More Punjab lawmakers to leave PTI soon, says MPA ‘close to Tareen’ after quitting party

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Punjab lawmaker Khurram Laghari, who hails from Muzaffargarh, has parted ways with the ruling party over “the failure of the government to pay heed to the problems in his constituency”.

According to Laghari, he was not satisfied with the performance of the PTI-led provincial and federal governments. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan failed to make good on his promises; therefore, it was useless for him to stay in the PTI anymore.

Lagahri claimed that there were some other MPAs who were disgruntled with the Buzdar-led government and they would soon bid goodbye to the PTI as well. “I joined PTI after winning the election on an independent seat,” he said, adding that the promises made to him remained unfulfilled.

Laghari had joined PTI in July 2018 after winning the election after he was reportedly convinced by Tareen to join Imran-led party in Punjab.

In Oct 2020, the Punjab lawmaker had quit his posts as adviser to chief minister and member of price control committee because of the alleged non-cooperation of the bureaucracy, Dawn had reported.

However, it was alleged that Laghari was removed from the posts because of his contact with PTI leader Jahangir Khan Tareen. According to reports, Laghari said to be close to Ali Jahangir Tareen and visited him in Dubai thrice with Multan Sultan cricket team.

It may be noted here that the lawmaker quit the party a month ahead of the Senate elections slated to be held on March 13. The government has introduced an ordinance to hold elections by open vote instead of the secret ballot.

The opposition has challenged the ordinance in the courts, while, the Supreme Court, that is hearing a presidential reference with regards to the open ballot, said that it would have struck down the ordinance had it not been conditional.