Jahangir Tareen 'convincing PTI lawmakers to vote for party in Senate polls': PTI MNA Raja Riaz

• Jahangir Tareen speaking to PTI lawmakers in Punjab to "convince them to vote for the ruling party in Senate polls," saysPTI MNA Raja Riaz
• Riaz notes that Jahangir Tareen is "in contact with PTI MNAs and MPAs from all over Punjab, not only in South Punjab"
• Adds thatthe business magnate "took up the task on PM Imran Khan's request"

LAHORE: Business magnate-turned-politician Jahangir Khan Tareen has been "in touch with PTI lawmakers in Punjab to convince them to vote for the ruling party in the upcoming Senate polls," a member of the National Assembly claimed on Friday.

Speaking to Geo.tvPTI MNA Raja Riaz said that Jahangir Tareen is "in contact with the ruling party's MNAs and MPAs," not only in South Punjab but throughout the province, asking them to vote for its candidates in the Senate polls scheduled for early March.

When asked if Tareen — the party's former secretary-general and the main sponsor of its operations — was doing so in a personal capacity or the on the directions of the party's chief, Prime Minister Imran Khan, Riaz claimed that the business magnate "took up the task on the premier's request."

The Senate elections are scheduled on March 3, with the ruling PTI expected to clinch the majority number of seats in the upper house.

Earlier in the day,The News had reported, citing sources, thatJehangir Tareen had initiated consultations with Punjab lawmakers closely associated with him, especially from the Seraiki-speaking areas, in wake of the upcoming Senate polls.

Tareen, Gilani, andShaikh

Tareen — whose role in the lone general seat of the Senate from Islamabad would be crucial — would draw up his strategy for the Senate elections in the light of the discussions, sources had added.

The regime's candidate from Islamabad, Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, would be facing off former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, associated with the Opposition's anti-government coalition under the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

Tareen, the sources had added, is in Islamabad now, since a majority of the PTI lawmakers from the Seraiki area were visibly tilted towards Gilani, who served the area with a special interest and maintained close liaison with them during his tenure as the prime minister and earlier as the National Assembly speaker.

Both the divides of the Senate contest have approached Tareen for support,the sources had added, but the PTI leadership had not established contact with him for the purpose.