Tareen forms new political party

Over 100 PTI deserters join Istehkam-e-Pakistan

LAHORE:

Disgruntled PTI leader and sugar baron – Jahangir Tareen – on Wednesday announced the formation of a new political party – Istehkam-e-Pakistan – comprising more than 100 former National Assembly members and leaders of the former ruling party.

The announcement was made at the residence of Aleem Khan – another estranged leader of the PTI, where a dinner was hosted for the former ruling party legislators.

Nearly 100 former PTI members of the national and provincial assemblies joined the new party, expressing confidence in Tareen’s leadership.

Those who joined the party include former Sindh governor Imran Ismail, ex-shipping minister Ali Zaidi, former federal minister Amir Kayani, Firdous Ashiq Awan, Mahmood Molvi, Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, Murad Raas and Jai Parkash.

Meanwhile, GG Jamal from erstwhile Fata, Ajmal Parvez, Nauman Langrial from Punjab and Naurez Shakoor also joined the new party.

Former adviser to Punjab chief minister for auqaf and religious affairs Syed Rafakat Ali Gillani also joined Tareen’s party.

Ex-MPA from Chishtian Mumtaz Mehrvi also announced joining Istehkam-e-Pakistan.

Similarly, former MPA from Sahiwal, Mehr Irshad Kathia, Mian Usman Ashraf from Nankana Sahib, and Major (retd) Khurram Rokhiri from Mianwali decided to join the new party.

Tareen is expected to hold an important news conference with his party members on Friday (tomorrow).

Several leaders of the PTI had parted ways with the party after the government held Imran Khan responsible for the riots that broke out across the country following his arrest in a graft case on May 9.

Protesters attacked the government infrastructure as well as the military installations and also vandalised the GHQ and the Lahore corps commander’s residence.

The disgruntled PTI leader is known to wield influence over important leaders from Karachi, interior Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Tareen, who was once a confidant of Imran and helped the PTI form government in Punjab in 2018, developed differences with the PTI chief after the latter allowed the FIA to lay hands on him in a sugar scam case in early 2021.

Later, Tareen’s group of 25 MPAs, including Aleem Khan, was instrumental in toppling the PTI-led Punjab government. These lawmakers had voted in favour of PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz for the chief minister election in April last year.

In December 2017, the Supreme Court disqualified Tareen, who was the PTI secretary general at that time, declaring that he had proven dishonest under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution and Section 99 of Representation of People Act (ROPA) on one count among the multiple charges brought against him.

On September 27, 2018, the same apex court bench rejected a review petition filed by him.