Punjab govt acknowledges services of Jahangir Tareen for PTI

LAHORE: The Punjab government Thursday said Jahangir Tareen is an important pillar of the PTI and had worked hard to form the government of Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.

While speaking on Geo News, Special Assistant to CM Punjab Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said Prime Minister Imran Khan had come to power on the manifesto of the supremacy of law and a corruption-free Pakistan.

Awan, while responding to a question on accountability, said all those PTI leaders and ministers who were accused of corruption had returned to their positions after getting themselves cleared from the charges.

The spokesperson dismissed media reports claiming that the government is taking revengeful action against Tareen.

Tareen is facing charges of corruption in the sugar scandal and multiple cases have been filed against him.

The PTI leader, after appearing in court on Wednesday, had said that his loyalty to Prime Minister Imran Khan was being tested, but that he is not parting ways with the PTI.

While responding to a question, Awan said that Tareen would never take a step that would harm PTI and that he had played an important role in forming the Buzdar government and taking forward the policies of the PTI government.

"Jahangir Tareen will never want to see PTI getting weak on the political front. In pursuance of PM Khan's mission he was active as a soldier," she added.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government has reportedly prepared a list of the PTI members who were in contact with Jahangir Khan Tareen.

CM Usman Buzdar was set to hand over the list to the prime minister after he attended a Council of Common Interests (CCI) meeting with him. 

According to Geo News, the prime minister will make the final decision on the fate of the PTI members, the sources said.

Furthermore, PTI MNA Raja Riaz, who came to the banking court with Jahangir Tareen on Wednesday, had said the former secretary-general had played an "important role" in getting Prime Minister Imran Khan the vote of confidence.

He said Tareen had "formed the Punjab government and (due to his absence) the PTI was suffering".

Punjab lawmakers Lala Tahir Randhawa, Raja Riaz, Noman Langrial, Salman Naeem, Ghulam Bibi Bharwana, Khurram Leghari and Abdul Hai Dasti also showed up to support Tareen at his hearing.