A day after long-time Nawaz loyalist Dr. Syed Asif Kirmani bid farewell to the PML-N, the PTI faced a similar setback when ex-minister Shafqat Mahmood announced he was retiring from politics for good.
In a series of tweets on Sunday, Mr. Mahmood announced his retirement from politics and hinted at dedicating his life to writing columns, an autobiography, and media interactions.
“I have neither announced quitting politics under any pressure nor have any plans to join any other political party,” he declared, explaining that his decision was due to old age and the “current times.”
Mr. Mahmood, 75, reflected on both the good and bad times in his political career — from becoming a senator and MNA to serving as a federal and provincial minister, to being incarcerated.
Shafqat Mahmood announces retirement from politics a day after Asif Kirmani parts ways with PML-N
The former legislator stated he had performed all his duties with integrity. “No one has ever dared to blame me for any dishonesty,” he added.
Mr. Mahmood, who served as federal education minister in the PTI government, highlighted his efforts to manage the education system during the challenging times of Covid-19 and his role in introducing a uniform curriculum. “I am indebted to PTI founder chairman Imran Khan for assigning me the office of the federal education minister.”
He also thanked the party and his voters for electing him.
Mr. Mahmood’s tweets received mixed reactions.
Retired bureaucrat Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera praised his integrity and competence, stating, “The national political scene will miss your presence, sir.”
However, several party members criticized him for leaving Imran Khan during trying times but enjoying the benefits of PTI’s decades-long struggle. They reproached him for his absence from the May 25, 2022 long march and the events before and after May 9, 2023.
Acknowledging the appreciation and criticism, Mr. Mahmood asserted he stood with the party before and after May 9. “I neither did any press conference, nor made a single statement against the party or its founder chairman,” he said, explaining that he withdrew from active participation due to abdominal surgery and stent implantation.
He accepted the criticism from party workers that he did not participate in protests and rallies.
The ex-minister said he was satisfied with his 34-year political journey, except for one regret of quitting PPP and joining the Musharraf regime.
“Since I have decided to write columns as I did for 11 years before joining the PTI in 2011, I thought it right to announce my retirement from politics publicly,” he said.
‘Group of sycophants’
Asif Kirmani, ex-senator and political secretary to PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, who left the party a day earlier, said on Sunday that “a group of sycophants” within the party is severely damaging the Sharifs’ politics.
Speaking to Dawn, Mr. Kirmani revealed that Nawaz Sharif wanted to go to the polls after the no-trust motion against then-PM Imran Khan, but some sycophants traveled to London and persuaded him to form the PDM government for the remaining 16 months of the tenure.
“After the no-confidence move, I suggested to Nawaz Sharif that PML-N should go into fresh polls within 10 days. Mian Sahib said why in 10 days…we should go into the polls even before that. Then, the group of sycophants managed to change his mind, and the PDM government was formed,” he claimed.
When asked to identify those sycophants, he said, “They are in the advisory council of Shehbaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz, and they played a role in cornering me in the party.”
“They abandoned the ‘vote ko izzat do’ narrative and are now trying to build an anti-judiciary narrative, but they are not paying attention to providing relief to the masses.”
When asked about his future plans, Mr. Kirmani said, “Currently, I have no plans to join any party. If the name of Muslim League had been part of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s [Awaam Pakistan] party, then I might have considered joining it.”
Mr. Kirmani claimed that the establishment could no longer bear the “burden” of the current regime. “This system cannot run any longer and will likely be replaced with a new one, probably a setup of technocrats,” he said.
Mr. Kirmani, whose father Syed Ahmad Saeed Kirmani worked with Quaid-i-Azam, joined PML-N in the early 2000s when the Sharifs were in exile.
