ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan will get the biggest boost to his party on Monday when 30 “electables”, including former ministers of the Musharraf cabinet, senators and MPs, led by Jahangir Tareen, will announce joining the PTI.
Although being dubbed by their opponents as “men of the establishment” these 30 politicians are known to have relatively clean record and are being accepted in the PTI purely on that basis.
Jahangir Tareen had formed a group of 28 such leaders, and two more have now joined, who will also join the PTI bandwagon. The talks to join the party were going on for some time and it was first speculated that they might not “join” the PTI and might announce to support it, as done by Air Marshal Asghar Khan, but now it seems they have decided to become members of the PTI.
Many PTI old timers are upset with the growing number of these allegedly ‘establishment men’ being welcomed into their party fold and being given top party offices but Imran Khan has explained several times that only clean, honest and competent people will get party tickets and positions.
Besides Jahangir Tareen, the group includes, Ishaq Khakwani, Sadia Khaqan Abbasi, Sikandar Bosan, Sarwar Khan of Taxila, Umar Farooq Miankhel of DI Khan with his four brothers, Mohabbat Khan Marri, Ghulam Sarwar Cheema, Afzal Khan Yusufzai, Dr GG Jamal, Dr Javed Hussain from Parachinar and four technocrats including Abid Hassan, a former World Bank official, Ishaq Khakwani told The News late on Sunday night.
Credible sources in PTI also confirmed to The News that after Shah Mehmood Qureshi resigned from his Multan seat, he developed serious differences with his brother Mureed Hussain Qureshi because he fielded his son to contest elections on this seat instead of his brother.
Sources told The News that Imran Khan will fly to Multan on December 22 and will try to sort out the issue between the two brothers. Sources also told The News that as Prime Minister Gilani has also fielded his son in the same constituency and the PML-N and PML-Q will be supporting Musa Gilani, so Qureshi’s son would face serious problems to win.
It is not clear why the PML-N is supporting the PM’s son except that the party does not want Imran Khan to score a win. The PTI old timers say the CEC has already given a unanimous decision that the PTI will not contest any by-polls till the next general elections. But Imran Khan has decided to contest the Multan by-election. Many in the party believe the decision could prove costly if the PTI candidate loses.
Agencies add: Former foreign minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri Kasuri will announce his decision to join the PTI when Imran Khan addresses a public meeting in Kasur on December 20.
Sources in the PTI said a number of heavyweights from Multan, who are considered to be supporters of Shah Mehmood Qureshi, would also join the party soon. They include former federal minister Sikandar Bosan, former provincial minister Hafiz Iqbal Khakwani and some PPP MPAs.
