The growing bickering within Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf took an uglier turn with the suspension of basic party membership of former Supreme Court judge and Chief Justice of Sindh High Court Wajihuddin Ahmed. According to media reports, Chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday suspended the basic party membership of Justice Wajihuddin for 'violating' party discipline.
Justice Wajihuddin had been found to be loggerheads with the top party leadership over non-implementation of the recommendations of the intra-party election tribunal of PTI. "In the light of the August 04 notification, the Chairman has been left with no other option but to suspend Justice Wajihuddin's basic party membership," said a statement issued by Dr Shireen Mazari, the spokesperson for PTI chairman.
A day earlier, a circular issued warned the party members not to comment on party's internal matter at public forums, electronic, print and social media, otherwise the basic membership of those violating the order will be suspended. How unfortunate it is that Imran, who had emerged a ray of hope in the cesspool of country's murky politics, is fast running out of men such as Wajih who are widely known for their integrity and adherence to moral code. The PTI chief has clearly shown that his is a dictatorial style: all decision-making power is his, unrealistic in demands. He does not allow others to question his decisions or express dissent. It gives credence to reports that founding secretary general of PTI Mairaj Mohammad Khan, an astute politician, had seen in Imran a leader who makes all the decisions about what, where, when, why, how things are done, and who will do them through a dictatorial style. This is said to be the principal reason behind Mairaj's decision to quit PTI in its infancy.