LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday was able to secure the loyalties of another Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader when Waseem Afzal Gondal bid adieu to his party and joined PTI.
This would be a setback for the PPP in Punjab because this family has roots in the masses.
He made the revelation in a meeting with PTI chief Imran Khan in which Jehangir Tareen, Firdous Ashiq Awan, Aleem Khan and Noor Alam were also present.
The meeting with the PTI chief took place around 4pm at Bani Gala, where Imran Khan welcomed Waseem and presented him with a PTI-themed scarf.
Gondal has reportedly taken the decision thanks to PPP’s poor strategy regarding Punjab as well as a calamitous performance during the NA-120 by-poll.
Besides Wassem Gondal, his uncle Nazar Muhammad Gondal and other leaders have also recently quit the PPP.
Sources have revealed that his uncle Nazar played a crucial role in his move to join the PTI.
Wassem Afzal won the MPA election in 2008 and served as an active member of the PPP in the Punjab Assembly.
A few months back, Nazar Gondal and his family had also changed their political allegiances and joined the PTI.
It is crucial to mention here that Waseem’s elder brother Nadeem Afzal Chan is considered a close aide to PPP’s senior leadership and he is serving as the Punjab secretary general of the party.
Earlier, on Tuesday, a senior PPP leader told English daily that Nadeem Chan is the only potential PPP candidate in upper Punjab who can win the general elections on a party ticket.
The PPP leader said that PPP’s nine candidates secured more than 40,000 votes in the last general election; however, now only four leaders—Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Manzoor Watto, Nadeem Afzal Chan and Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar—were still with the party, whereas other five have flown away.
Additional reporting by Zaki Abbas
