Ex-aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar quits PTI a day after arrest

FOOLS_NIGHTMARE · Jun 22, 2023

A day after he was arrested in Islamabad, former aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan on Thursday said he was parting ways with the PTI over the events of May 9.

“The Pakistan Army has rendered numerous sacrifices for the security and sovereignty of the country,” he said in a video statement.

“Attacking the memorials of our martyrs, the GHQ (General Headquarters), the corps commander’s house and Mianwali Air Base is equivalent to attacking the state … they attacked the heart of Pakistan.

“I strongly condemn all these nefarious designs and impure actions. As a Pakistani, I demand that such people should be punished,” Sarwar stated.

He also said that while being a part of the PTI, he had disagreed with and objected to the policies of “confrontation with the state”.

“We should not fight with the institutions,” the ex-minister added.

Sarwar’s statement comes a day after he was arrested in Islamabad in a case registered against him at Taxila police station in connection with May 9 violence.

Police sources told Dawn that Sarwar had managed to evade arrest for over a month. He was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday from his friend’s residence in Islamabad along with his son and nephew.

The arrest of PTI chief Imran Khan by the National Accountability Bureau on May 9 triggered riots across the country and protesters attacked military installations. Since then thousands of protesters, involved in the attacks, have been arrested and around 100 leaders of the PTI have announced quitting the party.