Islamabad, Pakistan– More than 80 senior members of Imran Khan’s political partyhave quitin recent weeks amid a nationwide crackdown in the aftermath of the violence that followed the ex-Pakistani prime minister’s arrest last month.
The public announcements largely followed a striking identical script: The party leader would typically call a news conference, often after being released from jail. They would begin their address by condemning the unrest before declaring their abiding commitment and love for Pakistan and its influential military. They would then conclude by saying they were quitting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and taking a “break” from politics or, in some cases, announce a complete retirement.
The flurry of defections hitting the PTI has come after the arrest of thousands of party supporters, including top leaders, in the dramatic events that surrounded the arrest of Khan on corruption charges, which he has denied.
The government has alleged that Khan’s supporters ran amok in various cities while he was in custody on May 9 and 10, damaging private and public properties, including military sites and monuments. Controversially, it has moved to try those accused of targeting military installations in military courts. The PTI has rejected allegations that its members were involved in vandalism.
And while party leaders have insisted publicly that the decision to quit was taken entirely on their own, without any external pressure, the circumstances of their announcements have raised questions about whether these were an act of preservation or the result of coercion.
Khan himself has argued that PTI leaders were being pressured into leaving the party, without saying who was behind it.
“People are not quitting, they are being forced to leave the party at gunpoint. Political parties cannot be dismantled through such tactics,” the cricketer-turned-politician said.
Political analyst Mehmal Sarfraz noted that the arrests happened in a politically charged atmosphere, as PTI leaders and supporters had warned that Khan’s arrest would be a “red line”.
“Khan says a reaction was bound to happen if he was arrested. Unfortunately for his party leaders, this ‘reaction’ also landed them in hot waters,” she told Al Jazeera. “Some may have left of their own accord following the crackdown on PTI, but many privately say they had to make a choice due to ‘pressure’.”
Pakistan’s military has historically played a dominant role in domestic politics, having ruled the country directly for more than 30 years. Its overt influence has often been blamed for forced defections and the switching of allegiances from one party to another in Pakistan’s tumultuous politics.
The latest political crisis began in April last year when Khan was removed from power in a no-confidence vote in parliament. Since then, the former prime minister has been demanding snap elections. Some observers suggest that the PTI has been in the crosshairs of the establishment since Khan’s removal – with the defections being the latest twist in the saga.
Hassan Javid, a professor of politics at the University of Fraser Valley in British Columbia, Canada, told Al Jazeera that in some cases involving certain leaders, “it is quite clear that the decision to ‘leave’ the PTI is one that has been made under duress.” He cited the departure of top Khan aide Shireen Mazari, who was detained several times since she was first arrested on May 12 over the protests that followed Khan’s arrest.
When she announced her decision to leave politics, Mazari said the ordeal had an impact on her health and her family.
Al Jazeera reached out to Mazari, as well as former PTI Vice President Fawad Chaudhry and Secretary General Asad Umar for comment on their decisions to quit the party, but the senior leaders did not answer.
But another former PTI member, who served as a lawmaker in the country’s National Assembly and recently announced his decision to quit the party, reluctantly agreed to speak on condition of anonymity.
The leader, who was not among those arrested, said it becomes difficult to resist pressure for too long when such a “massive state crackdown” is taking place.
“When there is an ailing family member alone at home, and police conducts raids at your house multiple times at night, you are left with one choice: To take care of the family member, or to stick with the party,” the politician said, without elaborating.
Video Duration 01 minutes 19 seconds01:19
Pakistan defence minister says Khan protests are “rebellion”
Others, however, were more forthcoming about their reasons to leave the PTI.
Raja Yasir Humayun, a former minister in the PTI-led regional government in Punjab province, who announced his decision to quit on May 30, said he had been considering leaving the party since last year.
Humayun added he had shared his concerns with the leadership about the party’s direction following Khan’s removal as prime minister.
“Since the time he was removed, Khan was surrounded by sycophants who did not allow any contrarian view around Khan. He also liked people who only presented hawkish views,” Humayun told Al Jazeera. “He is a fast bowler. He does his politics like a fast bowler as well, by always being aggressive.”
Humayun vehemently denied that he quit the PTI under any external pressure, saying it was the events of May 9 which convinced him to take a decision had been pondering for some time.
“I just don’t believe in this kind of violent politics. As a senior party official in Punjab, when you see such a situation, there is guilt and questions of why I am continuing if I don’t agree with party politics,” he added.
Malik Amin Aslam, a former adviser to Khan during his tenure as prime minister who announced his decision to quit on May 18, blamed the PTI for “the path it has taken”.
“The incidents of May 9 could not have happened without prior planning, and it was obvious how specific targets were picked. This is not why I joined the PTI for,” he told Al Jazeera.
While acknowledging his gratitude to Khan for providing a platform for work on climate change, Aslam said he had raised his reservations to the party leader multiple times in the last months on the aggressive stance adopted by the party, but he felt “sidelined”.
“When the leader of the party was in the jail and chaos was spreading outside, it was an opportunity for party leadership to fully condemn it and ask for intra-party investigation and disassociate from miscreants. However, this did not happen, which only reinforced my decision to quit,” Aslam said.
But Raoof Hassan, PTI’s central information secretary, said the defections were only going to help strengthen the party.
“Some of those who left the party are ideologically fully aligned with us, but they had no choice but to leave due to the incredible pressure they faced. Then, there are others who we call migratory birds, and for them, the decision to quit the party is in fact, an act of cleansing,” Hassan said.
“We feel that this will only benefit us. This gives us strength, and courage, and we can see that Imran Khan’s popularity is only increasing.”
LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) -The president of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan's party was arrested in the eastern city of Lahore on Thursday on charges of corruption, a government official said.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan arrested at court appearance
Court rules Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan can be held for eight days
Pakistan is beset by political turmoil as Khan's party has faced a countrywide crackdown since his own arrest on May 9 for suspected graft sparked widespread protests that saw mobs ransacking state installations, including military assets.
Pervez Elahi, president of Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf party, joins a long list of key PTI leaders arrested in the security swoop to halt turmoil that has threatened to worsen instability in a country reeling from a crippling financial crisis.
"Pervez Elahi is wanted in several corruption cases," Amir Mir, caretaker information minister in the eastern province of Punjab, told Reuters. He added that Punjab's anti-corruption department had been looking for Elahi for several days.
Elahi previously denied accusations of corruption.
Khan was freed on bail on May 12 for an initial two weeks, obtained a three-day bail extension from a high court and later a further extension from the trial court until June 19.
Dozens of top and mid-tier leaders in the PTI have been arrested alongside hundreds of Khan supporters since the violent protests of May 9. Many have quit the party after being released while other leaders remain on the run to avoid arrest.
Khan, who denies wrongdoing, says the arrests are part of a campaign to dismantle his party and that the state is using pressure tactics to force out his aides. The government denies this and says his aides were leaving of their own volition.
Khan has been embroiled in a tussle with Pakistan's military since he was removed from power last year in a parliamentary no-confidence vote he says was orchestrated by the country's top generals. The military denies this.
(Writing by Gibran Peshimam; editing by Mark Heinrich)
BULBOACA, Moldova (Reuters) - The presidents of Kosovo and Serbia held talks on Thursday on resolving a political crisis that has spiralled into violence, with the leaders of France and Germany pressing them to take swift steps to reduce tensions.
Kosovo's Vjosa Osmani and Serbia's Aleksandar Vucic met briefly in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the European Union's foreign policy chief on the sidelines of a summit in Moldova.
The EU and the United States have expressed alarm at the latest in a long-line of crises between Kosovo's ethnic Albanian-dominated government and ethnic Serbs who are a majority in the north.
Violence flared on Monday after Kosovo authorities, backed by special police units, installed ethnic Albanian mayors in offices in northern municipalities. The mayors had been elected on turnout of just 3.5% after Serbs boycotted local polls.
The clashes wounded 30 NATO peacekeeping troops and 52 Serb protesters.
Speaking after the meeting with Vucic, Osmani accused the Serbian leader of "whining and complaining and ... not telling the truth". But she said Kosovo could hold new elections in the north with Serb participation if they were triggered legally.
That would fulfil one of the conditions set out by Macron and Scholz for resolving the crisis.
"It's important that everyone involved does everything possible to get to a de-escalation," Scholz told reporters after the summit of the European Political Community, a forum established last year that brings together more than 40 leaders.
Osmani said "a solution for de-escalation is very close" but Belgrade would also have to respect commitments it made under a deal sealed in March to put relations between the two sides, who fought a war in the 1990s, on a more normal footing.
"We need to ensure that the focus is on the full implementation of the agreement, not just parts of it," she said.
Macron said Paris and Berlin had called for the organisation of new elections in the four northern municipalities with Serb participation "as soon as possible".
He said they also urged Kosovo to move ahead with a commitment to create an association of Serb municipalities, seen as a way to give Serbs in the north more self-government.
Macron said they had asked both sides to come back next week with "clear answers".
Vucic left the summit without commenting on the meeting with Osmani.
Earlier in the day, neither leader had expressed any desire to meet with the other, before relenting under international pressure.
They did not acknowledge each other on arrival at the summit even as they stood just metres apart on the red carpet.
Vucic said Kosovo authorities should withdraw "alleged mayors" from the north and declared the Kosovo special police units were there illegally.
"Serbia will do its best and its utmost to de-escalate the situation, which means that we'll try to persuade Serbs to progress calmly and peacefully," he said.
"They're very determined," he added. "They want to see the back of the special police units."
For her part, Osmani said Belgrade was trying to destabilise Kosovo as it had failed to come to terms with Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia.
She accused Vucic of backing criminal gangs in northern Kosovo - an allegation Belgrade has denied.
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has been the driving force behind operations in the north, leading to strong international criticism, particularly from the United States, long Kosovo's staunchest ally.
NATO decided to deploy 700 additional peacekeepers to Kosovo in response to the crisis and the alliance's secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Thursday it was ready to send more.
"NATO will remain vigilant. We will be there to ensure a safe and secure environment, and also to calm down and reduce tensions", he told reporters on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Oslo.
(Additional reporting by Fatos Bytyci, Ivana Sekularac, Sabine Siebold and Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Daria Sito-Sucic, Edmund Blair and Daniel Wallis)
Tehran has put to bed at least two of the UN nuclear watchdog’s outstanding inquiries over one of the three so-called ”undeclared sites,” where trace particles of unprocessed uranium had been found previously, as well as some recently discovered highly enriched uranium particles, the Associated Pressreportedon Wednesday.
Two confidential quarterly reports written by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to be shared with member states, revealed that inspectors no longer have questions regarding uranium particles found to be enriched to 83.7% at Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear facility.
In February, when reports initially emerged about the particles nearly enriched to 84%, still below the minimum 90% needed for weapons-grade, the IAEA along with Iran appeared unalarmed and ready to cooperate to resolve the situation together.
”The issue is whether it was a blip in the reconfigured cascades or deliberate. The [IAEA] has asked Iran for an explanation,” a diplomat told Reuters at the time, while Tehran claimed the particles may have accidentally formed during cascade configuration.
Iranian authorities have since maintained that the particles were simply a byproduct of their current enrichment, the pledged upper limit of which is 60%, as particles can reach higher enrichment levels in fluctuations.
The IAEA report, seen by the AP this week, said the agency clarified with Tehran that “following its evaluation of the data, the agency had assessed that the information provided was not inconsistent with Iran’s explanation … and that the agency had no further questions on this matter at this stage.”
The documents also confirmed reports seen in Iranian media this week that the inspectors closed off their investigation into traces of unprocessed uranium at the Marivan site in Abadeh County, one of the “undeclared sites.”
The issue is controversial because there was never any proliferation risk – regarding the trace particles themselves – and it has long been used to thwart diplomatic progress on saving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Iran nuclear deal. Tehran has consistently pledged that it already provided full documentation to the agency, as well as allowed inspectors to access the sites, to satisfy its inquiry. But Washington, the E3, and the IAEA, ceding to the American side’s pressure, claimed the Iranians have until now been uncooperative.
Analysts were trying to link the trace particles to a secret military nuclear program and accused Iran of having carried out high-explosive tests there during the early 2000s. An alternative explanation seen in one of the reports, viewed by the AP, was that “another member state” had operated a mine in the area during the 1960s and 1970s when the CIA-installed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi controlled Iran.
Tehran argues the traces could have originated from “laboratory instruments and equipment” used by miners at the former site. The IAEA concluded this was “a possible explanation,” adding that the agency “at this time has no additional questions on the depleted uranium particles detected at Marivan … and the matter is no longer outstanding at this stage.”
Ethnicity is a complex subject and this is true about multiple tribal groups in the North East, but perhaps more correct about Kuki. The term Kuki itself is fairly new. The earliest written reference to Kuki is 1777 from British records when tribesmen attacked British subjects in Chittagong. Neither the Burmese records nor Meitei Chronicles available from 33 AD have any reference to the term Kuki. It is believed that the term Kuki itself could be of Bengali origin to refer to hill people who undertook jhum cultivation.
Who is a Kuki?
Who is a Kuki or not a Kuki in Manipur is dynamic and continues to change even now. The 1931 census records two groups - Old Kuki and New Kuki. Anal, Kom, Hmar, Gangte and Vaiphei were part of the old Kuki group, while Paite, Ralte, Simte, Sukte and Thadou were classified as New Kuki.
Now, however, the Anal tribe identifies itself as Naga and not Kuki. Three erstwhile Kuki tribes Maring, Monsang and Moyon also call themselves Naga. As recently as 26th May 2023, the NSCN (IM) proclaimed Aimol, Chiru, Chothe, Kharam, Koireng and Kom from Manipur as part of the Naga Tribe.
Even the names of the sub-tribes are fluid. Paites call themselves Zomi in Myanmar, while in Mizoram they identify themselves as Mizos. In Manipur, they call themselves Paite.
The larger ethnic group has been also called by various names. Some use the term Zo people, others prefer to call it Chin-Kuki-Mizo (CKM). The total population of this group is said to be between 9 to 10 million and is spread across Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Bangladesh and Myanmar. In Myanmar, Chins are recognised in its 1947 Constitution as among the four founding groups of the Union of Burma, along with Kachin, Shan and Burma. In India, the group has its own state- Mizoram.
In the Scheduled Tribe list of Meghalaya, Mizoram and Assam, 37 tribes are recognised as belonging to the term ‘Any Kuki Tribe”. Incidentally, under this umbrella of 37 Any Kuki tribe, there is a sub-tribe called Kuki.
In Manipur, things get a little curious. The state has a list of 34 tribes including two that are called ‘Any Mizo (Lushai) tribe’ and ‘Any Kuki tribe’. There has been steadfast opposition in Manipur to the inclusion of the term Kuki as a tribe. In a memorandum, submitted in July 2021, the Thadou apex Body, Thadou Inpi objected to the move of the State Government to recommend the addition of "Kuki" in the list of recognised Scheduled Tribes of Manipur. They said that Kuki is not a tribe, nor the name of a tribe, but a generic term to refer to a number of different tribes.
Thadou “hegemony”
Within Manipur, the Thadou form the largest group among all Kuki tribes. In fact, the Thadous form almost a quarter of the tribal population of Manipur, followed by the Tangkhul Nagas. The other recognised sub-tribes Paite, Zou, Gangte, Vaiphei, Hmar are much smaller. In fact, some of these smaller tribes prefer to call themselves Zo rather than Kuki.
There has always been an overhang of Thadou “hegemony” and “supremacy” over other Kuki tribes. The earliest book on Thadou is a 1928 book by Civil Services officer William Shaw. In the book, four great clans of Kukis are named as Lushei, Suhte, Poi and Thadou. According to the book, the Thadous “claim that the Changsan, Lhangum, Lenthang, Lunkim, Gangte, Waiphei, Kholhang, Chiru and those of inferior lineage were all under the wing of the Thadous and so they were included under that term.” Also, the use of terms in the past such as Kuki-Siki (Quarter Kuki) and Kuki-Makhai (Half Kuki) by Thadous to refer to the smaller tribes has alienated them.
Thadous have also historically dominated politics and bureaucracy. Outer Manipur, the tribal Lok Sabha constituency of Manipur has elected 17 Members of Parliament since 1952 and an overwhelming 14 of these MPs have been either Thadou or Tangkhul Naga. The Thadou tribe also had a disproportionate share in bureaucracy among the Kukis. The first ever person to ever qualify for the IAS from Manipur is neither a Meitei nor a Naga but a Thadou - K Kipgen in 1956. Similarly, the first tribal IPS officer from Manipur (1965) T Misao is a Thadou. Nengcha Lhouvum, one of the first women from the North East to become an ambassador (IFS 1980) is a Thadou. Manipur currently has two police officers at the DGP rank (P Doungel and C Doungel) - both are Thadou. Similarly, the senior most local IAS officer in Manipur - K Haokip, Additional Chief Secretary is a Thadou (the four senior-most bureaucrats ahead of Haokip in seniority are all from outside Manipur)
Thadous dominate the intellectual discourse as well. Many scholars quoted in media reports or writing in international publications on the current conflict like T Haokip from JNU, H. Sitlhou from the University of Hyderabad and M Sitlhou are all Thadou.
Thadou - Non-Thadou conflict
In Manipur, this has led to assertions by non-Thadou tribes and sometimes skirmishes that turn violent. The Kuki Naga conflict in Manipur between 1992 and 1997 that killed hundreds and displaced thousands is well known. What is not as well known is the Thadou- Paite clashes that also took the lives of hundreds of people and uprooted thousands of homes. These clashes took place in 1997-98 and the government had to send the army to control the damage. The aftermath of this conflict was the formation of the insurgent group Zomi Revolutionary army that comprised the minor tribes like Zou, Vaiphei, Gangte, and Simte led by the Paite. This is distinct from other insurgent groups like Kuki National Front/ Kuki National Army which is led by Thadous.
The Thadou apex body, Thadou Inpi has frequently clashed with Kuki Inpi on several occasions and has even declared that Kuki Inpi has no moral or legal authority to speak for and on behalf of the Thadous.
Even in the lead-up to the current tensions that led to the fateful rally on May 3rd in Churachandpur, there were differences between the groups. When Kuki Imti took out a protest rally against the Government’s eviction drive in the Kuki-dominated areas of Manipur on March 10th, 2023, the Thadou Imti was quick to disassociate itself from the rally.
Also stuck in this fight between the bigger communities are smaller tribes. Aimol tribe for example number less than 5,000 and they have asserted multiple times that Aimols are neither Kuki or Naga. Incidentally, Aimol is one of the tribes that the NSCN (IM) have recently declared as Naga.
The May 3rd incident seems to have united all Kuki/ Zo people across Manipur and in other states, however, the underlying faultlines cannot be just brushed away. Any long-term solution to the ongoing conflict in Manipur should not just involve the Meiteis and Thadou-led Kukis. It must also take into account the hopes, aspirations and identities of the smaller tribes of Manipur.
CHISINAU — A massive gathering of European leaders on Thursday has suffered its first high-profile casualty, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pulling out at the last minute.
The Turkish leader, who won five more years at the helm of his country in second-round elections on Sunday, will not travel to Moldova for the one-day summit, according to three officials involved in the preparations.
The so-called European Political Community (EPC) — a new collective launched in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine — is meant to draw together European leaders beyond the EU. More than 40 European leaders will be present Thursday, including those from all 27 EU countries plus non-EU countries like Britain and Turkey, as well as the Western Balkan nations.
The gathering, set to take place outside Chișinău, Moldova’s capital, is the second summit held under the EPC banner, following an inaugural meeting in Prague last October.
Erdoğan attended that summit in the Czech capital but clashed with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis during an end-of-summit dinner.
Erdoğan, who has dominated Turkey’s politics for two decades, won the country’s election on Sunday, despite a strong showing by a coalition of opposition parties.
The 69-year-old leader is expected to announce his new Cabinet on Friday with an inauguration scheduled for the following day.
European leaders started arriving in the Moldovan capital of Chișinău Wednesday ahead of the summit, which is taking place in a castle and winery 35 kilometers outside the city.
NATO peacekeeping troops in Kosovo have placed metal fences and barbed wire barriers in a northern town following clashesthat have seen dozens of international soldiers and protesters injured.
The barriers were erected after hundreds of ethnic Serbs started gathering in front of the city hall in Zvecan, a northern Kosovo town 45km (28 miles) north of the capital, Pristina.
On Monday, with about 4,000 soldiers in the country, NATO sent 700 additional troops to northern Kosovo to help curb the violent protests.
“We have decided to deploy 700 more troops from the operational reserve force for Western Balkans and to put an additional battalion of reserve forces on high alertness so they can also be deployed if needed,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Oslo, Norway.
Violence initially broke out in the north of the country over the weekend after ethnic Albanian mayors were installed in Serbian-dominated areas, in a vote overwhelmingly boycotted by Serbs.
Some in the country have since made repeated efforts to take over the offices in Zvecan, where the mayors took up their posts.
Kosovo police fired tear gas to disperse Serbs who tried to block officials from entering municipal buildings in the town last week.
NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR) soldiers clash with local Kosovo Serb protesters at the entrance of the municipality office, in the town of Zvecan, Kosovo [Laura Hasani/Reuters]
When Serbs tried to block them, Kosovo police fired tear gas in Svecan, leading to clashes with NATO troops.
Ethnic Serb protesters are insisting that ethnic Albanian mayors and Kosovo police leave northern Kosovo.
The United States has condemned Kosovo for escalating tensions with Serbia, saying the force used behind installing mayors in ethnic Serb areas undermined efforts to improve relations with Serbia.Washington has also cancelled Kosovo’s participation in a military drill.
“We’re thinking through other implications as well,” the US ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, told reporters.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell urged Kosovo and Serbian leaders to find a way to de-escalate tensions.
“We have too much violence already in Europe today, we cannot afford another conflict,” Borrell said.
US Kosovo Force (KFOR) soldiers, under NATO, stand guard near a municipal office in Leposavic, Kosovo [Fatos Bytyci/Reuters]
On Tuesday, Russia, which has long had close ties with Serbia, called for “decisive steps” to be taken to end the violence.
The foreign ministry urged “the West to finally silence its false propaganda and stop blaming incidents in Kosovo on Serbs”.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has placed the army on full combat alert and ordered units to move closer to the border.
Most Serbs in northern Kosovo have never accepted Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia and consider Belgrade their capital.
While ethnic Albanians make up more than 90 percent of the population in Kosovo, northern Serbs have called for a European Union-brokered deal to create autonomous municipalities in the area.
