ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Pervez Khattak’s brother and former PTI member Thursday formally joined JUI-F as the Opposition mounts pressure on the government.

Former provincial minister and MPA Liaquat Khattak made the announcement that he, his son, and other people are joining the party during a joint press conference with JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in Islamabad.

Talking to journalists, Fazl welcomed Khattak to the party and said that their family had expressed no confidence in the government’s leadership, taking a jibe at the defence minister.

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“The captain (Imran Khan) says he is a player and knows how to counter [problems]. You received funding from India, US, and Israel. You will suffer the same fate as Afghanistan’s Ashraf Ghani,” he said a day after PM Imran Khan lashed out at him.

“If you want to compete with me on a level playing field, then come out in the open,” the JUI-F chief said.

Pervez, who served as chief minister of the province from 2013 to 2018, developed differences with his brother, Liaqat, at the time of the by-election for PK-63 in 2021.

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Liaquat wanted the PTI ticket for his son, Ahad Khattak, to contest for the PK-63, which had fallen vacant after the death of the ruling party MPA Mian Jamshedduddin Kakakhel due to the coronavirus.

The ticket was given to the son of the late legislator, Mian Umar Kakakhel. This created a wedge between Pervez and Liaqat. Later, PML-N’s Ikhtiar Wali Khan defeated the ruling party candidate in the by-election for PK-63 which widened the gap between the Khattak brothers.

Later, KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan removed Liaqat from his post as the provincial minister for irrigation for allegedly supporting the PML-N candidate in the by-elections.

Fazl meets MQM-P leadership

Following Liaquat Khattak’s entry into the JUI-F, an MQM-P delegation — led by convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui — arrived at the PDM chief’s residence.

The meeting came in the backdrop of the Opposition’s no-confidence motion.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, the MQM-P leader said that his party was concerned about the new, developing situation.

“The new situation should be handled in a way that it does not harm democracy,” Siddiqui said, adding that governments come and go, but democracy should not be harmed. 

“We will take an overview of the no-confidence motion,” said the MQM-P leader.

On the other hand, Fazl welcomed the MQM-P delegation and said that every party has its own point of view.