A group of politicians, mostly from South Punjab and led by Jahangir Khan Tareen, discussed a proposal from the authorities to create a ‘parallel’ Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party to counter ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party in the upcoming elections.
The Tareen group held a meeting that included disgruntled MNAs and former Punjab MPAs who were disqualified for voting for the PML-N candidate in last year’s chief minister’s election.
The meeting aimed to discuss breaking the PTI, especially in light of the possibility of Imran Khan’s disqualification in any of the pending cases against him.
The dissident faction of the PTI, ‘Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (Nazriati),’ is already registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan. Therefore, the Tareen group might use this platform to achieve their goal.
The meeting participants agreed to hold such meetings to shape their strategy for the changing political situation. They also decided to establish contacts with PTI leaders who are critical of Imran Khan but have not gone public with their reservations.
The source said that the PML-N would fully support the Tareen group in its new assignment, despite the Sharifs refusing to allot tickets to these ‘electables’ for the next general elections.
Similarly, the PPP is still pursuing the South Punjab electables, which it considers a valuable asset in light of the elections. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is banking heavily on South Punjab in the upcoming polls.
Asif Ali Zardari has reportedly been in contact with Tareen group members to woo them with the alleged help of the military establishment.
