PTI official Hammad Azhar resigned from his positions as general secretary and acting president of the party’s Punjab chapter on Wednesday, citing difficulties he was having with the law and how they interfered with his ability to carry out his responsibilities.
Azhar claimed to have “bravely endured the onslaught of a fascist regime that remained bent upon dismantling the party machinery” since PTI founder Imran Khan gave him the dual responsibility last year in a letter to party leaders Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Omar Ayub.
The Pakistan Electronic medium Regulatory Authority barred Azhar from using any electronic medium, and he told the two that he had been charged in 42 cases.
He said that his family had been harassed and that his home had been frequently searched, looted, sealed, and that he had to transfer them overseas to shield them from the “weekly trauma” of raids or worse, all the while continuing to work for the party “from an undisclosed location since May 2023.”
when serving the party is an honor, Azhar stated that it would be self-serving for him to carry on in his current capacity when “I am still in hiding and unable to represent the party even on television.”
In his view, the party would benefit most from leadership in Punjab that could lead from the front and be present on the ground at this particular time.
“It should also be able to appear on television and, most importantly, be able to communicate and receive instructions directly from the founding chairman.”
Azhar added that he had “agonized” over the decision but that, after much consideration and consideration, he had decided to resign from his positions because he felt it was the right one.
He added that he would continue to provide his services to the PTI as a “loyal and ideological worker,” saying that his choice was made out of “a place of concern for the wellbeing of my party that I have dedicated 13 years of my life to and a desire to serve its best interests, not mine.”
Azhar had claimed on Monday that his nomination papers had not been received by Nabeel Ahmad Memon, the returning officer for PP-147 (Lahore). After winning the National Assembly, Hamza Shehbaz gave up the seat in PP-147, which Azhar had declared he planned to run for in the by-election.
It should be noted that Azhar’s nomination papers for the NA-129 general election fight were turned down. Azhar is listed as a proclaimed criminal in a number of May 9 riot-related incidents.
Additionally, the Anti-wrongdoing Establishment is still investigating him for alleged wrongdoing.
