Veteran politician Ch Nisar denies meeting PM Imran Khan recently

 Ch Nisar says not joining the PTI or attending the PTI rally in Islamabad 

The veteran politician and former senior leader of PML-N Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan denies  news reports that he met Prime Minister Imran Khan secretly and that he is ready to join the ruling PTI. He made it clear that neither he is joining the PTI nor him attending the PTI Islamabad public rally.

Lot of speculation was taking place since the PM Imran Khan told journalists that he met with Ch Nisar Ali Khan without giving details of meeting. The media shy Ch Nisar talk to BBC Urdu and made his position clear. Ch Nisar has explained that since the last three or four days he has been in his village, Chakri, further asking how he could have met the prime minister.

The former interior minister added that he did not meet people secretly and even though Imran Khan was a friend from Aitchison College, their politics was very different. Khan also stated that he had in fact not met Prime Minister Imran Khan in the last one year.

When asked if he would participate in the March 27 rally of the PTI in Islamabad, Ch Nisar said that he has not received any invitation and neither does he plan to attend it. He further added that he does not change parties for short-term benefits.

Talking about the 2018 election, Ch Nisar said that since he didn't get a ticket from the Pakistan Muslim League-N to contest, he did not join any political party thereafter, and neither was he in a hurry to join one now. Despite developing differences with PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, he still enjoys cordial relations with PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif. 

Both Ch Nisar and Shahbaz Sharif known to keep close contact with establishment on the behalf of the party and Nawaz Sharif. Shahbaz Sharif made lot of efforts to bring back Ch Nisar back into the PML-N fold but his efforts never materialised. 

Ch Nisar kept a low profile since losing his national assembly constituency in 2018 general elections for the first time since 1985. Ch Nisar did win a provincial assembly seat but he didn’t take oath for nearly three years.

Ch Nisar was PML-N stalwart for nearly three decades and was one of the closet aides of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. But in 2016-17, they developed differences and PML-N refused him a party ticket in the 2018 general elections.

Ch Nisar belongs to a military family as his father and brothers served in the senior positions in the Pakistan Army. His name was surfaced for the CM Punjab when he took oath as MPA last year. But since then he kept silence and low profile.

                                                          Rukhsana Manzoor Deputy Editor