With a slew of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders leaving the party after the May 9 attack, reports were rife that the party’s vice chairman, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, was also parting ways.
However, he has not decided to quit the party.
In a brief conversation with journalists outside Adiala Jail, Qureshi said: “I was in the party, am [in the party] and will remain [in the party].”
Several other party leaders and lawmakers — including Aamir Mehmood Kiani, Malik Amin Aslam, Mahmood Moulvi and Aftab Siddiqui among others — have publicly denounced the attacks on the state installations and announced leaving the former ruling party.
Following their announcement to cut ties with the PTI, many reports were rife that the former foreign minister was also expected to bid farewell to the Imran Khan-led party.
Imran Ismail, a top PTI leader, revealed rumors that Qureshi was starting his own organization within the PTI.
The spokesman lamented the nation’s increasing lawlessness and claimed Qureshi was being punished for his loyalty to the PTI’s founder. The party pledged to take every necessary action to resist what it considered to be an egregious behavior.
A special court established under the Official Secrets Act in January sentenced Imran and Qureshi to ten years in prison after Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain appointed a state attorney to represent them.
Also Read: Pti Founder Shah Mehmood Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison
