Observer Report
Lahore
Senior PTI leader Jahangir Tareen has reacted strongly to opposition’s ongoing efforts to bring an “in-house change”, saying the ruling party and Prime Minister Imran Khan are inseparable and dismissed the ‘minus Imran’ formula saying that the party was nothing without the prime minister.
“PTI exists because of Imran Khan and the premier cannot be eliminated through any minus-one formula,” he said while speaking to the media on Sunday. “Maryam Nawaz, on the other hand, is at risk of becoming [politically] redundant,” he added.
“Imran Khan is the prime minister and he will remain so. He will complete his tenure,” he said. “Some people are involved in conspiracies—their talk is nothing but conspiracies,” he added.
Tareen said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s sons are in London to take care of their ailing father, hinting that the government might not allow Maryam to travel abroad.
The statement comes a day after PML-N stressed the need for an in-house change of the government before holding fresh elections as the party’s bigwigs met in London.
Tareen, during the media interaction, blamed Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Sharif’s PML-N for the country’s financial woes, saying that his party’s government is working hard to shore up the crippling economy. The opposition leaders, he maintained, are being punished due to their corrupt practices during their time in power, adding that those facing court cases are trying to flee the country. “It appears as if Zardari would also leave the country on medical grounds,” he remarked.
Commenting on appointment of ECP members, Tareen said Parliament is the supreme institution and has the right to legislate. “It is our [government] and opposition’s shared responsibility to sit together [and resolve the issue],” he said.
On reservations shown by the PTI’s coalition partners, Tareen said Chaudhry brothers – Pervaiz Elahi and Shujaat Hussain – did not express any grievance during a recently held meeting with him.
Tareen said that if BNP-M chief Akhtar Mengal had issues with the government then they will be solved.
