Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister and senior member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Parvez Khattak on Monday announced the formation of his splinter group. The announcement of the party will come as a serious blow to the PTI, who have long relied on Khattak to keep the party glued together in KP.
In a news conference on Monday, Khattak - who had been expelled from the PTI last week -- said that his splinter group will be called the 'PTI Parliamentarians' (PTIP).
As many as 57 PTI parliamentarians from Peshawar and other parts of KP have joined Khattak's party.
Among other senior members of PTI from KP who have joined PTIP are former KP chief minister and Imran Khan's top man in the province for the past four years, Mahmood Khan. Other senior members include former provincial minister Syed Muhammad Ishtiaq Urmar, MNA from Peshawar Shaukat Ali, and former provincial PTI cabinet member Ziaullah Bangash joined the party.
READ MORE: New Party Led By Pervez Khattak On The Cards
Others who have joined include former National Assembly members from Dera Ismail Khan Yakub Shaikh and Aghaz Ikram Gandapur, Pir Muswar Shah from Malakand and former MNA Saleh Muhammad from Mansehra have also joined PTIP.
Former PTI provincial assembly member from Peshawar Arbab Waseem Hayat, former MPA from Orakzai Syed Ghazi Ghazan Jamal, former MPA from Bajaur Anwarzeb Khan, former MPA from Mansehra Nawabzada Farid Salahuddin, former MPA and provincial minister from Swat Muhibullah Khan are included.
Other members of the party include Irfan Kundi and Ramzan Shourie from DI Khan division, Aurangzeb and Mufti Ubaid from the Hazara division, Atiq Hadi and others from Kohat division.
More PTI lawmakers are expected to join the new party in the coming days.
Khattak and other members of the new party explained that the major reason to shift away from the PTI and Imran Khan were the incidents of May 9, when several state-owned buildings and military installations were attacked.
They condemned the incidents of May 9 and blamed the incidents on Imran Khan's anti-state policies.
Khattak raises questions on PTI's true agenda
Later in a video, Khattak read out the forward bloc's official statement on its formulation. He said that like-minded MPAs and MNAs had decided with consensus to deliberate on a future course of action for their new bloc.
"We hve all agreed to lay the foundation of a new party called PTI Parliamentarians," he said while flanked by former KP chief minister Mahmood Khan, adding that they will soon unveil their symbols which differentiate them from the main PTI, including a flag and a manifesto.
"Mahmood Khan and I have together twice ruled the province. Our team served this province and we got the result of that (in the shape of securing a second term with 2/3rd majority)," he said as he recalled some of the major projects which the PTI had undertaken during Khattak and Mahmood;s tenure including the introduction of the Sehat Sahulat Card, the Swat motorway, Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) apart from the promotion of tourism in the province and improving the road network across the province.
"We saved the forests through the billion tree tsunami."
He then explained the true reason for creating the splinter group and raised critical questions for PTI's leadership to answer and for the public to introspect on.
"Today, every Pakistani needs to think about what has happened," he began. "Why did the PTI waste three to four opportunities to hold elections?"
"We have to decide whether we want to walk the path of democracy or of conflict," he asked, adding that people need to introspect what were the reasons that the PTI has yet to accept elections and opted to walk a path that would lead it to collide with the state head on.
"We all have to think that this is our country and it is a democratic country where elections should be held. I am leaving this question for the public to ponder," he said before ominously adding, "The day this question is answered, everyone will realize what was PTI's true objective.?"
Khattak's turnaround
Khattak had been reportedly making contact with several PTI members for weeks prior to Monday's announcements.
It had prompted the party's central leadership to first issue him a show cause notice on June 22.
READ MORE: PTI Expels Parvez Khattak From Party
It was followed by a termination notice last week for failing to explain himself.
In a news conference on Monday, Khattak - who had been expelled from the PTI last week -- said that his splinter group will be called the 'PTI Parliamentarians' (PTIP).
As many as 57 PTI parliamentarians from Peshawar and other parts of KP have joined Khattak's party.
Among other senior members of PTI from KP who have joined PTIP are former KP chief minister and Imran Khan's top man in the province for the past four years, Mahmood Khan. Other senior members include former provincial minister Syed Muhammad Ishtiaq Urmar, MNA from Peshawar Shaukat Ali, and former provincial PTI cabinet member Ziaullah Bangash joined the party.
READ MORE: New Party Led By Pervez Khattak On The Cards
Others who have joined include former National Assembly members from Dera Ismail Khan Yakub Shaikh and Aghaz Ikram Gandapur, Pir Muswar Shah from Malakand and former MNA Saleh Muhammad from Mansehra have also joined PTIP.
Former PTI provincial assembly member from Peshawar Arbab Waseem Hayat, former MPA from Orakzai Syed Ghazi Ghazan Jamal, former MPA from Bajaur Anwarzeb Khan, former MPA from Mansehra Nawabzada Farid Salahuddin, former MPA and provincial minister from Swat Muhibullah Khan are included.
Other members of the party include Irfan Kundi and Ramzan Shourie from DI Khan division, Aurangzeb and Mufti Ubaid from the Hazara division, Atiq Hadi and others from Kohat division.
More PTI lawmakers are expected to join the new party in the coming days.
Khattak and other members of the new party explained that the major reason to shift away from the PTI and Imran Khan were the incidents of May 9, when several state-owned buildings and military installations were attacked.
They condemned the incidents of May 9 and blamed the incidents on Imran Khan's anti-state policies.
Khattak raises questions on PTI's true agenda
Later in a video, Khattak read out the forward bloc's official statement on its formulation. He said that like-minded MPAs and MNAs had decided with consensus to deliberate on a future course of action for their new bloc.
"We hve all agreed to lay the foundation of a new party called PTI Parliamentarians," he said while flanked by former KP chief minister Mahmood Khan, adding that they will soon unveil their symbols which differentiate them from the main PTI, including a flag and a manifesto.
"Mahmood Khan and I have together twice ruled the province. Our team served this province and we got the result of that (in the shape of securing a second term with 2/3rd majority)," he said as he recalled some of the major projects which the PTI had undertaken during Khattak and Mahmood;s tenure including the introduction of the Sehat Sahulat Card, the Swat motorway, Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) apart from the promotion of tourism in the province and improving the road network across the province.
"We saved the forests through the billion tree tsunami."
He then explained the true reason for creating the splinter group and raised critical questions for PTI's leadership to answer and for the public to introspect on.
"Today, every Pakistani needs to think about what has happened," he began. "Why did the PTI waste three to four opportunities to hold elections?"
"We have to decide whether we want to walk the path of democracy or of conflict," he asked, adding that people need to introspect what were the reasons that the PTI has yet to accept elections and opted to walk a path that would lead it to collide with the state head on.
"We all have to think that this is our country and it is a democratic country where elections should be held. I am leaving this question for the public to ponder," he said before ominously adding, "The day this question is answered, everyone will realize what was PTI's true objective.?"
Khattak's turnaround
Khattak had been reportedly making contact with several PTI members for weeks prior to Monday's announcements.
It had prompted the party's central leadership to first issue him a show cause notice on June 22.
READ MORE: PTI Expels Parvez Khattak From Party
It was followed by a termination notice last week for failing to explain himself.