Aleem airs Punjab-related grievances with Nawaz

As the political landscape witnesses upheaval and the opposition sharpens its attacks on the government, the estranged PTI leader Aleem Khan held a meeting with former premier Nawaz Sharif in London and discussed political situation, The Express Tribune learnt on Friday.

The development, confirmed by sources close to Aleem, came days after a group of like-minded parliamentarians announced joining the disgruntled faction of the ruling party led by Jahangir Khan Tareen.

The insiders said the two leaders of rival political parties held consultations on the prevailing political situation in the country, including the no-confidence motion during the meeting that lasted for at least couple of hours.

Aleem Khan, who resigned as senior Punjab minister in November last year, informed the PML-N chief about “bad governance” in Punjab and expressed reservations over Chief Minister Usman Buzdar’s ability to govern the country’s biggest province.

The three-time prime minister appreciated the role of Aleem Khan as political leader during the meeting, the sources said. They said Aleem Khan will not formally join PML-N and would lead a like-minded group of parliamentarians within PTI.

Also read: Disgruntled Aleem Khan joins Tareen faction

They added that Aleem will not meet Tareen, who is also in London reportedly for medical treatment, and expected to return to Pakistan today.

In the next few days, Aleem will hold a power show along with his disgruntled group of lawmakers to show his strength, as per the sources.

On Monday, Aleem held an important meeting with the Tareen group in Lahore to discuss the no-trust motion announced by the joint opposition against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Speaking to the media, Aleem said that he contacted over 40 parliamentarians of the ruling party during the past four days. “We all have teamed up in the last bid to strengthen the party. The PTI does not belong to an individual but it belongs to all of us. We will jointly make all decisions over the no-trust motion,” he said.

The former senior minister pointed out that Tareen had played an active role in bringing PTI into power. But he was ignored by the party for unknown reasons, he added.

“All those people who worked alongside Prime Minister Imran Khan for “Naya Pakistan” have been sidelined and others surrounded the leader when the party came into power. There is no answer to why this happened,” he lamented.