The former secretary general of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Jahangir Tareen has refuted reports of his joining Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

On Tuesday, PPP's Shehla Raza had claimed that a meeting between PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Tareen had been scheduled for next week. "There is a possibility that Tareen may join the PPP along with his supporters. If this happens then both [Prime Minister Imran Khan] Niazi and [Punjab Chief Minister Usman] Buzdar will be sent packing,” she said in a tweet.

She also claimed that Tareen had met PPP leader and former Punjab governor Makhdoom Ahmad Mahmood. However, she later deleted the tweet. Denying the meeting, Tareen said that a constant propaganda campaign is being run against him, adding that he is a member of the PTI and will remain so.

Mahmood also denied his meeting with Tareen. Talking to DAWN, he said that, “All of this meeting thing is completely fake.”

Tareen and his son have been booked by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in separate cases on charges of financial embezzlement and money laundering. The FIA says that Tareen transferred Rs3.14 billion to an associated private company identified as Farooqi Pulp Private Limited (FPML).