Jahangir Tareen – a disgruntled leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and a former confidant of party chairman Imran Khan has decided to form a new national-level political party, reported the 24NewsHD TV channel.
According to the well-placed sources, after remaining out of the scene, PTI’s estranged leader decided to take advantage of the current political situation of the country when PTI is under eclipse due to its workers alleged involvement in attacking the military houses.
Ever since the clampdown on PTI after the May 9 protests, at least 50 leaders have parted ways with the party. Most of them are also expected to join the new setup.
Apart from those, many political families from Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Muzaffargarh, Lodhran, and Multan are expected to join hands with the new political party.
Jahangir Tareen will be the patron-in-chief of the party.
The sources said that many “important leaders” from Karachi, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan have also contacted Tareen.
Tareen was the secretary general of the PTI before he was ousted from politics in 2017 after the Supreme Court disqualified him for being "dishonest" on a petition filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi.
Abbasi had approached the Supreme Court seeking the disqualification of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, and Tareen.
However, despite the disqualification, Tareen remained part of PTI and was crucial in wooing independent lawmakers to join the Imran Khan-led party after the 2018 elections. His efforts proved critical as they helped Khan secure the premiership in 2018.
Interestingly, rumors of Tareen forming a new party have been rife since last year.
In January of this year, it was reported that Aleem and Tareen along with other PTI dissidents were planning to launch a new party.
In March of this year, it was reported that the splinter group named “Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Nazriyati (PTIN) or Haqeeqi Tehreek-e-Insaaf (HTI)” would be formed to contest the upcoming elections.
A faction called the PTI Haqiqi was formed a day earlier by Rao Yasir, who previously served as PTI Multan district Youth Wing president.