AFP: Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan said yesterday that senior leaders were being pressured into resigning from his party amid a crackdown, as a former cabinet minister became the latest to quit.
Rights monitors said authorities have detained thousands of supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party since days of street violence erupted over his brief arrest earlier this month. Party spokesman Fawad Chaudhry, who served as information minister in Khan’s government, quit the party while general secretary Asad Umar, the former finance minister, said he would step down from his position but remain with PTI. It came after senior vice-president Shireen Mazari parted ways with Khan on Tuesday.