PTI suspends basic membership of six leaders, Imran Khan alleges 'forced divorces'

After former Pakistan Defence Minister Pervez Khattak's membership was terminated, political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) suspended the basic membership of six additional party leaders on Sunday, reported ARY news.

The members who were affected by this decision include Haji Shaukat Ali, Mujahahid Maitalah, Nadia Aziz, Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah, and several others.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday, took action by terminating the basic party membership of the former Defence Minister Pervez Khattak. The decision was made due to his failure to provide a satisfactory response regarding allegations of inciting PTI members to leave the party.

According to a report by ARY News, PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan issued the termination letter to Pervez Khattak with reference to the show cause notice that was served to him last month.

“You (Khattak) have not provided a satisfactory reply within the stipulated time regarding contacting party members and inciting them to leave the party,” the termination notice stated. The notice also said that Khattak’s basic Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) membership had been terminated.

Party members being 'threatened' to leave, alleges Imran Khan

Last month, PTI Chairman Imran Khan made a statement revealing that members of his party were facing coercion to leave the party. He highlighted the disturbing tactic of threatening harm to the women in their families as a means of pressuring them to quit.

We had all heard about forced marriages in Pakistan but for PTI a new phenomenon has emerged , forced divorces.

Also wondering where have all the human rights organizations in the country disappeared.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 23, 2023

To support his claim, Imran Khan shared a screenshot of a text message from a person who claimed to be a former PTI member. Taking to Twitter, he expressed concern over the use of such pressure tactics, which he referred to as being akin to "forced divorces."

This is the sort of pressure behind the "forced divorces". pic.twitter.com/Ovfqs5VcFS

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) June 5, 2023

According to a report by Dawn, Pervez Khattak is reportedly preparing to launch his own political party. Sources familiar with the development mentioned that he had planned to make the announcement during a press conference on Saturday.

However, the launch was delayed due to some individuals who had previously expressed interest in joining the new venture showing a non-committal attitude, leading to the postponement of the announcement.