Imran Khan's party can now easily fit in rickshaw following defections: Maryam Nawaz

Lahore: The entire party of ousted premier Imran Khan can fit in a rickshaw following large-scale defections from Pakistan's main opposition party in the aftermath of the May 9 violence, Maryam Nawaz, a senior leader of the ruling PML-N party has said, in a jibe at the former prime minister.

“Today he is the president, general secretary, chief organiser and spokesperson of the party and the only candidate of his party,” said Maryam, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz said while addressing a youth convention in Punjab province on Sunday.

Now the entire opposition party can fit in a "Qingqi rickshaw" following defections in the wake of the May 9 violence, she said, referring to a type of imported rickshaw in Pakistan.

Violence erupted across Pakistan on May 9 when Khan, a cricketer-turned-politician, was arrested from the premises of the Islamabad High Court in a corruption case. Khan was released on bail two days later.

Unlike Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Maryam said the PML-N did not dismantle it because "it is the people’s party and not a fake party," Geo News quoted the daughter of former Pakistan prime minister and PML-N supremo, Nawaz Sharif as saying.

"PTI was formed after the hard work of 26 years, and was disintegrated in 26 minutes”, she was quoted as saying.

“The chapter of chaos and anarchy has ended and now the journey of progress will begin,” the PML-N leader added.

Khan is the mastermind of the May 9 attacks on defence and civilian installations, but now he is begging for talks and meetings, she said.

She said the real enemy of the country was identified after the May 9 violence which saw attacks on public and military installations in many parts of the country following the arrest of the PTI chief.

Since the violence on May 9, there has been a crackdown on the PTI leaders and workers for their alleged involvement in attacking army installations in the country following the arrest of Khan.

Dozens of PTI leaders including Shireen Mazari, Fawad Chaudhry, Aamir Mehmood Kiani, Ali Zaidi and others have quit the party while senior leaders like Asad Umar and Parvez Khattak stepped down from party positions.

Several ex-PTI leaders have now joined the recently launched Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) by sugar baron Jahangir Tareen with an aim to “set a new direction in the country’s politics''.

Khan was ousted from power in April last year after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China and Afghanistan.

Since then, Khan has been demanding early general elections in Pakistan.

The PML-N-led coalition government has rejected his demand and senior ministers have said that elections will be held according to the provisions of the Constitution.

The current term of the National Assembly will end in August this year and fresh elections are expected to be held in October.