- Kasuri calls it a day at the pitch
Dubbed by many as Pakistan Tehrik e Insaf (PTI)’s “mother”, Fauzia Kasuri’s exit from the party marks the first crack in the captain’s ship, indicating telltale signs of internal discord.
Having served the party for 17 years, Kasuri said she felt “discarded” despite being with the “Naya Pakistan” project from its very inception. Relations between her and the party were embittered when the PTI central leadership did not name her for any of the women’s reserved seats and did not nominate her on the Islamabad seat left vacant by Javaid Hasmi for by-elections.
Kasuri had even sacrificed her dual nationality for filing nomination papers, but she was denied in what was a rude shock for her. A sobbing Kasuri appeared on many TV channels, recalling her services to the party and ShaukatKhanumHospital’s fund raising.
She also tweeted about the unjust behavior and the ‘indifference’ shown to her by the party’s top leadership, who she said did not even bother to reply to her emails or text messages. Imran Khan’s tweet defending the party’s decision for reserved seats, declaring them to be meritocratic was the last nail in Kasuri’s political coffin.
Sources in the party further confided that senior leadership had tried to woo a disgruntled Kasuri but in vain. “Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan visited Kasuri, while MNA Shafqat Mehmood also asked her to review her decision and not to go public with her complaints,” a party insider said. However, it was to no avail.
Her resignation from the party in her Islamabad press conference finally settled the rumours, and elicited angry responses from many PTI supporters on social media websites.
“She defines PTI. She stood with Khan when no one else was with him. Khan is being misguided by a handful of newcomers joining him for their own benefit and not for Naya Pakistan,” a PTI supporter named Sami posted on Facebook.
Another senior commentator said only four people were with Khan when he announced a party and Fauzia was one of them, and she was being unfairly sidelined for newcomers.
The party’s information secretary Shireen Mazari declined to comment on the issue.