LAHORE: Abdul Aleem Khan, a former aide to ex-prime minister Imran Khan, dismissed a report claiming he was expected to join the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) or launch one comprising “clean politicians”, a reference to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) defectors from central and southern Punjab.
Once a confidante of the former prime minister, Aleem resigned first as a senior minister in the provincial cabinet of Punjab in November 2021 after losing interest in the government primarily after not being considered for the chief minister’s office or any other active role, and then from the party altogether in the midst of a no-confidence vote against Khan in April 2022.
On Sunday, Dawn reported that a group of over two dozen PTI dissidents, led by former party secretary general Jahangir Tareen and including Aleem, were weighing options to either join the PPP or form a new party.
Another politician, Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar — who had quit Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), as well as the office of Punjab governor, in 2015 to join the cricketer-turned-politician — has strained ties with both parties, and sees his future lying with either the party of Bhuttos or the Tareen group.
In April last year, at least 25 PTI lawmakers in the Punjab Assembly, including Aleem, voted for Hamza Shehbaz, PML-N candidate, in the election for the post of Punjab chief minister, in violation of the party position.
However, under a court order, these legislators stood disqualified for the rest of the parliamentary term.
However, Aleem, responding to the report, denied the claim, and said: “There is no truth in the reports of my inclusion in a new political party.”
“I am not a part of any political party, neither do I have any intention of joining any,” he said, adding the reports circulating on media were “baseless”.
The former minister also said he enjoyed good relations with Sarwar and Tareen but “right now, I am only focused on welfare work.”
Aleem had taken over Samaa TV station in 2021 through one of his companies. According to BBC, the shares of the TV station were shifted to Park View Limited, a real estate company jointly owned by him and his daughter, in September of that year.
Aleem is also a member of the board of governors of Channel 24, formerly Value TV.
