served as the information and law minister during his party’s government.

The PTI’s chief spokesperson referred to his earlier statement wherein he “unequivocally condemned” the May 9 violent protests triggered by the arrest of party chief Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

Chaudhry’s decision came a week after he was released from police custody on Islamabad High Court (IHC) order and termed the May 9 events “extremely shameful”.

“Pakistan exists because Pakistan Army exists and we must devise our policies keeping this point of view at the front,” the politician said while speaking with journalists outside the IHC post-midnight on May 17.

He was among the thousands of party workers and leaders who were arrested during the crackdown on PTI since May 9 for the party’s alleged involved in the riots that claimed at least 10 lives and injured dozens others.

Since being released from prison, the outspoken PTI leader kept a low profile and did not make any political statement.

Several party leaders and lawmakers — including Shireen Mazari, Aamir Mehmood Kiani, Malik Amin Aslam, Mahmood Moulvi, Aftab Siddiqui, Fayyazul Hassan Chohan among others — have publicly denounced the attacks on the state installations and announced leaving the former ruling party since the May 9 vandalism.

Mazari, a close aide of Imran Khan, announced a day earlier that she had decided to quit the party for her family sake.

Addressing a press conference in the federal capital, Mazari — the former federal minister like other outgoing leaders condemned the May 9 riots and added that she was the only parent of her children following the death of her husband. “My children and parents are [now] my priority,” she remarked.

Tensions between Khan and the government escalated following the attacks on military installations, with the army and incumbent rulers vowing to try violent protesters in military courts — a move that has drawn criticism from rights organisations.

More to follow…