PTI leader and former Defence Minister Pervez Khattak has rejected the rumours of joining estranged PTI leader Jahangir Tareen’s newly former Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP).
Talking to the local media, Pervez Khattak stated that he had not been given the position of secretary general by Jahangir Tareen’s party and had not accepted any such offer. He also said that he held no meetings with Jahangir Tareen.
Later Pervez Khattak took to Twitter to declare the media reports of him joining Jahangir Tareen as “unfounded and completely false.”
Read more: PML-N sees no political threat from Jahangir Tareen’s new party
“I want to make it clear that I have no intention of affiliating with any other political party nor have I had any meetings with Jahangir Khan Tareen. The ongoing news circulating in the media about me is unfounded and completely false,” Pervez Khattak said.
Pervez Khattak refutes the news that he is joining Tareen’s party. https://t.co/149ff6DjC5
— Shiffa Z. Yousafzai (@Shiffa_ZY) June 10, 2023
On May 9, the PTI chairman was arrested from the premises of the Islamabad High Court. His arrest triggered almost countrywide rioting, during which important military installations — including the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and Lahore Corp Commander’s residence — were attacked and vandalised.
Since then, there has been a mass exodus of PTI leaders jumping ship and many that claimed to leave the party had stated in their press conferences that they had bid adieu to politics.
Pervez Khattak also held a press conference, announcing his resignation as president of the PTI’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter. The PTI leader’s aide, however, called the rumors that he was leaving the previous party “propaganda” and dismissed them.
Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s former confidant Jahangir Khan Tareen announced a new political party amid the changing political landscape. Many electables who left PTI and announced quitting politics after the May 9 riots joined the JKT’s Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party.
Former PTI leaders Fawad Chaudhry, Amir Kiyani, Ali Zaidi, Imran Ismail, Mahmood Maulvi, Firdous Ashiq Awan, Ajmal Wazir, Nauraiz Shakoor, and Fayyazul Hasan Chohan have joined Jahangir Khan Tareen.
Read more: Video of Fawad Chaudhry looking disturbed at IPP launch goes viral
Media reports also emerged that Pervez Khattak is likely to be made secretary general of the newly-established IPP. However, he has rejected the reports of joining Jahangir Khan Tareen.