Hoti mulling nationalist politics after quitting PTI

After quitting the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Khawaja Mohammad Khan Hoti has become major center of attention for leaders from other major political parties.
However, Hoti says he has not yet taken a decision on his future political trajectory, and would do so after consulting his friends and colleagues.
“It is not essential for me to join any political party as there exists the possibility of forming a broad nationalist political force of Pakhtoons,” Hoti said in response to a question about his latest contacts with the leaders from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Replying to a question about his political future, Hoti told Pakistan Today that he was visiting his native Mardan city for the first time after quitting the PTI. During the next couple of days, he said he was planning to consult his friends and well wishers regarding the future line of action. In this respect, he said he would consult them on certain options, including forming a new nationalist political party.
“It certainly could become part of Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao’s plan,” he said when told that Sherpao was also considering converting his faction of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP-Sherpao) into a nationalist party against the Awami National Party (ANP) with a new flag and manifesto. But at the same time, Hoti said “it could become a party of Mehmood Khan Achakzai or a new party”.
Hoti has been seriously thinking of adopting a nationalist approach in his political career. In fact, after developing differences with the ANP leadership in early 2009, Hoti had become a fierce critic of ANP’s policies. He tried his best to create a political opposition to the ANP leadership, particularly for the family of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti. In this respect, he has been working on various plans, which, besides joining a major national-level political party, also include a possible alliance with former chief minister Aftab Ahmad Sherpao and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai.
During his telephonic conversation with Pakistan Today, Hoti confirmed that he had been contacted by former chief minister Akram Khan Durrani on behalf of JUI-F, and former chief minister Sardar Mehtab and Pir Sabir Shah on behalf of PML-N. He said that whenever politicians sit together, they discuss political issues, including preparation for the next general elections. He, however, contradicted a news item about PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif’s opposition to Hoti’s entry in the PML-N. After his disassociation from the PPP in 2003, Hoti led his own faction of the party for around three years. Later he joined the ANP and was elected to National Assembly on ANP ticket in 2008 elections. But differences developed with the ANP after he refused to accept the Ministry of Social Welfare. On such grounds, he was asked to resign from the ministerial office. But he formally quit the ANP in December 2011 and joined the PTI.