Faisal Vawda mocks Tareen group, says it can be 'controlled by an SHO'

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Faisal Vawda played down the importance of a group of fellow leaders who support Jahangir Khan Tareen, saying they can be handled by a station house officer (SHO) alone.

“However, the PTI does not know the politics that entails sending a police van [to the opponents.] They [the Tareen group] cannot withstand a pressure from a SHO,” Vawda said, talking to a local news channel on its current affairs programme.

“There is no doubt that Jahangir Khan Tareen is an intelligent and successful person. But, he is not Imran Khan, for sure.”

The PTI leader said Tareen earned respect thanks to Imran Khan, adding that whatever reputation he had was only because of PM Khan.

Giving an example of himself, he said, “I stepped into politics without inheriting any political legacy from my father or grandfather.”

“It will be wrong if I claim that I am a leader or I won the election in my constituency. It is mainly due to Imran Khan and his flag that people voted me into power.”

Vawda said no one should lose sight of their standing. He asserted, “Imran Khan is the leader and he will remain so. And, with 50 million Jahangir Tareens, 500 million Faisal Vawdas, and 500 million cabinets put together, they cannot create a single Imran Khan.”

The entire Tareen group is worth a manipulation merely by an SHO, he said.

The programme host asked him if he was sure that the group of dissenters would vote for the PTI government’s budget. Vawda replied in affirmation, however, he stopped short of saying this.

The PTI’s dissenters rallied around Tareen at a dinner he hosted at his residence Tuesday night. The Tareen-allied parliamentarians decided to nominate MNA Raja Riaz and MPA Saeed Akber Niwani as their leaders in the respective houses, according to media reports.

Prominent among those who attended the reception were MNA Riaz and MPAs Aslam Bharwana, Amin Chaudhry, Faisal Jaboana and others.

Riaz is the PTI MNA from Faisalabad. Other MNAs supporting Tareen from the party are Ghulam Bibi Bharwana, Riaz Mazari, Khawaja Shiraz, Sahibzada Nazir Sultan and Ameer Sultan.

The pro-Tareen group also includes provincial ministers Ajmal Cheema, Nauman Langriyal, Faisal Jaboana, Abdul Hayee Dasti, Khurram Leghari, and MPAs Chaudhry Zawar, Salim Bibi, Aslam Bharwana and others.