Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar wants to rejoin PTI

Senior politician Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar is reportedly seeking a return to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as per Geo News.

Having previously been associated with the PTI, Sarwar, currently the chief organizer of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), parted ways with Imran Khan’s party during last year’s no-confidence motion in April, leaving when Imran Khan was ousted from the prime minister’s office.

In March this year, Sarwar joined the PML-Q in the presence of its president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.
In December 2021, Sarwar slammed Khan’s government by saying that the PTI had handed over everything to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

During the no-confidence motion, Sarwar, as the chief organizer of the PML-Q, defied Khan’s orders and explored the possibility of joining the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

However, this idea was rejected by PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, citing Sarwar’s earlier defection to the PTI after the failed 2014 sit-in led by Khan and Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri.

Sarwar joined the PML-Q in March of the current year, assuming the role of chief organizer.

However, he has been residing in Scotland since several months, showing little interest in party affairs.

Despite initial hopes of the PML-Q gaining prominence, especially without Parvez Elahi and Moonis Elahi, it appears that Jahangir Tareen and Aleem Khan’s Istehekam Pakistan Party (IPP) is currently the frontrunner.

Sources reveal that Sarwar, for the past two weeks, has been reaching out to PTI leaders directly and indirectly, discussing his potential return to the party from his base in Scotland.

A senior PTI leader disclosed that Sarwar had expressed a desire to rejoin the party, but the PTI has not responded to the overtures thus far.

“The only person who can allow re-entry of Chaudhary Sarwar is Imran Khan but he has made it clear he will not forgive and forget those dozens of leaders who let him down in difficult times. Those who lobbied against Imran Khan and the PTI are not acceptable.”

Chaudhary Sarwar wants to join the PTI again because his family members want to run for elections on the party’s tickets in Faisalabad, as there are no seats vacant in PML-N ranks and no other option, said a source close to Sarwar.

The source also said that the senior politician’s son Anas, the Scottish Labour leader, also has an election coming up in Glasgow and there is a considerable Pakistani vote in the local constituency.

Another source said that so far the PTI had not shown any interest in the offer and it had no time to even consider it given the circumstances the PTI was facing in Pakistan.

When asked about efforts to rejoin the PTI, Sarwar didn’t deny it.

He said: “All options are on the table. Discussions at various levels are ongoing. I have not made a final decision yet. I will make the final decision soon.”

Sarwar joined PTI in 2015 after criticising Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif, days after resigning as the Punjab governor. However, he was appointed to the post for a second time once the PTI came to power in 2018.

Sarwar’s allies said he was not happy as Punjab governor and didn’t like Usman Buzdar. He was sacked from the post around the no-confidence vote by the PTI government, with Omer Sarfraz Cheema being appointed as his replacement.