Hamid blames Tareen for PTI woes

ISLAMABAD: Jahangir Khan Tareen tried to become jack of all trades in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) but ended up messing up everything, said PTI senior leader and leading lawyer of the country Hamid Khan, while talking to The News.
In a chat with this correspondent on Friday, Hamid Khan said the PTI agreed on wrong TORs for the Judicial Commission and Jahangir Tareen deliberately kept him (Hamid) out of the negotiating team. He mentioned that he had been objecting to Tareen’s very expanding role in PTI affairs in party meetings but no one paid heed to him and now Tareen has almost destroyed the party.
“Tareen was political expert of the party, and during the proceedings of the Judicial Commission he also assumed the role of a legal expert which has dented the party a lot because one cannot be jack of all trades and everyone has to do only that work which he can do,” said Hamid Khan, adding: “There are excellent legal brains in the PTI who were never consulted for forming a team for the Judicial Commission. We have Justice (R) Wajihuddin Ahmad, Shaiq Usmani, Qazi Anwer and Ahmad Awais who are well versed in legal affairs but Tareen hijacked the party and formed his own legal team under Mr Pirzada.” He said that he (Tareen) has been managing the affairs during the proceedings of the Judicial Commission and it was apparent that the PTI will not succeed in proving its case. “When we could not present a case then how could we expect a favourable decision,” he added.
Unfavourable report of the commission, constituted to investigate rigging allegations in 2013 general elections, has dented the credibility of the PTI and has also brought some of its leaders to the boiling point against those who are actually calling the shots in the party.
Hamid Khan is one of those whose patience has erupted upon seeing destruction of a party made along with Imran Khan in the 90s. Hamid was of the view that critical area of the case was never highlighted while the PTI’s legal team chosen by Tareen has been highlighting useless details before the commission and the result is obvious. “Now we are in such a position that we cannot say anything,” said the senior lawyer.
He stated that it was a very high-profile case and should have been dealt intelligently but Tareen ruined the case by assuming the job of a legal expert. “A high-profile case was handed over to Ishaq Khakwani who knew nothing,” Hamid added.
He maintained that every person in the party has beenassigned a role and when someone assumes all the roles in a party the result is what has happened with the PTI in the Judicial Commission. When asked that did Tareen deliberately did so or was he not aware of the consequence of doing all this, Hamid Khan replied that everyone has to do his own job but he (Tareen) assumed all roles and chose such a legal team which could not present a high-profile case before the Judicial Commission.
Hamid Khan said that Tareen did his best to keep him (Khan) away from the negotiating team whereas he was of the view that only first TOR of the commission with a changed wording was enough while other changes could never be proved in the commission but his dissenting voice was a far cry in the party.