Prime Minister assures disgruntled lawmakers of fair inquiry into sugar scandal

A group of 33 disgruntled PTI lawmakers, who rally behind the beleaguered former general secretary, Jahangir Tareen, called on Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday, in an attempt to defuse the ongoing tension within the ruling party.

As per sources, lawmakers requested Imran Khan to remove Barrister Shehzad Akbar and his team from the investigation and hold a fresh inquiry in the case.

Hinting at personal vendetta, the lawmakers maintained that Akbar was making false cases against Jahangir Tareen.

During the meeting, Khan upheld his stance that no society could progress without the supremacy of the law and the Constitution. He said that although Jahangir Tareen was his dear friend, even he needed to be answerable on questions related to a sudden hike in sugar prices.

Prime Minister Khan assured them of fair and unbiased proceedings into the sugar scandal case. He told the lawmakers that he will personally monitor the inquiry against Jahangir Tareen to ensure that no injustice is done to him.

Prior to the meeting with the premier, the group of disgruntled legislators met at the residence of Tareen. The meeting comprised 33 PTI lawmakers, including 11 National Assembly members (MNAs), and a Federal Minister.

MNAs in the Tareen group are Raja Riaz, Sami Gillani, Riaz Mazari, Khwaja Sheeraz, Mobeen Alam Anwar, Javed Waraich, Ghulam Lali, Ghulam Bibi Bharwana, Faizul Hassan Shah and Sahibzada Ameer Sultan.

Besides, a total of 22 ruling party lawmakers from the Punjab Assembly (MPAs) are also part of the group that is now tagged as the PTI’s “Hum Khayal” Group.

These include two provincial ministers – Nauman Langrial and Ajmal Cheema and four provincial advisers – Abdul Hai Dasti, Ameer M Khan, Rafaqat Gillani, and Faisal Jabuwana.

Other MPAs are Khurram Laghari, Aslam Bharwana, Nazir Chohan, Asif Majeed, Bilal Waraich, Umar Aftab, Tahir Randhawa, Zawar Waraich, Nazir Baloch, Umer Tanveer Butt, Amin Chaudry, Chaudhary Iftikhar Gondal, Ghulam Rasool Sangha, Qasim Langah, Saeed Akbar Niwani, and Salman Naeem.