Jahangir Tareen group may join hands with opp: sources

Sources say faction decided to bring its strategy to the fore after formal presentation of no-trust move

ISLAMABAD:

The Jahangir Tareen group is considering supporting the opposition in the no-trust move against the PTI-led government, sources said on Wednesday.

The Tareen group held a meeting at the residence of Awn Chaudhry under the chairmanship of estranged PTI leader Jahangir Tareen.

The group gave authority to Tareen to take a final decision.

According to sources, majority of the group’s members decided to enter the political arena with full force and launch the anti-government strategy.

Most members of the group suggested standing with the PML-N in the anti-government stance while those hailing from Jhang advised maintaining independent status.

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Sources said Tareen Group decided to bring their strategy to the fore after formal presentation of the no-trust move.

They further said that the Tareen group could support the opposition when the no-trust move is presented, adding that the PTI position was “very weak” in the Tareen circle.

Tareen group expressed concern that key figures in the local government elections would not like to take the PTI ticket. It adopted the stance that inflation had broken the back of the common man over which there was a strong public reaction and that the group would play an active role in this regard.

Tareen group further said that it would hold meetings from time to time and would not discourage contacts from political parties.

In May last year, Tareen launched a group of like-minded lawmakers in the National Assembly as well as the Punjab Assembly.

Tareen had formed the group after the premier had categorically said that the FIA would not be influenced to give relief to the disgruntled leader in the sugar scam probe but he would personally look into the matter to avoid any political victimisation in the case.

The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) – the nine-party opposition alliance – with mainstream PML-N and JUI-F leading from the front has been active to reach out and persuade the ruling PTI’s allies after it made a “firm decision” to move a no-trust motion against the government in the coming days over rising inflation and “failure” to address people’s woes.

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What has raised eyebrows is the dependence of the PDM on the largesse of government allies to make a no-confidence move a success. The move also means that the numerical strength of the opposition is short of the required magic figure to send the government packing.

A PML-N delegation led by its president Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday met with the PML-Q leadership at its residence in Lahore after a gap of 14 years as part of the efforts to muster support for the no-confidence motion.

The PML-N delegation discussed matters of mutual interest and the prevailing political situation with PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and his cousin Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervez Elahi.

In a related development, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who is also the president of the PDM, spoke to PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari by telephone and told him about PDM’s consensus on the no-confidence motion.

Zardari expressed his willingness to throw weight behind the move as Fazl inquired after his health. The two discussed the overall political situation of the country.

Last week, Fazl visited the Gulberg residence of Chaudhry brothers and persuaded them to consider the PDM’s request to part ways with the government.