LAHORE: Jahangir Khan Tareen announced the office bearers of the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP), most of whom are former PTI leaders who jumped ship following the May 9 violence.
The IPP patron also arrived in London on Monday to reportedly seek ‘guidance’ from PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif.
“I am pleased to announce Abdul Aleem Khan as the president of the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party. Aamir Mehmood Kiyani as secretary general. Awn Chaudhry as additional secretary general & spokesperson of the party as well as of the patron-in-chief,” Mr Tareen said in a series of tweets on Monday.
He also nominated Ishaq Khan Khakwani, Nauman Langrial, Saeed Akbar Nawani, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, Murad Raas and retired Maj Khurram Rokhri to represent IPP on all media platforms.
Interestingly, this was the first tweet from Mr Tareen’s account since December 2021. Mr Tareen, who was disqualified for life by the Supreme Court in 2017, has once again become active in politics after the May 9 violent attacks.
After weeks of consultations in the wake of the massive crackdown on PTI, Mr Tareen, a sugar baron, last week launched the IPP, allegedly with the blessings of the powers that be to “give a new direction to politics and take the country forward with a strong economy”.
The IPP is being dubbed as a ‘king’s party’, all set to establish itself on the political landscape, especially in Punjab as most of its big guns joining the party were from the same province.
Sources said Mr Tareen reached London to discuss the ‘future strategy’ with Mr Sharif who has been in ‘self-imposed exile’ there since November 2019.