ISLAMABAD: Senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Qaiser on Monday clarified that he was standing with the party and is currently in contact with Chairman Imran Khan, while Asad Umar denied having any contact with Jahangir Khan Tareen.
Umar made the comments outside an Islamabad court where he appeared in a case involving violent protests that took place in the nation on May 9. Umar had resigned from his party responsibilities on May 24 but had not left the party entirely.
As he was travelling to a court in Islamabad for a case involving violence at the Federal Judicial Complex, Qaiser made similar remarks.
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.
Umar was harassed by reporters during his court appearance today when they inquired about his joining Tareen.
How is my relationship to Jahangir Tareen? Umar gave answers to the questions.
The PTI leader was then asked by a another reporter if Tareen had been in touch with him. Umar shook his head no and denied it.
Meanwhile, Asad Qaiser said: “I am with Tehreek-e-Insaf and in touch with chairman PTI.”
When questioned about whether Jahangir Tareen — who is currently forming a new political party mostly comprising PTI defectors — contacted him or not, the PTI leader responded, saying, “no contact with Jahangir Tareen.”
