Aleem Khan denies joining any political party

PTI defector admits 'good relationship' with Tareen, Sarwar but denies involvement in 'political activity'

LAHORE:

Estranged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member and former minister Abdul Aleem Khan on Sunday denied reports that he had joined a new political party.

Dismissing them as "baseless", Khan said that "there is no truth to the news regarding my involvement in forming a new political party".

"I have a good relationship with Chaudhry Sarwar and Jahangir Tareen, but there is no intention of politics," he added.

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"For the time being all [my] attention is focussed on welfare work," he continued, "therefore I am detached from political matters. I am not part of any political party, nor do I have the intention to join any."

It may be noted that in March 2022, Khan, along with a group of like-minded parliamentarians, had announced that he would be joining the estranged faction of the PTI led by Jahangir Khan Tareen.

According to sources, influential political figures have been mobilised of late in a bid to form a new political party reportedly aimed to break the power of PTI in Punjab.

Efforts are reportedly underway to bring together disgruntled PTI leaders. A series of contacts and meetings have been initiated, including prominent families of Central and South Punjab.

As per the media reports, parliamentarians from south Punjab, who had joined the PTI post-elections, were not happy with the party’s leadership for a slew of reasons.

It was rumoured that these parliamentarians might not even show up during a vote of confidence against PTI ally and Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi in the Punjab Assembly, which would bring to the fore the crack within the party.

It was said that these parliamentarians were expected to form a forward block in the PTI along with those who were recently ousted from the party --something the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) denied having involvement in.

Read More PTI tells ‘reluctant’ CM it’s ready to quit Punjab govt

A number of PTI dissidents had voted for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Hamza Shehbaz in the chief minister’s election last year. However, the dissident members were de-seated, while a court had ordered that their votes in favour of Hamza would not be counted. Later, in the re-election, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was elected the chief minister.

Senior PML-N leaders had later said while speaking to The Express Tribune that the party would award tickets “purely on merit” whenever the elections were called. They said that the former parliamentarians who switched to the PML-N prior to the election of the Punjab chief minister in April 2022 would not be given any preferential treatment.

A PML-N office-bearer from Punjab said that the country’s biggest province would be the most important battleground for both parties. He predicted “a tough contest between the PML-N and the PTI” but admitted their rivals would have a slight edge given the ongoing economic turmoil.

“In these circumstances, the party wants to put its best foot forward,” the office-bearer said while speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid unnecessary speculation. “By allotting tickets to them [PTI dissidents] in by-elections the PML-N has fulfilled its commitment,” he said.

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“No favours will be granted to former PTI lawmakers who fought on the party’s ticket and lost,” he said, adding, however, those with bright chances of winning could be considered. “The main problem is their acceptability within the party fold,” he continued.

“The PML-N workers and supporters have refused to accept them. This factor of acceptability is critical to reaching a consensus among party supporters,” he said. “The committees at the divisional level want that all our supporters remain on the same page and that no one gets offended in the allotment of tickets.”