Share grievances with PM: Ministers ask Tareen

Say govt believes in across-the-board accountability; insist there is no forward bloc in PTI

ISLAMABAD/ MULTAN:

While reiterating that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government believes in across-the-board accountability, some key federal ministers have suggested to the ruling party’s disgruntled leader Jahangir Tareen to share his grievances with the premier.

Tareen was once considered a close friend of PM Imran. However, the PTI’s former secretary general was side-lined after an inquiry report about a sugar crisis accused him of benefiting the most from a steep hike in prices of the commodity in January 2020.

As the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intensified its probe into Tareen’s alleged role in the sugar crisis, a number of PTI lawmakers started rallying around him with speculations about emergence of a possible forward bloc in the ruling party.

On Friday, 29 lawmakers attended a dinner hosted by Tareen but several PTI leaders downplayed the development claiming that there is no threat to the government and the participation of the MNAs and the MPAs in the dinner was “no big deal”.

However, talking to the media in Multan, Minister for Foreign Affair Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday suggested that if Tareen has any concerns, he should meet Prime Minister Imran Khan.

“The FIA has issued notices to 17 sugar mills and only one of them belongs to Tareen. But if Jahangir Tareen has any concern, he should meet the prime minister. We will listen to everything he has to say."

The minister said members of the national and provincial legislatures are bound by the decision of PM Imran Khan. “Independent members [who] have submitted affidavits and started sitting on the PTI benches in legislatures [are also bound to follow the party line],” he added.

Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan said the ongoing FIA crackdown is not just against Tareen but a number of sugar mills including some owned by the families of political personalities like Sardar Nasrullah, Pervaiz Elahi and Khusro Bakhtiar.

He also claimed that there is no chance of formation of a forward bloc in the ruling party. “Neither the federal government nor the PTI led Punjab government are in danger. There is no possibility of a forward bloc,” the minister added.

Sarwar said some friends of Tareen have suggested to him to talk to Prime Minister Imran Khan for reconciliation. “Tareen has served the party a lot and is still a part of it.” The minister, however, added that when it comes to justice, PM Imran never shows discrimination or favoritism.

The aviation minister said the PTI former secretary general was not singled out for persecution as a number of PTI leaders had been facing inquiries and accountability.

 “I myself am facing a NAB [National Accountability Bureau] inquiry. [PTI leader] Aleem Khan was also arrested in view of some allegations but was made party of the [Punjab] cabinet after NAB cleared him of the charges,” he added.

Minister of Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz, however, said progress and prosperity of a nation is linked to indiscriminate justice and the rule of law.

“And this is the core of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s 22-year-long political struggle. Equality in the eyes of the law is the PM’s agenda and he is advancing it with commitment and determination,” the minister said in a social media post.