Tag: Jahangir Khan Tareen

  • ‘Hold your tongues’: Imran tells cabinet members to not say things that affect PTI, govt

    ‘Hold your tongues’: Imran tells cabinet members to not say things that affect PTI, govt

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has told his cabinet members to maintain unity within the party, a day after Federal Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry said in an interview that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was failing to bring promised change due to a lack of political leadership amid rifts among leaders such as Jahangir Khan Tareen, Planning Minister Asad Umar and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

    Addressing a presser after a meeting of the federal cabinet chaired by PM Imran, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz said that Fawad’s interview with the Voice of America came under discussion during the cabinet meeting.

    “Fawad Chaudhry’s interview was discussed in the cabinet [meeting] and the prime minister said we should maintain unity within the party,” Faraz said.

    In the interview, Fawad had said there were rifts among Tareen, Umar and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, which hurt the party and forced the PTI’s “political class” to part ways.

    “As soon as the PTI government was formed, quarrels among Qureshi, Umar and Tareen began. Tareen used his influence to get Umar removed from the cabinet and later Umar got Tareen out,” Fawad had said.

    During the cabinet meeting, the information minister said that the premier has instructed the ministers and party leaders not to talk about things that “affect” the party or the government.

    Faraz also spoke about a recent interview of Climate Change Minister Zartaj Gul in which she said that Covid-19 means that the virus has 19 points that can be applied to any country based on its respective immunity levels.

    Her remarks were widely shared on social media and she was criticised for not knowing that Covid-19 is actually an acronym for the coronavirus.

    “It was a slip of the tongue and people make mistakes,” the information minister said, referring to Gul’s remarks. “It should not have happened and I completely agree with you.”

    The information minister said that Gul is an “outstanding” minister “who is doing great work”.

    “We should ignore the mistakes because people make mistakes,” Faraz added.

  • Tareen got Asad Umar fired; Asad settled score by getting rid of him: Fawad Chaudhry

    Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has made some explosive revelations by claiming that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) failed to bring “tabdeeli” [change] due to the in-fighting between Asad Umar, Jahangir Tareen and Shah Mahmood Qureshi after the formation of its government, which was followed by the ouster of the political class from Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s core team.

    “This political vacuum was then filled by new and non-elected people who did not have anything to do with politics,” the minister said in an interview with VOA Urdu.

    Talking to senior journalist Suhail Warraich, Fawad revealed that Tareen was responsible for Asad Umar losing his Finance Ministry portfolio. When asked why was there so much in-fighting among PTI ranks, he said when Umar was the Finance Minister, Tareen got him fired.

    “Now when Umar got back in the government, he got rid of Tareen. Qureshi and Tareen also had meetings but things didn’t work out between the two.”

    He maintained that party groupings were a norm but PTI’s internal fighting between top leaders led to their replacement by bureaucrats, which compromised PM’s reform agenda.

    Fawad added that the PTI government was now just another government as its agenda of carrying out police and judicial among other reforms now faced an uncertain future.

    CIVILIAN SUPREMACY AND OPPOSITION:

    To another question, he said that people say there should be civilian supremacy and the military’s role in politics should be curtailed, but they should also take a look at the parliament and provincial lawmakers. “How can there be civilian supremacy under such leadership?” Ultimately, this is about human resources, he added.

    Criticising the opposition for having a limited vision due to dynastic politics, he also questioned why PM Imran had not developed any new and capable leadership.

    “We can understand why Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto put weak people in important positions because their vision was to transfer leadership to their own children. Imran doesn’t have this problem. He should have placed the best at powerful positions but somehow, he was advised by someone to place weak people in powerful positions so that they can be dictated. This only damaged Imran. He is far bigger than what he looks like right now.”

    ALL-POWERFUL TECHNOCRATS:

    When asked how bureaucrats and special advisors to the PM were all-powerful without any resistance from the political class, he said that most people worked with the status quo. “If you can’t balance politics and governance, then it is a problem. PM Imran knows this… he recently warned his cabinet that we have five and a half months to improve our performance, otherwise time will run out for us.” He added that they didn’t have a political or governance-reform team.

    PRESIDENTIAL FORM OF GOVT?

    Fawad said that in a parliamentary form of government, experts are brought in to consult in the decision-making process but decision-making has to be done by elected politicians. “This is the basic difference between parliamentary democracy and a presidential system.”

    When asked if the country was now moving towards a presidential form of government, he said that the appointment of so many advisors or special assistants, and elected people not being invited to participate in key decision-making, put a question mark on parliamentary form of government. “Imran Khan’s failure is not the failure of an individual; the entire nation’s hopes are pinned on his success. If the military and other state institutions are supporting the PM, it is because there are no other political options.”

    He also said that while parliamentary form of government was not the most competent, it was still the most powerful. “Ideas cannot be implemented without a good team and human resource.”

    It is not the first time Fawad Chaudhry has criticised the PTI government for favouring non-elected or weak people in key positions. Last year following a major cabinet reshuffle that led to Asad Umar losing his ministry while Fawad Chaudhry and several others were given new portfolios, Chaudhry lamented in an interview that at times, important decisions were taken “and we don’t even know”.

    WATCH VIDEO:

  • Tareen meets Nawaz in London while not on talking terms with Imran?

    Tareen meets Nawaz in London while not on talking terms with Imran?

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Jahangir Khan Tareen on Thursday said he has neither met Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif nor did he wish to and that the media cell of the former premier’s party was spreading fake news.

    In an audio statement, Tareen — whose relationship with the PTI seems to have fallen apart — said “our struggle has been against them”, referring to the PML-N.

    “I have neither met Nawaz Sharif nor do I wish to [meet him],” he said.

    “I am not an opportunistic politician to go to them [Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N] just because I have developed differences with Imran Khan,” he said of the premier.

    “I am a principled politician, I tried my best with the PTI,” he added, noting that if there were any problems, it was not his fault. “I am just sitting separately; whatever is acceptable to God will happen.”

    Meanwhile, reports quoted senior leaders of the PML-N as confirming that there had been no meeting between Nawaz and Tareen, that they had neither approached Tareen for such a meeting nor do they plan to do so.

    ‘NOT ON TALKING TERMS WITH IMRAN’:

    The claims rebutted by Tareen had come amid reports that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and his former friend and leading PTI stalwart Tareen were no longer on talking terms as the latter ponders his political future from his Newbury farmhouse just outside of London.

    According to The News, PM Imran has not spoken to Tareen, the former secretary general of PTI and its main sponsor and patron, in several weeks and their relationship of warmth and trust at this point of time is non-existent.

    Tareen jetted off to London two weeks ago in a chartered plane and said he was travelling for medical treatment. He didn’t respond to requests for interview and has stayed quiet but sources close to him have shared details of Tareen’s state of mind and his stance.

    Tareen is not happy with how his colleagues have treated him and believes that he was shed off like dead weight by the very people who used to fawn upon him.

    Another source close to Tareen said that people around Imran and some bureaucrats had become insecure of him as he advised Imran to reduce the role of bureaucracy to improve governance. The source said that Tareen has made more contributions for the growth of PTI than all others put together but none of this was counted when it came to his alleged involvement in the sugar crisis.

    The former powerhouse of PTI is of the view, according to the source, that the premier didn’t come to his aide as he has been surrounded by a coterie of bureaucrats who have been feeding him false information.

    The sources in government said that PM Imran is neutral viz a viz Sugar Commission Inquiry and will not interfere to save or persecute anyone. They added that the PM will not give favours to anyone.

    As Tareen left Pakistan, speculations emerged that he had left to save himself before the start of government’s punitive action on the findings of the report of Sugar Inquiry Commission that implicated PTI leader and other leading political figures and businessmen in sugar scam.

    Tareen has denied all speculations but it has been claimed, including in the National Assembly, that Tareen thought it was best to be out of Pakistan for sometime and that the PTI govt provided him a passage to fly out while keeping accused opposition figures on the Exit Control List (ECL).

    Tareen, however, says that he will return to Pakistan once his treatment is completed but has not given any timeframe and many believe that he is in important discussions about the events that will unfold when he is back in Pakistan.

  • ‘I have always run a clean business,’ says ‘shocked’ Tareen on damning sugar crisis report by Imran govt

    ‘I have always run a clean business,’ says ‘shocked’ Tareen on damning sugar crisis report by Imran govt

    With the damning inquiry report into the sugar crisis being made public on Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s call, senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen has said he is “shocked at the false allegations levelled against him” as he has “always run a clean business”.

    “Audit team of [Tareen-owned] JDW Sugar Mills found some additional information about ‘SATTA’ from interviews as well as forensic analysis of brokers of Punjab,” read the report, adding that during his interview with the investigation team, a broker named Aslam stated that in March 2020 he executed forward trades of around 11,135 trucks worth Rs10,292,219,000 with JDW and Ittehad Sugar Mills.

    Tareen, in response to the report, also said the entire country knew that he “paid full price to sugarcane growers”.

    “I do not maintain two sets of books. I pay all my taxes diligently. I will answer every allegation and be vindicated IA [sic],” he tweeted.

    Earlier, the premier’s aide on accountability, Shahzad Akbar, declared the report public in a press briefing and said that it confirmed PM Imran’s long-held view that businessmen in politics would always put business first.

  • Tareen & sugar crisis: ‘Imran feeling betrayed, thinking he bet on the wrong horse’

    Tareen & sugar crisis: ‘Imran feeling betrayed, thinking he bet on the wrong horse’

    With the damning investigation report on the recent sugar crisis making headlines and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Jahangir Khan Tareen being named as one of the people who allegedly benefited from the economic disaster, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, to whom Tareen has always been more than just a colleague, is feeling betrayed, The News has reported.

    Earlier this year, following the shortage of wheat flour in the country and the subsequent price hike, sugar had also gone missing from the market. Taking notice of the situation, the premier had formed a committee to find out those responsible for the crises.

    On Saturday, the inquiry report on sugar crisis had named PTI bigwig Tareen, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s (PML-Q) Moonis Elahi and a relative of then minister for national food security Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar as the beneficiaries of the price hike.

    On Sunday, PM Imran had said that he was waiting for the detailed forensic reports, slated to come out on April 25, before taking any action against those responsible and on Monday he had reshuffled the federal cabinet which saw Bakhtiar being replaced. Tareen was also removed from the Agriculture Task Force among other changes.

    Soon after the reshuffle, reports claimed that the premier was “feeling betrayed by once his closest aide Tareen”, who, despite having been disqualified by the apex court, was given the informal role of deputy PM to help the PTI government deliver.

    “Tareen was given immense power, informally, to reform the agriculture sector, his choice men were appointed in the cabinet as well as in the bureaucracy both in the Centre and Punjab. But, it all ended up not only in failures but caused major scandals of wheat and sugar,” the report said and further claimed that Tareen had “thoroughly disappointed Imran, who now thinks that he had bet on a wrong horse”.

    The latest reshuffle in the cabinet and bureaucracy, these report said, was a clear message for all and sundry both within the PTI and in the government that Tareen was out and so was his influence. “With these changes, the PTI Jahangir Tareen group meets its end.”

    It also said that what happened on Monday was not the climax and “a lot will happen after April 25 when the Sugar Commission will submit its report on how the sugar mafia operates”.

    “There will be criminal proceedings, possible arrests and institutional actions by [the] FBR [Federal Board of Revenue], SECP [Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan] etc,” it added.

  • Two tweets, different stories as another rift emerges among PTI ranks

    Two tweets, different stories as another rift emerges among PTI ranks

    The cabinet reshuffle and the results of the inquiry reports into the sugar and wheat shortage public has sparked frenzy in Islamabad which has highlighted rifts in ruling party.

    At 5:15pm, PTI’s Dr Shahbaz Gill tweeted:

    “Mr. Jahangir Khan Tareen has been removed as Chair of Task Force on Agriculture in light of findings of Sugar and Wheat Inquiry Report. Any further action may be taken after the final findings of the Inquiry Committee.”

    Five minutes later at 5:20 pm, Tareen contradicted Dr Gill’s tweet:

    On Saturday, Dr Gill had lauded PM Khan for fulfilling another promise by making the inquiry reports on sugar and wheat public.

    Meanwhile, the PM’s Spokesperson Nadeem Afzal Chan on Monday said that the report was ‘leaked’. He said this on Hamid Mir’s talkshow Capital Talk.

    Video below:

    On the other hand, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan tweeted that Khusro Bakhtiar has not resigned while Mr Bakhtiar’s resignation from National Food Security and Research ministry is available on social media and with journalists.

    Mr Bakhtiar has now been given the charge for the Ministry of Economic Affairs. He has replaced Hammad Azhar, who has been made the Federal Minister for Industries.

  • Imran vows to go after profiteers as he delivers on promise of probing sugar, wheat crises

    Imran vows to go after profiteers as he delivers on promise of probing sugar, wheat crises

    Fulfilling his promise of ensuring transparency and accountability in governance, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has not only made the inquiry reports into the sugar and wheat shortage public but also ordered the formation of a commission to conduct a forensic audit of the sugar mills, including JDW that is owned by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Jahangir Tareen.

    As per the details, a report by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Saturday claimed that top PTI members were among those who gained from the recent sugar crisis in the country. An investigation into the crisis had been ordered by Prime Minister Imran Khan in February.

    Among the people named in the FIA report are Tareen and Makhdum Omer Shehryar, a relative of Minister for National Food Security Khusro Bakhtiar, Geo reported.

    According to the report, sugar price was increased from Rs 55 per kg in December 2018 to Rs 71.44 per kg in June 2019, despite the fact that the General Sales Tax (GST) increase was implemented from July 1, 2019. After the export of sugar in January 2019, its price started increasing immediately in the local market.

    The major beneficiaries of the subsidy offered by the government on export of sugar include RYK Group, owned and controlled by Shehryar, which availed 15.83 per cent of the total export subsidy amounting to Rs3.944 billion. Chaudhry Munir and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) senior leader Moonis Elahi are also partners in this group.

    JDW Group owned and controlled by Tareen availed 12.28 per cent of the total export subsidy amounting to Rs3.058bn, while Hunza Sugar Mills availed 11.56 per cent of the total subsidy amounting to Rs 2.879bn. Hunza Sugar Mills is owned by Muhammad Waheed chaudry, Idrees Chaudhry and Saeed Chaudhry.

    Sugar mills owned by the Sharif family availed 5.91 per cent of the total export subsidy amounting to Rs1.472bn.

    The document does not mention under whose influence the Punjab government issued subsidies to sugar mills or why the Economic Coordination Council (ECC) approved the decision to export sugar.

    Reacting to the report, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said he has faith that whatever the situation, PM Imran “will ensure justice”.

    Tareen, PTI’s former general secretary, said that out of the Rs3 billion subsidy to the sugar mills, Rs2.5 billion were given when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was in power.

    Meanwhile, it has been reported that the commission due to submit its report on April 25 has started working and nine teams are already on the ground for carrying out forensic analysis of 10 sugar mills, including Alliance Sugar mills Ghotki, Al-Arabia Sugar Mills Sargodha, Al-Moiz 1 Sugar Mills DI Khan, Al-Moiz 2 Sugar Mills Mianwali, Hamza Sugar Mills RY Khan, Hunza 1 and Hunza 2 Sugar Mills Faisalabad and Jhang, and JDW 1,2, and 3 Sugar Mills RY Khan and Ghotki.

  • Jahangir Tareen announces selling 20,000 tonnes of sugar for Rs67 per kg

    Jahangir Tareen announces selling 20,000 tonnes of sugar for Rs67 per kg

    As sugar prices skyrocket following a severe shortage in major parts of the country, senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and owner of JDW Sugar Mills Limited — the largest white sugar producer in the country –, Jahangir Khan Tareen, has announced to sell whopping 20,000 tonnes of the commodity for just Rs67 per kilogramme (kg).

    Speaking to a private media outlet, Tareen said that Sugar Mills Association, in a bid to control inflating prices of sugar, had decided to provide Utility Stores with 100,000 tonnes of the same at Rs70 per kg. “Out of my share, I will sell 20,000 tonnes at Rs67 per kg,” he added.

    It merits a mention that according to reports, JDW Sugar Mills Limited in January announced its financial results for the first quarter that ended on December 31, 2019, which showed that its revenue went up by 61.45% to Rs13.19 billion during the first quarter as compared to Rs8.17 billion recorded in the same period last year.

    The sugar division comprises three sugar mills units, JDW Unit-I, JDW Unit-II and JDW Unit-III in Rahim Yar Khan and Ghotki districts. It is one of the largest groups in the sugar sector and contributes approximately 15-17% of the country’s sugar production. It is also managing Sugarcane Corporate Farms over an area of 24,000 acres in Punjab and Sindh.

    While people allege that the government had a role to play in scoring Tareen these profits, as of last month, a serious case of sugar shortage emerged as the country already stumbled amid a wheat crisis.

    During the PTI government’s 15 months, sugar prices have shot up to as high as Rs64 a kilogram (kg). However, over the past week, the wholesale rate rose from Rs64 to Rs74 per kg and an acute shortage surfaced in the country. Last year, Pakistan produced 600,000 tonnes of sugar. Now, however, the wholesale rate of sugar is expected to reach Rs80 per kg, The News reported.

    Meanwhile, the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan-led PTI government has banned export of sugar and turned down a proposal to import the commodity in order to maintain prices in the domestic market.

  • JKT, Fawad Chaudhry attend Zainab Abbas’ valima

    JKT, Fawad Chaudhry attend Zainab Abbas’ valima

    Zainab Abbas’ wedding festivities came to a close Sunday night with a grand valima.

    Among those in attendance were PTI’S Jahangir Khan Tareen, Fawad Chaudhry, Dr Yasmin Rashid and cricketer Mohammad Amir. Zainab’s mother, Andleeb Abbas is an integral member of PTI.

    Jahangir Khan Tareen
    Fawad Chaudhry with the newly weds

    Zainab looked ethereal in a lavender outfit by Élan.

    The glowing bride being escorted by her parents

    Aren’t these two adorable?

    Zainab tied the knot with Hamza Kardar in an intimate nikkah last month. Hamza is the son of the former finance finance minister and former governor of State Bank of Pakistan, Shahid Hafeez Kardar and the grandson of the renowned cricketer Abdul Hafeez Kardar. Zainab’s other events included a mayun and a shendi.

    Nikkah
    Mayun

    VIDEO: Zainab Abbas hits a sixer as Amir bowls on her shendi

    Shendi

    Wishing the happy couple all the very best for their future.

  • VIDEO: Jahangir Tareen rescues sick British tourist in Gilgit on private helicopter

    VIDEO: Jahangir Tareen rescues sick British tourist in Gilgit on private helicopter

    Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) secretary-general, disqualified Jahangir Khan Tareen, has flown a sick British tourist out of Fairy Meadows National Park in his private helicopter.

    Fairy Meadows, named by German climbers and locally known as Joot, is a grassland near one of the basecamp sites of Nanga Parbat, located in Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan.

    According to the details of the incident, a British tourist on Wednesday fell unconscious after her health deteriorated during a camping trip in Fairy Meadows. Tareen, who was also present in the area as part of his trip to Gilgit-Baltistan, brought the sick tourist back to the airport in his helicopter.

    The woman was later shifted to a nearby hospital while a video of the rescue has gone viral over the internet.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    FUEL FOR TAREEN’S CHARTERED FLIGHT:

    Meanwhile, Tareen’s trip to the country’s northernmost territory has been marred by controversy regarding the fuel for his chartered flight from Gilgit City to Skardu.

    In a letter addressed to the Skardu deputy commissioner (DC) by the general manager operations of Princely Jets — Pakistan’s first private charter jet operator — three barrels (600 litres) of JP-1 fuel have been requested for Tareen’s helicopter.

    https://twitter.com/Psfkami/status/1176870816199446528

    Even though the letter does not appear to be in violation of any rules, netizens argue the need for a private company’s general manager “to request acquisition of government fuel from an official for Tareen’s chartered flight”.