PTI founding member throws weight behind Fawad Chaudhry

Founding member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), Najeeb Haroon, put his weight behind Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry’s statement regarding party infighting involving Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar and Jahangir Tareen.

While speaking to Geo Pakistan, Haroon said Chuahdry was with the government since day one and has better knowledge.

“Whatever Fawad Chaudhry is saying I believe is correct,” said Najeeb.

He added that Chaudhry had been at the forefront of the party’s affairs since the beginning, therefore, he comes from a place of knowledge.

“The party is due to Khan sahib, people have expectations from Imran Khan,” said the PTI leader, expressing hope that the prime minister should assess people rightly.

“In the party, not only Wasim Akram plus but plus two people are also present,” he added.

PTI does not have a forward bloc, says PTI leader Yawar Abbas

Separately, PTI leader Yawar Abbas has denied reports of the formation of a forward bloc in the PTI.

He said that the leaders are ready to talk to those who have a difference of opinion in the party.

“Everyone in the party wants that work is done in their constituency,” he said, adding that he has not been tasked with ‘appeasing’ any disgruntled leader.

Abbas added that everyone in the party was in contact with one another. “In a party, a difference of opinion can exist but there cannot be a forward bloc,” he added.

PTI infighting among party ranks

On Sunday, Chaudhry said that infighting between Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Planning Minister Asad Umar and PTI leader Jahangir Tareen has had an adverse impact on the party and has been one of the main reasons behind Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision not going according to plan.

“There were a lot of expectations from PTI and Imran Khan,” Chaudhry said in an interview with Sohail Warraich for Voice of America. “The public had not elected us or the prime minister to fix nuts and bolts but to reform the system.”

“When the Panama case was resolved I and few others had a chance to speak to Imran Khan and at that time I felt his ideas were very clear when it came to reforms,” he said.

Chaudhry said that problems arose when the government was formed and differences between Umar, Tareen and Qureshi increased. "These differences pushed the entire political class out of the game altogether."

"When Imran Khan's core team was shaken, the new people to have replaced them were not in agreement with the [premier's] ideas and still aren't," he said.