After getting into an altercation outside Adiala jail with Fawad Chaudhry, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Barrister Shoaib Shaheen said on Saturday that he will never forgive the former federal minister and denied reaching any settlement with him.
Chaudhry and Shaheen fought at Gate No 5 of Rawalpindi's Adiala jail as the verbal exchange turned into a physical fight after the former federal minister slapped the PTI lawyer, causing the latter to fall to the ground and injuring his arm.
Sources informed Geo News that Chaudhry had called Shaheen a "tout," prompting the latter to respond by telling him to mind his own business.
Talking to journalists after the fight, Chaudhry claimed that Shaheen called him a "deserter" on TV while attributing this remark to the PTI founder. He added that when he verified the claim from Khan, he denied making any such remarks against him.
Chaudhry asked Shaheen not to attribute such remarks to the former premier. However, Khan ordered him to make peace with Shaheen, he claimed, adding that he had reconciled with Shaheen after the scuffle following Khan's directives.
PTI lawyer Naeem Haider Panjutha said that former premier Khan expressed sorrow after being informed of the fight between Chaudhry and Shaheen. The matter has been resolved as the party founder reconciled both of them, he claimed.
Contrary to Panjutha's statement, Shaheen denied any reconciliation between him and Chaudhry while addressing a press conference outside the prison.
Calling Fawad a "tout" and "deserter", he claimed that Khan had condemned the scuffle and added that the former federal minister was the one who abandoned the party and he would get a solid response for slapping him.
Shaheen further alleged that Chaudhry had no association with the PTI and was trying to create differences within the party. He added that Chaudhry "came there [at Adiala jail] with a plan to attack me".
He went on to say that he would neither approach the police nor the PTI leadership to register a complaint against Chaudhry, however, he would not pardon him.
PTI worker Nadia Khattak, while commenting on the incident, said while disagreements were normal, physical violence should not have occurred. She confirmed that Shaheen had sustained an injury to his hand but no fractures.
The former ruling party has been facing "internal rifts", with members of its senior leadership developing differences on various matters. The most recent is the case of firebrand lawyer-turned-politician Sher Afzal Marwat, who was expelled from the party over a disciplinary violation.
It is worth noting that Chaudhry, who has been facing a slew of cases, had parted ways with the Imran Khan-founded party following the crackdown on its leaders in the wake of violent events of May 9, 2023.
However, the veteran politician denied leaving PTI last year, saying those who abandon something return to it but since he never quit the party, there was no question of him going back.
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