Shireen Mazari quits PTI

Dr Shireen M Mazari on Wednesday resigned as vice-president of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), saying 'money and status-quo culture' has taken root in the party after its mammoth rally of October 30 in Lahore.
While announcing her resignation as PTI vice president at a press conference, she said that PTI was no more an anti-status quo party as it had been completely taken over by traditional politicians and excessive use of money by them had also affected its ideology.
Shireen was also served on a show-cause notice by PTI Secretary-General Dr Arif Alvi but did not reply to it saying: "I will not dignify the notice with response, especially since the points cited in it are factually not correct". The technocrat, who once headed the Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS), partly blamed what she called the 'culture of big money' and plane and helicopter culture for transformation of PTI into a status-quo entity.
She seemed upset over PTI Chairman Imran Khan's phone call to her on Tuesday asking her to apologise not only to him but also to another senior party leader Jehangir Khan Tareen, for her remarks after the PTI chairman could not turn up at a reception she had arranged for him in Rajanpur last week, where over a thousand people kept waiting for him the whole day.
She brushed aside the impression Imran's eleventh hour decline to be present at the reception was the reason of her decision to resign from PTI. "I can refer to so many instances, which had been a cause of concern for me and so many others," she added.
Dr Mazari, in this connection, recalled that at a key central executive committee meeting, she seconded a resolution moved by Ali Zaidi, asking for apology from those who (joined PTI) had served in the Musharraf regime and some even faced corruption cases, but that initiative was scuttled by none other than Imran himself.
She came hard on PTI's energy and economic policies and claimed the energy policy was a rehash of a policy already given by another political party and pointed out the economic policy was in fact a fiscal policy to please the IMF, as all its conditions were met in it, like continuing with GST, withdrawal of subsidies and wealth tax. She warned if implemented, those would have double impact on the common man.
In her two-page resignation, citing 10 reasons for saying goodbye to PTI, which she joined in 2008, Dr Mazari criticised Imran for his decision to open the floodgates for traditional electables unlike Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who built up the party on existing leadership of that time, representing large groups of middle class. She claimed the change Imran promised could not happen with electables.
"A new culture of money has spring up with big money taking over party programmes. The plane and helicopter dependency is one reflection of status-quo and even more disturbing are happenings like Rs 5 million donation by one individual to some Insaf Student Federation leaders directly for aiding the membership drive instead of going via the party account," she noted.
She said to having been regularly raising such issues on the platform of strategic committee but to no avail. However, she praised Imran for his commitment and integrity but said a party was defined by more than one man rather it was defined by a collective leadership.
Meanwhile, Zahid Kazmi, a spokesperson of PTI Chairman Imran Khan termed the resignation of Dr Shireen Mazari as unfortunate. He contended that Dr Mazari joined the PTI after serving full term with General Musharraf. She was accepted in the party only after she repented her past role in supporting Musharraf's dictatorship.
"The PTI gave her recognition despite her poor political credentials with little or no base even in her home constituency. If she had differences regarding policy, she had all the opportunity to raise those issues within the party forums of which she was a member," he said.
Kazmi questioned Shireen's stated reasons as her differences only surfaced after Imran could not visit Rajanpur. He advised Dr Mazari to refrain from making false and frivolous allegations against the PTI chairman as many question her democratic credentials based on her past cozy relationship with a dictator.
Her weak support base within the PTI workers including in her local constituency made her vulnerable during the coming intra party elections, he claimed and reiterated the resolve of the Chairman of the party Imran, who was determined to make the PTI into an institution. He said the upcoming intra party elections would be a milestone in organising the party on democratic lines where individuals matter less.