Screengrab of Hamza Shehbaz meeting Awn Chaudhry of the Tareen Group
Dissident group of PTI agrees with Hamza Shehbaz on incumbent C.M.’s ‘poor administrative control’ fueling inflation, corruption
The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) on Monday met members of the Jahangir Tareen group—a dissident faction of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)—and agreed that Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar must be ousted from office.
“The PMLN and Jahangir Tareen group have agreed that C.M. Buzdar should be removed as the political and administrative matters in the province have suffered a severe blow during PTI’s rule in Punjab,” read a joint statement issued after the meeting between Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz, who is also a vice-president of the PMLN, and MPAs of Tareen group.
The Jahangir Tareen group, claiming to have the support of over 30 MPAs in the Punjab Assembly, has become a lynchpin of efforts to oust the Punjab chief minister, which have gathered steam following the united opposition’s tabling of a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
According to the statement, Hamza and a delegation of PMLN leaders met the Tareen group’s members at the Lahore residence of Jahangir Tareen. While Tareen was not present in the meeting, as he is currently in London for medical treatment, Hamza was received by Awn Chaudhry and other members of the group. They discussed the prevailing political situation in the wake of the no-confidence motion tabled against the prime minister.
The statement said that the PMLN and the dissident group had also discussed administrative matters in Punjab and expressed concern over rampant inflation, unemployment and ever-increasing corruption, blaming the poor administrative control of C.M. Buzdar in the province. It said that the PMLN vice-president had enquired after the health of Tareen and prayed for his early recovery.
The meeting’s participants agreed that they would continue meeting in future and chalk out a joint strategy to control the political and administrative situation in Punjab.
Earlier, the Tareen group members met at their leader’s residence, with Awn Chaudhry briefing them on meetings with PMLQ leader and Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi. According to sources within the dissident group, he told them that some government ministers were also in contact with the group and seeking time to remove their misunderstandings. Reportedly, the group agreed that this was not the time to support the government.
Curiously, Hamza’s spokesman told media after the meeting that the opposition leader would be the next chief minister of Punjab, fueling speculation that the Tareeen group had agreed to replace Buzdar with Hamza. However, the spokesman soon retracted his statement, clarifying that Hamza would be the candidate for chief minister after the next general elections.