Defected PML-N lawmakers from South Punjab decide to join PTI

ISLAMABAD: Defected lawmakers of the Pakistan Muslim League-N from South Punjab have decided to join the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). However, a formal announcement in this regard will be made tomorrow after MNA Khusro Bakhtiar, who heads the group of national and provincial lawmakers, meets PTI chairperson Imran Khan.

Talking to Geo News, PTI’s Jahangir Tareen confirmed the development and said they will contest elections alongside the South Punjab lawmakers.

He explained that they had been holding consultations with the South Punjab lawmakers which gained momentum after the party’s April 29 rally in Lahore.

Tareen said the South Punjab political leaders will announce joining PTI after Imran calls on Bakhtiar tomorrow, adding that history will be made tomorrow as the two leaders will propose their plan for the impoverished region.

Earlier, the lawmakers from South Punjab parted ways with the ruling party and announced the launch of a mass movement — Junoobi Punjab Suba Mahaaz — to make southern Punjab a separate province.

The PTI had responded favourably to the call with Imran also calling for a separate province.

A PTI delegation led by its senior leader from the region, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, had been holding consultations with the lawmakers to devise a joint strategy for the upcoming elections.

The moves had also led to a reaction from the ruling party, with the prime minister and Punjab chief minister also lending support to the region by announcing development initiatives and highlighting the government’s welfare projects there.