Swabi-based AJIP makes up mind to merge with PTI

SWABI: The Awami Jamhoori Ittehad Pakistan (AJIP) would soon be merged with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and the date would be announced after the AJIP’s chief Shahram Khan Tarakai’s return from abroad, sources in both the parties said on Wednesday.
“We have not finalised the date about PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s visit to the Tarakai House. He is expected to be here soon to seal the much-anticipated merger of AJIP with his party,” said a source in the Tarakai House.
Earlier, the Tarakai House, located in Tarakai village in Swabi district, had rejected the merger reports, but now all issues have been resolved and finally the ‘green signal’ would be given to merge the Swabi-based party into the PTI.
Eyebrows were raised when Imran Khan awarded the ticket for the Senate election to Liaqat Khan Tarakai, father of provincial Health Minister Shahram Khan Tarakai. There were reports that the ticket was linked with the merger of the AJIP with the PTI, but the AJIP leaders dispelled the impression at that time.
Liaqat Tarakai, a businessman who is the founder of AJIP, later announced that he will join the PTI after getting elected as Senator.“Both the parties have similar policies, programmes and plans. There is no difference between the two parties,” he had said.
When contacted, AJIP Secretary General Biland Iqbal said that negotiations were on the right track and all the issues had been addressed.However, on being contacted, AJIP MNA Usman Khan Tarakai said: “I don’t know about the merger of our party with the PTI or the visit of Imran Khan to the Tarakai House.”
He said that whenever they met Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ministers they usually made this demand. “We told them that we have party workers and we cannot make such a decision without taking them into confidence,” he added.
Insiders in AJIP said that after making their mind about the merger into PTI, the focus has now shifted to the development of Swabi district to weaken the position of the rival political parties.
When contacted, Anwar Haqdad Khan, former district president of AJIP, said that last night he was travelling with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser from Islamabad to Swabi and he told him that all the issues about AJIP’s merger with the PTI had been settled.
There is strong resentment among the PTI workers about the delay in the merger. A number of PTI leaders had sent text messages to Imran Khan, questioning the award of the party’s Senate ticket to Liaqat Tarakai.
Insiders in PTI said that reports about the Qaumi Watan Party rejoining the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had put extra pressure on AJIP leaders to opt for the merger as the party could lose its importance after the return of the Aftab Ahmad Sherpao-led party to the coalition government.
Some observers said that another reason that pushed the AJIP to go for merger with the PTI was its defeat in the local government elections. “This was the first time that the Tarakai House faced such a humiliating defeat,” admitted MNA Usman Tarakai.