ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday categorically denied meeting former president Asif Ali Zardari and said the “fake news” was originated by PTI dissident Raja Riaz.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Qureshi said he could not even think about meeting the Pakistan Peoples Party leader.

Mr Qureshi said he was busy in electioneering for his son in Multan and had not visited Lahore where Mr Zardari was staying on Sunday.

Interestingly, Mr Qureshi said earlier this week in a public meeting at his hometown Multan that his party was behind his defeat in Punjab’s provincial assembly elections in 2018. However, he did not name anyone for his defeat.

Besides, Mr Qureshi did not attend PTI’s public meeting in the federal capital on Saturday. The rally was addressed by PTI chairman Imran Khan and other party leaders.

Ahead of a no-confidence move against Mr Khan in April, over two dozen PTI MNAs, including Raja Riaz, sided with the opposition and did not support Imran Khan.

The opposition’s no-trust motion against Mr Khan succeeded on April 10, with 174 members in the 342-strong house voting in favour of the resolution.

Under the new coalition government led by the PML-N, Mr Riaz was made the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2022