Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi dismissed Jahangir Khan Tareen's Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) as "dead on arrival" – a term used for patients/victims who die on their way to the hospitals.
Speaking to the media on Saturday, the PTI vice-captain said: “When you take patients to the emergency room after an accident, the doctors will examine them and declare them dead if they are beyond help. Similarly, I can only say that this new party is dead on arrival."
Qureshi's comments come at a time when the PTI is facing a number of challenges. The party has been hit by a series of defections, including that of Tareen, who was once one of its most powerful leaders and a close confidant of former premier Imran Khan.
The PTI is also facing a number of legal challenges, including a case against Imran on the charges of inciting violence on May 9 – the day he was arrested in a graft case.
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A couple of days ago, Tareen formally launched his new political party, along with 100 PTI defectors, with the promise of working for economic and social reforms in the country.
At the launching ceremony, Tareen and other leaders criticised the PTI, condemning the May 9 violence that saw arson and vandal attacks on government buildings, including sensitive military installations and the monuments of martyrs.
Qureshi told media persons that it remained to be seen if the IPP would be able to make any inroads into the political landscape of Pakistan.
“I believe the IPP has no chance of success and it will soon fade away,” he maintained.
On the federal budget 2023-24, he said the budget has hardly any relief for common citizens. “I am happy that the government has announced 30% and 35% increase in the salaries of the government servants but I want to ask Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar from where he will finance this increase. Will it not impact the provincial budgets?
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“The government has announced an increase of 106% in the federal Public Sector Development Programme but I ask Dar Sahib, where is this money? The federal government has announced a 12-month budget and Punjab has prepared a four-month budget. Will the federal government cut Punjab’s budget for development. I believe it is a joke with the nation,” Qureshi said.
The government has announced an increase in the tax and non-tax revenue but from where will this buoyancy come. Qureshi termed Dar an economic hitman who pushed the country towards sovereign default.
To a question, the PTI vice chairman said, “It seems that elections will be held during the current year as the government has earmarked Rs48 billion in the federal budget for general elections in the country.
“Secondly, as per the Constitution, the assembly will complete its constitutional term on August 12 and if we want to run by the Constitution, the government has to hold elections.”
To another question, he said the PTI was a federal party, which had voters in every nook and corner of the country. “Every political personality has all the right to make decision as per his will, however, the PTI has a bright future ahead,” he underscored.
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