Senior PPP politician Nadeem Afzal Chan has joined the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI), although an official announcement has yet to be made — DawnNewsTV reported on Thursday quoting party sources.
Chan, the former Punjab chapter secretary general of the PPP, had long been tipped to defect to the PTI — just like his younger sibling Waseem Afzal had in October last year. Nadeem had quit his post in the PPP after his brother left, saying he could not continue on 'moral grounds'.
The elder Chan today met PTI Chairman Imran Khan at his Bani Gala residence, where Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, former Secretary General Jahangir Tareen and party's southern Punjab president Amir Kayani were also present.
Nadeem praised the PTI's efforts against corruption and invited Imran to visit his hometown of Pir Mako on April 25 — an invitation the PTI chairman accepted. A formal announcement of Nadeem joining the PTI is expected to be made during that visit.
In October last year, sources had told Dawn that Chan was seriously considering joining the PTI, with party vice-chairman Qureshi trying to convince him.
The Chan brothers hail from the well known Gondal family of Mandi Bahauddin. The siblings and their uncles — Nazar Gondal and Zulfiqar Gondal — had all been elected members of the parliament on PPP tickets. The two Gondals had defected to the PTI last June and had since been trying to convince their nephews.
