Jahangir Tareen returns to Pakistan

LAHORE: PTI leader Jahangir Tareen on Friday returned to Pakistan after staying seven months in London, Geo News reported.

Tareen, who arrived with his son Ali Tareen, came on the UAE-based Emirates Airline from London via Dubai.

While speaking to the media at the Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport, he said that he has been going abroad every year in the last seven years for medical checkup.

The PTI leader, who has been criticised heavily by the Opposition over his involvement in sugar scandal, said that it’s their job to hurl allegations and that he does not feel that there is a need to reply to them.

“Thanks to the Almighty all my business is clean,” he asserted.

Hours after his arrival, Tareen clarified in a tweet that his company, JDW Sugar Mills, was not part of any petition against the Punjab government's decision to commence sugar crushing on November 10.

"All my mills, including those in Sindh, will start crushing on the 10th," he asserted. "[I] will play my part in helping the government overcome [the] sugar shortage and price hike."

On Thursday, Geo News had confirmed that the PTI leader was arriving in Pakistan through a foreign airline after reports had emerged that the former secretary general of PTI was planning to return to Pakistan soon.

Earlier, Tareen had confirmed to Geo News that he was planning to return to Pakistan but did not specify the date. Tareen, however, said he will be back in Pakistan within this month.

Tareen had reached London around seven months ago and has since been holed up in his Hampshire country home.

He had left Pakistan in a chartered plane immediately after the publication of the Sugar Commission report.

There has been speculation ever since about Tareen’s activities, but this reporter has reliably learnt that the PTI stalwart has not held any political meetings in the last seven months — as reported in some sections of the media.

He arrived in the city around three months ago with his son, Ali Khan Tareen, and has been living just outside of London ever since. The PTI leader has kept a low profile throughout.

Once Prime Minister Imran Khan's closest confidante and the main sponsor of the PTI's operations, the former PTI secretary-general is aggrieved at the way he has been treated by those who are considered the eyes and ears of PM Imran Khan.

Known for his acumen and sharp political skills, Tareen is credited by his allies and foes both for helping the PTI for several years when there was hardly anyone else around to do the heavy lifting. He is credited with spending his own money to help the party gain media mileage and to make inroads in other parties ahead of the general elections two years ago.