ISLAMABAD: Veteran politician and former Punjab chief minister Ghulam Mustafa Khar announced on Monday that he had joined the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

The 80-year-old politician from south Punjab announced the decision after meeting PTI chairman Imran Khan at his Banigala residence. PTI secretary general Jahangir Tareen, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and senior party leader Ishaq Khakwani were also present at the meeting.

Mr Khakwani, who has played a key role in bringing Mr Khar — once celebrated as Sher-i-Punjab (lion of Punjab) — claimed that Mr Khar had joined the party without presenting any conditions. Talking to Dawn, the PTI leader said Mr Khar had assured Mr Khan that he was ready to fulfil any responsibility assigned to him by the party.

He termed Mr Khar’s decision to join the party a great achievement for the PTI and added that his inclusion would strengthen the party in south Punjab. He recalled that Mr Khar had contested the 2013 general elections from his home constituency as an independent candidate and managed to secure over 74,000 votes.

Mr Khar assured Mr Khan of his complete support and cooperation and said that he would stand by the PTI chief in his political struggle for the betterment of the country. He said that he agreed with the PTI’s manifesto and had confidence in the leadership of Imran Khan.

Earlier this month, former Sindh chief minister and an estranged leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Liaquat Ali Jatoi, had also joined the PTI.

Mr Khakawani claimed that in the coming days, several other veteran politicians would also join the PTI. However, he refused to share the names of those politicians, explaining that giving out their names ahead of time could create problems for others who wanted to join the PTI.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2017