Naeem Bokhari joins PTI

ISLAMABAD: Prominent lawyer and television host Naeem Bokhari announced on Saturday his decision to join Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) after a meeting with party chief Imran Khan here.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan arrived at Bokhari’s residence just before Iftar and held a brief meeting with the lawyer after which the senior lawyer announced the decision before media, wearing a smile on his face as usual.

Talking to reporters, briefly, Imran said Bokhari was his old friend and helped him during fundraising even when he was not a part of PTI. Imran thanked and welcome him into the party fold and expressed hope that Bokhari would be helpful in his party’s fight against corruption.

Imran said that if Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had done no corruption and also did no tax evasion, he was not supposed to be afraid of ToRs. “I also had offshore company, but I am not afraid of ToRs; he also needs not to be afraid of ToRs,” he asserted. 

 On his turn, Bokhari said he was always ‘Imran Khan’s soldier’ and if any politician in Pakistan was aware of poor people’s miseries, it was Imran Khan.  

Back in 2007, Bokhari wrote an ‘open letter’ to then President Pervez Musharraf levelling allegations against the former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and his initiative had received a mix reaction.  The lawyers had attacked him in the presence of police, who, along with some senior lawyers, tried to save him. Young lawyers had thrashed Bokhari black and blue and tore his black uniform.

Meanwhile, a delegation of  PTI MNAs, belonging to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, met Imran Khan and apprised him of their concerns over and reservations about the party-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak, a source told this correspondent.

Those who called on Imran included Amirullah Marwat, Sajid Nawaz and Junaid Akbar.

The PTI chief patiently listened to them and held out an assurance of addressing their genuine reservations.

However, Imran advised them to raise and get settled issues within the party ambit instead of going to media and airing them in public.