ISLAMABAD -UNS: PTI leaders Asad Umar and Asad Qaiser on Monday denied having any contact with Jahangir Khan Tareen, who used to be a close aide of PTI chief Imran Khan before heading a group of dissidents in the party.
Umar, who had quit his party positions on May 24 but had not resigned from the party altogether, made the remarks outside an Islamabad court where he appeared in a case pertaining to violent protests in the country on May 9.
Similarly, Qaiser also made the comments as he made his way to a court in Islamabad in connection with a case concerning violence at the Federal Judicial Complex.
The remarks come amid reports of the Tareen group — which had emerged as a faction in the PTI comprising the party’s dissident parliamentarians — stepping up efforts to poach as many PTI defectors as it can to swell its ranks ahead of general elections.
In recent days, several PTI members, including prominent leaders, have parted ways with the party following a state crackdown on it over allegations of their involvement in vandalism during May 9 protests following the arrest of the PTI chief.
On May 29, Tareen held a meeting with former PTI leader Aleem Khan at his residence in the provincial capital, according to a Dawn report. The meeting was also attended by former minister Ishaq Khakwani, PM’s aide Aown Chaudhry, Saeed Akbar Niwani, and Shoaib Siddiqui, the report said.
Though there has been no word from the Tareen group regarding their re-entry to the political arena, reports suggest that the former PTI leader and financier would re-launch his political career with a new political party.
