Farrukh Habib, a now-former senior leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Monday parted ways with Imran Khan and joined Jahangir Tareen's Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP).
The IPP was formed on June 8 by estranged PTI leaders Tareen and Aleem Khan, who had left ex-PM's party due to severe disagreements, while several Imran loyalists have also joined hands with them.
"I wasn't at my house for the past five months [...] and for the last few weeks, I wasn't even in contact with my family," the former state minister for information told journalists.
Habib, who was one of the pioneer members of PTI's student organisation, announced the development during a press conference at the IPP's head office in Lahore alongside the party's top leadership.
"Since May 9, we did not face the law and were away from our houses. For the past five months, I was constantly pondering whether I joined politics for this reason?" he said.
This setback to PTI comes weeks after two prominent leaders, Sadaqat Ali Abbasi and Usman Dar, parted ways with the former ruling party due to the May 9 events.
PTI Chairman Imran was arrested in a graft case on May 9, triggering strong protests from the party across the country in which state installations were targetted.
A crackdown was then launched against those involved in the events, leading to the arrest of hundreds of party workers and leaders — including Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
Slamming Imran's narrative, Habib said PTI's "war" with the state institutions was "not a war between believers and non-believers", lamenting that the ex-premier brought the country to the verge of violence.
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