Tareen rejects rumors of meeting senior govt official regarding inquiries against him

(Karachi) Estranged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen has rejected rumors that he had met a senior government official in Islamabad related to the inquiries against him.

Speaking to media outside a Lahore sessions court on Monday, Tareen denied meeting any high-ranking official. He added that such reports are wrong and based on a misunderstanding. "We are fighting our case in court and waiting for Barrister Ali Zafar's report," he responded.

He hoped that justice will be done with him, saying: "Don't do politics with us, do justice with us."

The PTI leader mentioned Prime Minister Imran Khan had assured the members of his group that an independent senior party member would be appointed to investigate his case.

He stated that the sugar inquiry report by Barrister Ali Zafar had not been made public yet despite claims that it would be presented in the month of May.

"If justice is delayed then justice is not really served. The time for justice has come so the request is again to take action on whatever Zafar has said in his report," said Tareen.

Earlier, lawmakers who support Jahangir Tareen, met with Prime Minister Imran Khan to share their grievances over an ongoing crackdown against PTI’s former secretary-general but failed to convince the PM to form a judicial commission to probe into the allegations against Tareen.

The PM made it clear that there can’t be different standards for ‘our people’ and others as it goes against the party’s principles. He assured that injustice will not be done to anyone.

The sugar inquiry commission, led by the Federal Investigation Agency, had accused sugar mill owners of earning illegal profits worth billions of rupees through unjustified price hikes, suspicious transactions, tax evasion, misuse of subsidy, and purchasing sugarcane off the books.

The commission had also pointed out that the country’s top politicians – including PML-N’s Shehbaz Sharif, PTI’s Jahangir Tareen and Khusro Bakhtiar, PML-Q’s Moonis Elahi, and PPP’s Asif Ali Zardari – were also among the beneficiaries of the crisis.