Pakistan: Opposition Overtures To Tareen Makes PTI Uncomfortable
Islamabad, Feb 20 : The PTI government of Imran Khan found itself in a precarious position after its leader Jehangir Khan Tareen’s met with the opposition as the latter intensified its efforts to oust the prime minister, Dawn reported on Sunday. Some PTI leaders have however played down Tareen’s supposedly clandestine meeting with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif, with Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry saying his fellow party leader won’t ditch the PTI. But some inside sources have said that the government is nervous about the ongoing activities in the opposition’s camp, especially the flurry around their disgruntled leader Jehangir Tareen. Tareen’s purported meetings with PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Shehbaz Sharif have neither been acknowledged nor denied by either side. Sources said that in Jehangir Tareen’s case, the government faced a dilemma.
“If the government grills him again through the Federal Investigation Agency in the sugar scam to pressure him, it may backfire in the form of a revolt by around 10 MNAs and 30 MPAs which Tareen claims are backing him. If the government acts as an onlooker, the opposition may end up working things out with him.” The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance of nine opposition parties, as well as the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) are gearing up to bring a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan but have agreed to not consider a similar move against Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser or Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.
With UNI Inputs