LAHORE: Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry met the MPAs associated with the Jahangir Tareen group here on Saturday and claimed that loopholes in the political and administrative coordination are the main reason behind confusion prevailing among the party parliamentarians.

“We have discussed this issue at length and expect smooth coordination in the days to come,” he asserted.

Mr Chaudhry, accompanied by PTI secretary general Amir Kiyani, was speaking to the media after meeting some members of the disgruntled group, including Saeed Akbar Nawani, Malik Nauman Ahmad Langrial, Nazir Chohan and Ajmal Cheema.

The meeting was held on the instructions of Prime Minister Imran Khan, a day after a delegation of the group met Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and returned satisfied.

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Mr Chaudhry claimed that the parliamentarians in the Tareen group had reposed full confidence in the leadership of Imran Khan and were proud of their affiliation with the PTI.

He said neither could anyone expect from PM Khan that he would ask someone to provide relief to Mr Tareen nor would the senior party leader himself look for any illegal favours. He said the prime minister had appointed Barrister Ali Zafar as a one-man commission to probe into Mr Tareen’s grievances and file a report.

“We are all waiting for the report,” he said and added that it would decide about the party’s internal line in the future. He hoped that everyone would accept the findings of the probe, adding that the legal cases against Mr Tareen were in courts and would be settled there.

MPA Nazir Chohan said the Tareen group would accept the Barrister Zafar report in letter and spirit, but demanded it be made public so everyone knew about the situation.

Provincial minister Malik Nauman Langrial said they were satisfied with the investigations being conducted against Mr Tareen and the prime minister’s promise that there would be no injustice with the senior leader.

Provincial minister Ajmal Cheema said the group members had a clear narrative and were going to courts to seek justice for Mr Tareen. He claimed that they were not looking for any relief for Mr Tareen.

“We don’t even know the meaning of NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance),” he claimed. He also said that Mr Tareen had given a clear message that he was still a part of the PTI and would always remain so.

Commenting on Senator Faisal Vawda’s comment that it would just take a station house officer to control the Tareen group members, Mr Cheema said the senator knew his capacity and they knew theirs.

“We know how to get our rights,” he remarked.

Fawad Chaudhry said they had all decided at the meeting to go along as a family and not form groups, and that differences would be sorted out through discussions.

He, however, said the Tareen group members could surely have dinners and lunches among themselves.

He also commented that the opposition was excited over the so-called rifts within the party that should now be settled, as reservations had been addressed. He claimed that the PTI was the country’s largest and biggest representative party.

Answering a question, Mr Chaudhry agreed that as per policy, no MPA or MNA would be provided development funds, but they were always welcome to voice the problems of voters in their respective constituencies.

Responding to another question about the probe and arrests in the Rawalpindi Ring Road scandal, Mr Chaudhry said investigations were under way and all culprits would be arrested. He took the PML-N government to task that he said did not conduct any probe when the Lahore Ring Road was extended by around 100 kilometres.

Answering another question about PM Khan being dismayed that corruption still prevailed and looters of the national wealth could not be brought to book, the minister said the premier represented sentiments of the general public that has yet to see looters being punished. “The prime minister’s differences with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from day one remain that the bureau should not go all out, but first focus on the bigger cases to take them to their logical end,” Mr Chaudhry explained.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2021