Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf suffered its first major blow on Tuesday after Khan’s close aide and former human rights minister Shireen Mazari announced her resignation from the party and her decision to quit “active politics” altogether. The 72-year-old politician, who condemned the actions of Khan’s supporters who attacked and torched sensitive defence installations across Pakistan on May 9, cited “personal reasons” for her retirement, as per a report by Dawn. 


Mazari was among the 13 PTI leaders that were arrested under the Maintenance of Public Order ordinance after Khan’s supporters went on a rampage across Pakistan after his arrest. The former Pakistan Prime Minister was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau in the Al Qadir Trust graft case. Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were alleged that they obtained billions of rupees from a real estate firm for legalising Rs 50 billion.


Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Mazari condemned the ensuing violence that took place during the protests on May 9 and 10 and said that she had given an undertaking to the same in the Islamabad High Court. 


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“Not only the May 9 and 10 violence, but I’ve always condemned every kind of violence especially against state institutions and symbols like the General Headquarters, Supreme Court, and Parliament,” the report quoted her as saying. 


As per her lawyer, Imaan Hazir Mazari, the former minister decided to quit the party and active politics after the ordeal of her 12 days under arrest and the effect it had on her health as well as her daughter, Dawn reported. 


“From today, I’m not part of PTI or any active party because first [for me are] my family, my mother, and kids.”


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Joining Mazari in parting ways with PTI is Abdul Razaq Khan Niazi, a former PTI Member of the Provincial Assembly from Khanewal. At a press conference, Niazi condemned the attacks on military installations and suggested that such actions could not have occurred without the support of the party leadership.


Feeling the heat of legal processes, several leaders left PTI in the aftermath of the May 9 arson incident. 


With Mazari’s resignation, the total number of PTI leaders that have left the party till now has reached 24, as per a report by The Express Tribune.