LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Senior Vice-President Punjab Saleem Baryar, also a close aide and confidant of the Chaudhry brothers, has joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
According to details, Baryar met Senator Saifullah Niazi, former information minister Firdous Ashiq Awan and PTI Central Punjab President Senator Ijaz Chaudhry and joined the party in their presence recently, Bol News learnt on Tuesday.
Speaking at the occasion, Baryar had said that in times of crises across the globe, Prime Minister Imran Khan was the only hope for Pakistan.
“We do not have any leader of his stature in the country, and he will bring the country out of current problems very soon,” Baryar had maintained.
Elahi not happy with Baryars
Relations between PML-Q Punjab President and Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and Baryar went down badly after the latter’s son Ahsan Saleem Baryar, instead of PML-Q, contested Sialkot PP-38 by-polls on a PTI ticket and won the seat for the ruling party.
“He [Elahi] was so upset that when he [Ahsan] took an oath as member of the Punjab Assembly, he did not allow Firdous Ashiq Awan to enter the assembly as she had handed over PTI’s ticket to Ahsan after Qaiser Baryar’s [Ahsan’s uncle] appeal to contest the by-polls was rejected by the Lahore High Court’s election tribunal,” a senior PML-Q leader recalled.
Ahsan is the son-in-law of a senior bureaucrat and former principal secretary to Punjab CM Buzdar, Tahir Khurshid.
“Tahir Khurshid earlier played a major role in getting PTI’s ticket for his son-in-law [Ahsan] and later, he also managed to convince the provincial CM to induct him into the Punjab cabinet as Special Assistant to CM (SACM) Punjab Board of Investment and Trade,” sources privy to this development told Bol News.
Saleem’s souring ties with Chaudhry brothers
Although relations between Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervez Elahi) and Saleem deteriorated after Ahsan was given PTI’s ticket, the Chaudhry brothers never complained about it.
However, the reality is that they were not on speaking terms for quite some time with Saleem, sources within the PML-Q confirmed Bol News.
“After Ahsan was inducted into the provincial cabinet, it became impossible for his father to remain a part of the party. So, he finally decided to part ways,” sources concluded.
PML-Q gives more time to PTI
PML-Q is an ally of PTI, both in the centre and Punjab. However, in a tweet on November 14, Elahi admitted that it was becoming “difficult to continue with the government.”
After hinting at partying ways with the PTI, Elahi later decided to give more time to the Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar-led PTI government in Punjab on Monday.
According to details, a majority of the leaders present in PML-Q’s parliamentary committee meeting agreed to Federal Minister Moonis Elahi’s suggestion of giving more time to the Punjab government to fulfil its promises and improve its working relationship with the party.
However, some of the leaders favoured the suggestion put forward by Federal Minister Tahir Bashir Cheema to leave the provincial government immediately.
But taking into account the suggestions of the majority of leaders, Elahi went with the majority and gave extra time to the PTI and CM Buzdar in Punjab.