PESHAWAR: Once former prime minister Imran Khan’s close aide, Pervez Khattak launched a new party on Monday with a name of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI- Parliamentarians, days after being thrown out of PTI.
Former chief minister Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan and ex-lawmakers including Syed Muhammad Ishtiaq Urmar and Shaukat Ali are among 57 ex-assembly members who joined the party.
The development comes as the Khan-led PTI remains embattled, with its chairman facing over 180 criminal cases amid a threat of disqualification. Several party leaders have left Khan following May 9, the day PTI workers took to the streets and attacked army installations.
Khattak said he condemned the May 9 riots for which several suspects are set to face stern punishments. It is to mention here that the government and army remain determined to try the accused in military courts.
“Our existence is directly linked to that of Pakistan. PTI is now completely finished in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,” the former provincial chief minister said.
Khattak, who served as the secretary general PTI and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister during the PTI government, quit the post of PTI KP president soon after the May 9 incidents. It is yet to be seen what impact Khattak can have on KP’s politics.
