LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Jahangir Khan Tareen on Wednesday refuted the claims of ex-PTI member former Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed that he bore the monthly household expenses of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

In a statement issued on Twitter, he categorically said that “I never gave a penny for the household expenses of Bani Gala”.

Once a trusted member of Khan’s inner circle, his relationship with the PTI chief deteriorated after an inquiry was initiated against him by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) related to the sugar scam.

Tareen, seeking to set the record straight, also said: “Regardless of the current status of my relationship with Imran Khan, the truth must be told. I did whatever was in my capacity to help PTI in the quest to build a new Pakistan.”

It may be recalled that Wajihuddin Ahmed, who had resigned from the PTI back in 2016, alleged during a show on a private news channel that Tareen initially gave Rs 3 million per month for Khan’s household expenses, which was later increased to Rs 5 million per month.

“The perception about Imran Khan being an honest man is completely wrong,” he added.

The former Sindh High Court chief justice, and later elevated to the Supreme Court, served as the party’s election tribunal head. In 2013, he was asked to investigate “irregularities” committed during the PTI’s intra-party elections that took place before the 2013 general elections.

Later, he developed differences with the party leadership over the implementation of the recommendations made by the tribunal. He alleged that the party was being run like a mafia without any institutional checks and balances.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021