In the latest episode of infighting between supporters of Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party, Hiba Fawad Chaudhry, wife of former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry, lambasted Dr Shahbaz Gill, former special assistant to prime minister Imran Khan, on Twitter.
Gill had uploaded his new vlog in which he claimed that Imran Khan, the embattled former premier who is fighting for his political life, has decided to expel 17 politicians from the PTI. He claimed that Khan had issued the notification to remove these 17 people from the PTI. Gill named Ali Zaidi, Imran Ismail and Fawad Chaudhry in a tweet where he shared his vlog to promote it to his followers.
https://twitter.com/SHABAZGIL/status/1678047293860192257
Some hours later, Fawad Chaudhry's wife Hiba responded to Gill's tweet, where she said, "You have escaped from Pakistan, look at you talk! First clarify your own position in the party?".
https://twitter.com/HibaFawadPk/status/1678091180695846914
Hiba Fawad Chaudhry also used a hashtag where she demands Shahbaz Gill be brought back to Pakistan.
This latest rebuttal, from the wife of a former PTI leader to another erstwhile public face of the beleaguered party, is yet another signal of Imran Khan’s populist political platform having disintegrated after the May 9 riots. Fawad Chaudhry had played an instrumental role in building PTI’s propaganda network on mainstream and social media, and he also ran the information ministry when Imran Khan was prime minister. However, as soon as Fawad faced inescapable legal troubles subsequent to the May 9 riots, he announced his departure from PTI.
Fawad Chaudhry was later seen at the launch of Jahangir Tareen’s Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP). He was photographed hiding his face, possibly due to embarrassment in front of media to whom he had portrayed Imran Khan as a messiah for Pakistan.
https://twitter.com/AdvTohed/status/1666525169513373698
Shahbaz Gill is also no stranger to controversy, as he was arrested for making statements against the military's chain of command. He is also suspected of advising Khan to sack then-army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in March 2022. After his arrest, Gill was found to be in possession of a satellite phone which was used to communicate with Pakistan Army generals, as well as the personal data of over a hundred senior military officers and their family members.
Shahbaz Gill's theatrics to and from the courts, and claims of being subjected to custodial torture while in police custody, were not enough to ingratiate him back into Khan's good graces. Dejected after not being made Khan's chief of staff after his release, Gill left Pakistan for the US.
This social media spat is said to be the "tip of the iceberg" as sources claim that PTI’s entire media machine has collapsed, and their remaining propagandists don’t know what to do or how to carry forward Khan's narratives.
Even between Hiba and Shahbaz, PTI supporters are confused on whose side to take: Fawad Chaudhry’s wife who had supported Imran Khan earlier, or Shahbaz Gill who has fled Pakistan.
In an earlier tweet, Hiba had slammed Imran Khan for not mentioning Fawad Chaudhry whilst speaking about his arrested leaders.
Gill had uploaded his new vlog in which he claimed that Imran Khan, the embattled former premier who is fighting for his political life, has decided to expel 17 politicians from the PTI. He claimed that Khan had issued the notification to remove these 17 people from the PTI. Gill named Ali Zaidi, Imran Ismail and Fawad Chaudhry in a tweet where he shared his vlog to promote it to his followers.
https://twitter.com/SHABAZGIL/status/1678047293860192257
Some hours later, Fawad Chaudhry's wife Hiba responded to Gill's tweet, where she said, "You have escaped from Pakistan, look at you talk! First clarify your own position in the party?".
https://twitter.com/HibaFawadPk/status/1678091180695846914
Hiba Fawad Chaudhry also used a hashtag where she demands Shahbaz Gill be brought back to Pakistan.
This latest rebuttal, from the wife of a former PTI leader to another erstwhile public face of the beleaguered party, is yet another signal of Imran Khan’s populist political platform having disintegrated after the May 9 riots. Fawad Chaudhry had played an instrumental role in building PTI’s propaganda network on mainstream and social media, and he also ran the information ministry when Imran Khan was prime minister. However, as soon as Fawad faced inescapable legal troubles subsequent to the May 9 riots, he announced his departure from PTI.
Fawad Chaudhry was later seen at the launch of Jahangir Tareen’s Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP). He was photographed hiding his face, possibly due to embarrassment in front of media to whom he had portrayed Imran Khan as a messiah for Pakistan.
https://twitter.com/AdvTohed/status/1666525169513373698
Shahbaz Gill is also no stranger to controversy, as he was arrested for making statements against the military's chain of command. He is also suspected of advising Khan to sack then-army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in March 2022. After his arrest, Gill was found to be in possession of a satellite phone which was used to communicate with Pakistan Army generals, as well as the personal data of over a hundred senior military officers and their family members.
Shahbaz Gill's theatrics to and from the courts, and claims of being subjected to custodial torture while in police custody, were not enough to ingratiate him back into Khan's good graces. Dejected after not being made Khan's chief of staff after his release, Gill left Pakistan for the US.
This social media spat is said to be the "tip of the iceberg" as sources claim that PTI’s entire media machine has collapsed, and their remaining propagandists don’t know what to do or how to carry forward Khan's narratives.
Even between Hiba and Shahbaz, PTI supporters are confused on whose side to take: Fawad Chaudhry’s wife who had supported Imran Khan earlier, or Shahbaz Gill who has fled Pakistan.
In an earlier tweet, Hiba had slammed Imran Khan for not mentioning Fawad Chaudhry whilst speaking about his arrested leaders.