A delegation of PTI defectors comprising Fawad Chaudhry, Imran Ismail, Mahmood Moulvi and Aamir Kiani met Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Adiala jail on Wednesday and reportedly tried to convince him to part ways with the deposed prime minister, a private TV channel reported. Addressing a press conference following a meeting with detained PTI leader, Fawad – once a close aide of Khan – said that 250 million people could not be left at the mercy of component parties of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) – a multi-party ruling alliance led by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. “250 million people can’t be left at the mercy of [Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman] Asif Ali Zardari and [Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo] Nawaz Sharif,” he added. Fawad was addressing the presser flanked by former PTI leaders Ismail and Moulvi. “We believe that [legal] action against the people involved in May 9 incidents will move forward as per the law.” The incumbent government cannot be given an open field in the absence of an active apportion, the ex-PTI leader said. He made the remarks amid rumours about the launch of a new political party in the country, mostly comprising the former ruling party’s defectors.
The ex-PTI leader said that they have contacted Ali Haider Zaidi, Pervez Khattak, Asad Umar, Atif Khan, Farrukh Habib and other leaders, adding that they have to move towards a “stable solution”.
Referring to the May 9 riots, the leader said that it was their collective responsibility to stop the chaos from happening. He added that it was also their responsibility to get the party’s innocent workers release from jails.