Screengrab from Aleem Khan’s press conference announcing his intent to join the dissident group led by Jahangir Khan Tareen
Former minister says he is joining hands with Tareen group, noting PTI has failed to fulfill promises while sidelining party loyalists
Amidst ongoing efforts by opposition parties to table a no-confidence motion against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government in the National Assembly, the ruling party on Monday came under further pressure in Punjab after former minister Aleem Khan announced he was joining the dissident group led by Jahangir Khan Tareen.
Aleem Khan, a former Punjab minister who had been once been in contention for the chief minister’s slot, had resigned from the provincial cabinet last year after taking ownership of the Samaa private TV channel. In a statement, he had claimed he could not hold a government post while operating a news channel “in the interest of neutrality.”
On Monday, Aleem met members of the Tareen group in Lahore and discussed the prevailing political scenario. According to sources familiar with the developments in the meeting, the dissidents agreed that they could no longer support the incumbent Punjab government led by Chief Minister Usman Buzdar. Tareen reportedly joined the meeting via video-call from London, where he has been receiving medical treatment since last week.
“The PTI’s diehard workers were pushed aside as soon as the Imran Khan government came to power and ‘parachuters’ surrounded the prime minister,” Aleem, flanked by members of the dissident group, told media after the meeting. “Many PTI workers are still looking for answers over why loyalists, including Jahangir Tareen, were pushed away,” he said, adding that the party’s supporters did not want government posts and would not have had any issue with being sidelined if the government had been delivering on its promises and providing relief to the masses.
“I have become politically active [against the PTI] as my supporters in the Punjab Assembly and the disgruntled members have decided to play our role to save the party and protect people from the PTI government’s misdoings,” he said to a question on why he had suddenly decided to voice his concerns with the PTI-led government in Punjab. “I have met 40 MPAs, including ministers, in the past four days and decided that all the loyalists should join hands and launch a struggle to save the party,” he added.
While Aleem did not respond to questions on whether the dissident group would support the opposition’s no-confidence motion, he said the MPAs of both his and Tareen’s groups would consult each other and decide whom to support based on the public’s welfare.
To a question on whether he feared the government would reopen his NAB case to halt his dissent, Aleem said he was ready to face the courts.
In a bid to woo Aleem and Tareen back into his fold, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday dispatched Sindh Governor Imran Ismail to Lahore and directed him to assuage the dissidents’ concerns. Following a meeting with Aleem at his residence, Ismail told media that the reservations voiced by his “friend” had merit and were in the best interest of the PTI’s Punjab government.
He said he would now convey these reservations to P.M. Khan, adding that he hoped the prime minister would consider them and take a final decision on Aleem’s recommendations. “All the issues will be settled within 24 hours and we will all be back on one page,” he claimed.
The vocal dissension from within the PTI, followed by the rapid efforts to resolve it, betray the clear concern of the federal government about the opposition’s no-confidence motion gaining steam and potentially succeeding in dislodging the prime minister. While ministers have repeatedly claimed they have nothing to worry about from the opposition, it is now becoming clear that the government has shifted to a ‘firefighting’ to prevent defections and ensure its numbers are guaranteed in Parliament.