ISLAMABAD: Member of Pakistan’s national and Punjab assembly Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who publicly sided with estranged party leader Jahangir Tareen especially demanded the closure of the criminal case against him – something Prime Minister Imran Khan hated to do.
In these tense tensions, when the party is faced with increasing threats from Jahangir Khan Tareen, where is the PTI’s main problem shooter?
If the ruling party had whoever had the influence and ability to remove the problem at its ranks, they would prefer not to act to stop Tareen’s growing sympathizers or prevent them from choosing the path. rebellion. The rebels in the PTI ranks were members of the National and Punjab assemblies, including several provincial ministers. It seems that no potential trouble shooter can become an honest broker without the approval of their superiors.
As part of a well thought out strategy, Tareen has publicly demonstrated his increasing strength within the PTI. When he first did so days ago, 22 federal and Punjab legislators appeared in a banking court where he appeared to be asking for an extension of his pre-arrest bail. Three days later, the number swelled to 38 members of the National Assembly (MNA) and 22 members of the Punjab Assembly (MPA).
Their rebels make up enough numbers to elect the ruling federal and provincial governments if a trustless resolution is moved against them and Tareen’s supporters support the mobilizer. However, they have announced that they remain part of the PTI but want the ‘targeted injustice’ to be reversed – essentially meaning the withdrawal of the criminal case brought against Tareen.
Only Prime Minister Imran Khan can appoint a senior party leader who enjoys his full support to talk to the ‘rebels’ and pull them back from their current path. This is the only way to get rid of the increasing threat and shame caused by the Tareen movement. The prime minister, however, has not gone so far. In fact, the federal and Punjab governments seem helpless to watch the scenario unfold as silent onlookers, waiting for a miracle to avert disaster.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, usually tasked with work and solving serious political problems, hardly wants to get involved in the current crisis because he wants to see his old rival Tareen step down and out as far as PTI is concerned. When Tareen did rule over the present or even earlier government, he and Qureshi were at odds openly and bitterly. The politics of back and forth is not the foreign minister’s forte. He has now advised Tareen to raise his concerns with the prime minister that investigators are “on a phone call”.
Punjab governor Chaudhry Sarwar, who has generally been involved in different political strife, has also moved away from the current frenzy. He did not enjoy any special ties with Tareen in PTI’s internal politics. Like Qureshi, he too had not been deployed to end the rebellion. Nor did he speak publicly about the dispute.
Federal Minister Asad Umar, who is also frequently involved by the government in resolving political disputes, does not enjoy a working relationship with Tareen. Instead, they had openly exchanged thorns in the past and have no longer spoken from then on. Asad Umar apparently did not hesitate to see Tareen get his forgiveness money.
Every prime minister in Pakistan’s history has assigned his party’s chief minister the task of keeping members of the federal and provincial parliaments in their provinces so they do exactly what they’re told if necessary. The time-tested tradition is that no member of parliament dares to oppose the head minister in their province. It is always the responsibility of the chief minister to ensure that the MNA and MPA in his province do not support any action against the ruling party as they are armed with abundant power to adequately deal with those who dare to scoff at the call. In the current scenario, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar seems helpless. His sadness is even more pronounced considering that several members of his own cabinet have openly sided with Tareen. He was not in a position to take up their duties for their actions which brought a bad name to the government and PTI. In the dispensation in force, the prime minister always countered any criticism of Buzdar by saying that he himself was in charge of the provincial government and for this purpose made regular visits to Lahore. Ironically, all the MPs currently showing signs of being alienated from the PTI are from Punjab, Imran Khan’s special focus province. Since the noose was tied around Tareen’s neck through the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), it was naive to conclude that she would remain satisfied with what she had been doing in public all this time. He will likely try to put even more pressure on the prime minister to paddle the multiple criminal cases being institutionalized against him. It may be too early to conclude what Tareen’s relationship with PTI will ultimately look like and how much damage he will do to the ruling party before the end of the ongoing story. However, it is certain that he has not disclosed all his cards as far as the support he enjoys within the PTI or how he will increase the pressure further. Until now, he has publicly put forward MNA and KKL that are not afraid to be exposed. There may be more legislators like that who don’t want to be open now. After all, it was none other than Tareen who, with his role in inducting dozens of voter candidates, brought PTI to a position where it could win the 2018 general election. For this reason, his good relations with the MNA and MPA from Punjab are very good.
Tareen was not a man who moved at high speed in his political maneuvers. He usually moves carefully and steadily. What he has done so far has created a difficult situation for the ruling party. He is unlikely to change his mind unless the case against him is slowed down or closed completely. However, it will be difficult for Imran Khan, who has constructed his entire account of accountability, to step back without losing face. He has made this clear through his head of accountability Shahzad Akbar, who is in charge of the FIA.