ISLAMABAD: Jahangir Tareen will continue working as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) general secretary as per directives of chief Imran Khan, party spokesman Fawad Chaudhry said on Friday hours after the apex court disqualified Tareen on a plea filed by Hanif Abbasi of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.
Speaking to media personnel, Fawad Chaudhry said that the verdict had saddened him.
The PTI spokesman said that the apex court should take decisions on basis of merit rather than ‘creating a balance’.
“Tareen fell victim to the effort to create proportion between things,” said Fawad.
The PTI leader further said that the petitioner Hanif Abbasi lied to the court and the matter should be pursued.
While referring to the rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the PTI leader said that the half of the party leaders have fled to London while the rest are going to follow suit.
PTI sources, on the other hand, said that Tareen was resigning as the party’s general secretary. They told a private news channel that Tareen had made up his mind and was likely to tender his resignation shortly.
Earlier speaking to media, Fawad said party leader Jahangir Tareen was disqualified on technical grounds in one of the three charges against him.
Addressing reporters outside the Supreme Court, Chaudhry said the PTI would file a review petition against the disqualification.
“The point under which Tareen has been disqualified is a technical one. We will go for a review petition. The [Supreme Court] decision is 99% in favour of PTI and 1% against it. Overall the judgment has vindicated our stance,” the PTI spokesman said.
He went on to say that Tareen had declared his property details in his sons’ accounts but had not declared them in the election papers.
“There is no competition between Imran Khan and the Panama mafia,” he remarked.
Speaking to the media in Lahore, PTI leader Shafqat Mahmood said it was a historic day in the Supreme Court today.