Dozens of supporters of Pakistan’s Imran Khan left his party and are launching their own before the election

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ISLAMABAD – In a major blow to Pakistan’s former prime minister and top opposition leader Imran Khan, dozens of his supporters left his party on Monday to launch their own ahead of general elections expected later this year.

The dramatic development, described as a political uprising within Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, came two months after violent protests rocked the country in early May. Khan’s supporters, angered by his arrest in a graft case, rioted for days, attacking government and military installations.

The deadly violence subsided only after Khan was released on the orders of Pakistan’s Supreme Court. In the weeks that followed, several top members of Khan’s circle left him, disagreeing with his campaign against the administration of his successor, current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

But in an unprecedented move on Monday, 57 of Khan’s party members, most of them former lawmakers and other well-known politicians, announced they would leave the party and form their own, called Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians.

They accused Khan of pursuing politics of hatred and confrontation in the May violence. Most of the opponents come from northwest Pakistan, a former tribal region bordering Afghanistan that had long been a stronghold and base of support for Khan, as was the eastern province of Punjab and Khan’s hometown of Lahore.

Among the most prominent defectors is Pervez Khattak, who served as defense minister in Khan’s government until the former cricket star-turned-Islamist politician and prime minister was ousted in a vote of no confidence in parliament in April 2022.

Khattak told a gathering of former lawmakers and politicians in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Monday that they will give Khan a tough time” in the next election, likely to be held in October or November.

Khan’s party compared the defectors and the new political party to weeds sprouting in a grass field after the rainy season. Khan was expected to issue a statement later.

Last week, Sharif said he would step down as prime minister next month after completing his five-year term.

Khan has faced nationwide criticism from both the administration and many ordinary Pakistanis after the violence in May, in which offices of Pakistan’s powerful intelligence service and air force were also attacked. The residence of a top regional army commander in Lahore was set on fire.

Last month, the military fired three senior army officers for failing to prevent violent attacks. Separately, the military announced it was trying 102 civilians in military courts for their involvement in the attacks.

At least 10 people were killed in clashes between Khans supporters and the police. Later, the police arrested more than 5,000 people in connection with the unrest. Most of those detained were later released on bail.

But the administration has also fought back, and Khan has been hit with more than 150 lawsuits, including multiple charges of corruption, terrorism and incitement to violence. The former prime minister has been stuck in He has been granted bail in many cases but has been forced to appear in court to seek protection from arrest, a common step under Pakistani law.

Khan says he is being politically victimized by Sharif, a charge the government denies. Khan has repeatedly insisted that he would return to power if new elections are held in a free and fair manner.

Also on Monday, Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, appeared in the Lahore High Court to sign their bail in another corruption case pending against them. In court, Khan told reporters that authorities are trying to disqualify him from running for a seat in parliament before Sharif’s term as prime minister ends next month.

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