Sadaqat Ali Abbasi leaves PTI, holds Imran Khan responsible for May 9

Former Member of Parliament, Sadaqat Ali Abbasi, has announced that he is not part of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) anymore in a controversial interview with Adil Shahzeb, aired on DAWN News. He held PTI Chairman Imran Khan responsible for the events of May 9, when PTI supporters attacked state installations.

Abbasi said that during a meeting held on May 4, Imran Khan planned a rally for May 6 near military installations in Rawalpindi.

“He wanted to send a message that if I’m arrested, then the party’s target would be military installations,” the former PTI leader said, adding that Khan repeatedly stressed that the PTI’s “actual war was against the establishment”.

“I announce that I am leaving the PTI, the office of the PTI’s North Punjab president, and politics,” the former member of the National Assembly (MNA) said during the interview.

“I also fear the law […] there are a lot of FIRs registered against me. I do have the pressure of facing cases in court. There is no other pressure on me,” the ex-PTI leader said.

Sadaqat Abbasi had been “missing” for a month when he appeared at DAWN for the interview.

Abbasi was seen in a video circulating on social media, breaking down in tears as he hugs his mother after returning home.

He met his family when the anti-terrorism court approved his pre-arrest bail until October 10.

“Due to the narrative that has been built […] I cannot continue as a PTI member. I have no plans of staying in politics anymore,” Abbasi said.