PTI Punjab Acting President Hammad Azhar on Wednesday took to X to announce his resignation from his position within the party, the third time he has done so.
Last August, Azhar stepped down as the president of the party’s Punjab chapter citing a lack of access to incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan. Azhar had previously stepped down from the role in March, citing his legal tribulations and the obstacles they presented in performing his duties.
The PTI leadership rejected his resignation in both instances.
In a lengthy post on X, Azhar announced his resignation citing claims that he was being accused of obstructing the work of other party members. In addition, he added that there was a lack of freedom to control his constituency.
“Yesterday, Khan sahib [PTI founder Imran Khan] was informed by [fellow party leader] Azam Swati that [another fellow party member] Alia Hamza was being obstructed in her work. When Khan Sahib asked him who was obstructing her, Azam Swati mentioned my name,” Azhar wrote.
“I asked Alia bibi what obstruction had she encountered from me. She expressed surprise and said that she had always received support from me and was worried as to why this matter was being conveyed to Khan Sahib,” he added.
Stating that he had a “very simple solution to the problem”, Azhar wrote that the power he had as the Punjab chapter’s president had been devolved and granted to four regional presidents appointed personally by Imran.
“Work in my constituency cannot be done with my advice or consent,” Azhar wrote.
The PTI leader highlighted his past two attempts to resign from his post, which had been rejected, and added that he had done a great deal for the party amid the founder’s incarceration.
“I witnessed most of the issues of the party’s general elections in the most difficult circumstances, while I myself was illegally excluded from the elections,” he stated, adding that he participated in rallies and gatherings despite the risk of being arrested.
“During this time, I faced countless hardships from the authorities, my business was damaged and my children were exiled for more than a year. But these sacrifices and hardships are not more important than our goal,” Azhar continued.
“I did as much as I could and now, as a worker, I will work for my future leader,” he wrote, referring to Imran and adding that the resignation was irreversible.
Azhar also resigned from the office of the PTI Punjab secretary general.
Fellow PTI activist Azhar Mashwani told Dawn.com that Azhar had been given the acting charge of the party’s Punjab president in place of Yasmin Rashid as she was in jail.
Reacting to the announcement, senior PTI leader and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan shared a post on X, writing that Azhar worked very hard and should be “proud of his efforts”.
