Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf refutes Ayub's resignation
Jun 29, 2024
Islamabad [Pakistan], June 29 : As internal discipline remains the Achilles' heel of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party's top leaders reposed confidence in Omar Ayub Khan and urged him to continue in the roles he previously held.
A meeting of PTI's parliamentary party on Friday "unanimously" expressed confidence in Ayub, who is also the opposition leader in the National Assembly, Pakistan's local daily Dawn reported.
"The parliamentary party unanimously resolves that his resignation may not be accepted and he may be directed to continue as secretary general of the party," Dawn reported, citing a press release issued by PTI.
The press release becomes interesting as it is revealed that the founding chairperson of PTI, Imran Khan had already accepted Ayub's resignation several days back. The revelation came as a surprise even to the party's ardent supporters as they thought Imran Khan would not accept Ayub's resignation.
As demonstrated by the top leadership, the united front failed to cover up the fissures within the PTI. As reported by Dawn, the parliamentary party also refuted media reports of rifts within PTI and said there was no "forward bloc" within the party, which was "united under the leadership of the founding chairman Imran Khan".
Ayub's resignation -- tendered on June 22 -- lent credence to reports of discontent among PTI leaders even though he cited the burden of dual responsibilities as the reason for his decision. In his resignation shared on X, Ayub wrote that it was not possible for him to continue working as the party's secretary general and opposition leader in the National Assembly at the same time.
"I want to thank all members of the PTI family, Parliamentarians, and Tanzeem Office Holders who have worked tirelessly and braved tremendous hardships for [ex] PM Imran Khan sahib and PTI," he had written in a post on X.