Former Punjab chief minister Sardar Usman Buzdar became the latest PTI leader to quit politics on Friday. Addressing a presser, he said he condemned the May 9 violence and he requested all stakeholders to exit their parties and think for the better future of Pakistan. Buzdar further said the military installations which were targeted were properties of the state of Pakistan and, “I believe we should avoid such incidents”. He asserted that he was and would always stand by the Pakistan Army. Buzdar urged relief for all the “innocent citizens” in jails and called for their immediate release. Buzdar told reporters that he served Punjab for about three years and that he always promoted the politics of nobility. He said he had been facing multiple cases for the last 14 months or so. “First of all, I condemn the May 9 incidents. The military installations which were targeted were properties of the state of Pakistan and I believe we should avoid such incidents,” Buzdar told journalists during a press conference. “I have always committed to politics of nobility […] but due to the current circumstances, I have decided to quit politics,” the former chief minister, once considered to be close to PTI Chairman Imran Khan, said. The former chief minister called on all stakeholders to reach a consensus and asked the authorities to release all those who were innocent from jail. 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”. Several party leaders and thousands of workers have been rounded up in connection with the violent protests and the army has insisted that the people involved in attacks on military installations be tried under the Pakistan Army Act and the Official Secrets Act. A close aide of Khan, Asad Umar, has relinquished his posts of secretary general and core committee member, citing the ongoing situation. Several party leaders and lawmakers – including Fawad Chaudhry, Shireen Mazari, Aamir Mehmood Kiani, Malik Amin Aslam, Mahmood Moulvi, Aftab Siddiqui, Fayyazul Hassan Chohan among others – have publicly denounced the attacks on the state installations and announced leaving the former ruling party since the May 9 vandalism.