ISLAMABAD (Agencies): Maleeka Bokhari, a former parliamentarian, Thursday announced quitting the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), joining a long list of leaders to desert the party following the May 9 riots.
“I condemn the events that transpired on May 9. For every Pakistani, the events that took place on May 9 are very painful,” the former member of the National Assembly said in a press conference in Islamabad. Announcing her “dissociation” from the party, Bokhari said she wasn’t under duress and “no one forced me into making this decision”.
“As a lawyer, I want to play a positive role in Pakistan. I also want to spend time with my family,” she said. Bokhari quit the party hours after her release from Adiala Jail, where she was sent after being arrested under Section 4 of the Maintenance of Public Order. In her presser, Bokhari backed the authorities’ decision to investigate the May 9 events and said the people behind the violent events should be punished.
“When a red line has been crossed, then action should be taken in line with the law,” she added. Khan’s party has been feeling the heat of the state’s might after his party workers burnt and smashed military installations, including the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, after his arrest on May 9 — a day the army dubbed as “Black Day”.
Maleeka Bukhari quits PTI
