PESHAWAR: A prominent lawyer and provincial president of Insaf Lawyers Forum Qazi Muhammad Anwar on Sunday resigned from all his responsibilities in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, including his role as provincial chief of lawyers’ wing of the party.
“I have decided to resign from the Insaf Lawyers Forum. And from today, I will not be associated with this forum. Similarly, since I am a member of the PTI core committee and also a member of many other committees, I have resigned from all positions in the PTI,” the elderly lawyer from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa explained in a video message.
Qazi Muhammad Anwar, widely regarded for his integrity and principles, has further explained his position in the video, saying whatever service he could for the party he had done it. Though he stated that he had resigned from all his responsibilities in PTI and membership of all the committees, it is still not clear if he would continue as member of PTI’s three-member anti-corruption oversight committee Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The committee was formed in August 2024, and besides Qazi Muhammad Anwar, former governor Shah Farman and Mussadiq Abbasi were also members of the committee.
The committee was constituted on the directions of PTI’s founding chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan to monitor governance within the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The committee was formed amid widespread allegations and complaints of mismanagement and corruption in the previous PTI government headed by former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur but it did not initiate any investigation into complaints of mismanagement and corruption accusations.
Some of the people opposed to PTI have termed Qazi Anwar’s resignation as a result of grouping in the party but certain prominent figures in the party said it has nothing to do with any internal differences in PTI.
“The party leaders and workers have always respected Qazi Anwar sahib as he had great services for the party. However, in this particular case, he had contested election for Pakistan Bar Council without taking the party into confidence,” a senior PTI leader told The News, when approached.
Pleading anonymity, he said the party has backed PTI secretary general Salman Akram Raja, Sattar Khan, and Qazi Arshad in the elections and three of them were elected as members of Pakistan Bar Council.
“I think Qazi Anwar sahib might have been disappointed and felt it as his insult when the party didn’t support him in the election. There was no clear direction from Imran Khan but the party backed Salman Akram Raja, Qazi Arshad and Sattar Khan as they were polled by lawyers of other political parties including the Awami National Party,” said the PTI leader in Peshawar.
Also, he said Imran Khan had recently given the responsibility of ILF leadership to Chief Minister Sohail Afridi through his sister when she called on him in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.“Qazi Anwar sahib was already de-notified when his responsibility of president ILF KP was allotted to Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and that’s why he chose to resign from all his responsibilities in the party,” the PTI leader argued.
