'Standing with Imran', says Sheikh Rashid as PTI exodus continues

Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said on Sunday that as long as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan is 'fighting this battle', he will stand with him.

In a video posted on his official Twitter handle, the former minister said, “I am not a coward, I maintain friendships and enmities till death.” 

He stated that for the past 20 days, the police have been raiding the houses of his sisters, nephews, brothers and his mother, who died 30 years ago.

Read Shireen Mazari quits PTI and politics 'for family's sake'

The AML chief added that although he was not in the country, he condemned the events of May 9, saying that he considers the "Pakistan Army great and protector of the country”.

He also claimed that three men have been engaged to eliminate him. “I want to tell the nation that I have the right to defend myself. I have written to the real government officials of Pakistan,” he added.

Rashid also said that there is "a limit to oppression".

“I have only been tweeting for the past 20 days and have not even been on a TV talk show. If [they] are afraid of my Twitter, I will continue tweeting until I am arrested,” he said.

In another development, PTI former Member of the Punjab Assembly (MPA) Malik Khurram Khan parted ways with the party, saying that was deeply saddened by the events of May 9.

In a press conference today, Khurram said that Pakistan and its national security institutions come first, saying that he cannot do politics by being associated with a party opposed to the institutions of national security

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“It is sad to play with the sanctity of the national security agency to flaunt your politics,” he said. The former MPA added that he cannot even think of going against Pakistan or the army.

“I will continue politics for the betterment of people of my constituency,” he maintained.

Khurram is the latest member of the former ruling party to announce his exit. The aftermath of the May 9 arson incident has led to an increasing number of PTI leaders parting ways with the party, with the total now reaching over 25.