A PTI MPA from Punjab has come forward with accusations against Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, alleging that the latter is conspiring to disqualify him.
As per a report in The News, PTI Gojra MPA Bilal Asghar Warraich accused Sarwar of trying to get him disqualified over what he referred to as bogus allegations of his BA degree being fake.
He said the Punjab governor had been trying to get the MPA disqualified over the past few years but had not succeeded so far.
Asghar, addressing a press conference, alleged that Sarwar was the same governor who, during the PML-N era as well, used his influence on then Punjab University vice chancellor to declare his BA degree fake.
He accused the Punjab governor of conspiring once again with his political rivals, Usama Hamza and Asad Zaman Cheema, to have his degree declared fake.
Asghar said his degree was genuine, adding that his relationship with estranged PTI leader Jahangir Tareen had upset the Punjab governor. The MPA said he enjoyed personal relations with Tareen and that was why he was supporting him in demanding a transparent inquiry.
Asghar also criticised PTI central vice president Chaudhry Muhammad Ashfaq for allegedly pressurising the district and tehsil administrations to ignore him in comparison to defeated candidates Usama Hamza and Asad Zaman Cheema.
JKT given clean chit?
JKT has formed a strong group and intends to get what is in their best interest. Some media reports claim that Jahangir Tareen has been given a clean chit after Senator Barrister Ali Zafar’s analysis of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) cases. “Barrister Zafar has absolved Mr Tareen of all charges of Satta (sugar pricing manipulation), sugar price hike and any other illegal work in sugar related matters,” MNA Raja Riaz, a spokesperson for Mr Tareen’s group of lawmakers, told daily Dawn.
“Barrister Zafar had briefed adviser to prime minister on accountability Shahzad Akbar and Jahangir Tareen in a meeting on Tuesday in Islamabad on his findings about the sugar scam probe. Mr Zafar told them that Mr Tareen had not been found guilty of the charges framed by the FIA Lahore,” Mr Riaz said and added that a ‘clean chit’ had been given to Mr Tareen by Mr Zafar and the Tareen group thanked Prime Minister Khan in this respect.
Mr Riaz also said that Barrister Zafar had recommended that Mr Tareen’s case should be forwarded to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) as FIA had nothing to do with it.
“After Barrister Zafar’s findings the enemies of Mr Tareen stand exposed,” said Riaz. Both Mr Akbar and Mr Zafar denied having a joint meeting with Mr Tareen in Islamabad on Tuesday.
Mr Zafar said he had meetings with Mr Tareen but did not see him in the presence of Mr Akbar on Tuesday. “Some persons/media are busy guessing on what my findings in JKT (Jahangir Khan Tareen) turn out to be. Let me make it clear that there is no report submitted by me. Any findings, not necessarily in writing, shall be purely internal to the PTI and have no legal value or status nor can the same have any relevance to or affect pending inquiries/investigations against the sugar barons or Mr Tareen,” Mr Zafar said in a series of tweets on Wednesday.
Read more: Pakistani Senate Elections: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly?
Some analysts believe that since Zafar’s findings had landed the PTI government in an awkward position because of its ‘accountability narrative’ the cronies of PM Khan were trying to block his (Zafar) report. “Those around PM Khan do not want this report to be made public as it will compromise its NRO narrative,” an insider told Dawn.