Another ex-PTI MNA jumps ship, joins IPP

Ali Nawaz Awan joins IPP in meeting with Tareen, Aleem

LAHORE:

Ali Nawaz Awan, a former member of the National Assembly (MNA) officially severed ties with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and aligned himself with the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) on Sunday. Awan held a meeting with IPP Patron-in-Chief Jahangir Tareen and President Abdul Aleem Khan in Lahore.

During the meeting, IPP Additional Secretary General Aun Chaudhry and Nauman Langrial were also present. On November 9, the PTI had claimed in a post on X, that Awan had been abducted from the Battal area of Mansehra district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). It was also reported that Awan had been apprehended from Battal and subsequently handed over to the Islamabad police.

In response to Awan’s joining the IPP, the PTI shared an old video of his taking an oath. The party’s official account on X commented: ”Any statement or action being done after this is automatically under pressure.” Meanwhile, the PTI called off its workers' convention on Sunday, claiming that it had been denied permission for the event, despite a clear order from the Lahore High Court (LHC).

Oath video of Ali Nawaz Awan.
Any statement or action being done after this is automatically under pressure. pic.twitter.com/eoMCpoUVd1 https://t.co/byWrLainkX

— PTI (@PTIofficial) November 19, 2023

Senior PTI Vice President for Central Punjab Akbar Khan Bari told the media that he had approached the district administration on October 31 to seek permission for the convention but the Lahore deputy commissioner did not entertain the request. This prompted the party to approach the LHC for the permission, he said, adding that the court had instructed the deputy commissioner to allow the PTI to hold its workers' convention as per the law.

Despite the initial agreement in court, the deputy commissioner later reneged on granting permission once again, Bari said. "We approached the LHC again for contempt of court proceedings and the deputy commissioner assured the court of granting the permission,” he added. “However, on Saturday, when we approached the deputy commissioner for permission for Sunday’s convention, he directed us to approach the DIG Police. Later, he continued, “the DIG informed us” that he would not permit the convention.

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"The DIG told us that the police will arrest all workers if we attempted to hold the convention anywhere in the city," he charged. “We are being denied our constitutional right despite clear court orders," Bari alleged. Last month, law-enforcement personnel detained 55 PTI workers for holding a convention in the Kahna area of Lahore.

The authorities forcibly entered the site, raided the office of the PTI leader responsible for organising the event, and reportedly damaged the office property. The PTI strongly criticised the alleged use of force against a political assembly and arrests of its workers. It also criticised the authorities for providing preferential VIP protocol to what they deemed a "fugitive criminal" – a reference to PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.

Meanwhile, a local PTI leader Malik Shahzeb Khokhar led a small motorcycle rally on the College Road, which was mainly participated by the youth, carrying party flags and chanting slogans in favour of the party chairman.