IPP's ship may be sinking without Tareen's return

Launched as a game-changer, IPP now struggles to stay afloat amid growing internal concerns about its survival

LAHORE:

The Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), which was launched last year to fill the anticipated void left by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) forced departure from politics, is now staring down the barrel of its own existential crisis.

Members of the party are voicing concerns that if Jahangir Khan Tareen doesn’t reconsider his political exit, the IPP might end up being a political non-starter.

The party contested over three dozen seats in the National Assembly and Punjab Assembly but only secured three initially—two in the NA and one in the Punjab Assembly.

Party president Aleem Khan clinched two of these seats. The victories were under scrutiny, as Muhammad Awn Saqlain (Awn Chaudhry), who won a Lahore seat with PML-N’s support, did so by a larger margin than PML-N’s top boss Nawaz Sharif, which even PML-N found amusing.

IPP suffered another blow when its chief, Jahangir Khan Tareen, lost in both NA seats he contested. This defeat led Tareen to not only resign from his party position but to quit politics altogether.

Following the elections, IPP candidate Gul Asghar Khan clinched the NA-88 seat in a by-election, bringing the party’s total to three seats in the National Assembly.

Meanwhile, Shoaib Siddiqui secured the Punjab Assembly seat of PA-149, previously held by Aleem Khan. The party also gained a boost as independents Ghazanfar Abbas Cheena, Sardar Awais Dreshak, Zahid Ismail, and Muhammad Tahir crossed the floor to join the IPP.

‘Tareen’s absence deeply felt’

Analysts credit the establishment with bringing in independents to give IPP a shot in the arm. One of these independents, then speaking to The Express Tribune, claimed that since IPP was seen as the establishment’s party, they were bound to land some ministerial posts.

With four independents joining the ranks, it was expected that they would secure some key positions. However, none of these expectations have come to pass.

An IPP leader, who contested a provincial assembly seat, noted that turbulent times are ripe for new parties, but IPP seems to be missing the boat.

He said it seemed Aleem Khan was enjoying his time in the ministry, which is why he was paying scant attention to IPP. He pointed out that there were a host of pressing issues the party could capitalise on, but unfortunately, they’re too busy savouring their power at the centre to focus on the party’s needs.

At the rate things are going, it looks like even Aleem Khan might end up running on a PML-N ticket, he quipped.

‘Wait and see’

Party General Secretary Aamer Mehmood Kiani said that the current approach in the political arena is a wait-and-see game, with everyone biding their time for things to settle down.