PTI Rawalpindi tussle: Two senior members set one foot out the door

Arif Abbasi, Hina Manzoor resign after being ‘ignored’ at rally.

RAWALPINDI: The first casualties of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) November 30 rally have unexpectedly turned out from within their own ranks, as rifts within the party’s Rawalpindi chapter have apparently led to the resignations of two senior members.

Member Provincial Assembly Arif Abbasi and Northern Punjab General Secretary Hina Manzoor have decided to resign from party membership in protest against the “discriminatory policies” of the central leadership, a PTI leader and close aide of Abbasi’s said on the condition of anonymity.

He said that Abbasi decided to resign after consulting with his supporters. He claimed that Manzoor has already resigned, but this could not be independently verified till the time this story was filed.

Manzoor contested the 2013 elections for NA-54, losing to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidate Malik Ibrar by a narrow margin.

A delegation of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) also reportedly met Abbasi and Manzoor, offering them important slots if they decide to join the ruling party, a source claimed.

Rift within the PTI Rawalpindi chapter emerged after party chief Imran Khan suspended former PTI Northern Punjab president Sadaqat Abbasi, Arif Abbasi, Raja Rashid Hafeez and other party workers last month after they got into a brawl with security staff outside Khan’s container. Later, Khan had tasked Ijaz Khan Jazi to look after party affairs in the district, leading to a wave of outrage among Abbasi’s supporters.

“We do not know anything about the findings of the committee, even though a month has passed,” he said.

Abbasi managed to bring more people than Jazi for the November 30 rally, but they failed to get the attention of the central leadership, said a party worker who is close to Abbasi. “They were not even allowed to sit on the stage set up for the provincial leadership.” he said, adding “It was humiliating.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2014.