Estranged PTI leader Jahangir Tareen forms a like-minded group

Accused of three money laundering and fraud cases, Jahangir Tareen has launched a group of like-minded lawmakers in the lower house of parliament as well as the Punjab Assembly at a dinner he hosted for his supporters.

What Happened: Raja Riaz will be the parliamentary leader of the Jahangir Tareen like-minded group in the National Assembly, while Saeed Akbar Nawani will be the parliamentary leader in the Punjab Assembly. According to Noman Langarial, one of the supporters of Tareen, who attended the dinner, 31 lawmakers attended the event. Member of the Punjab Assembly (MPA) Salman Naeem was also present in support of Tareen, who is scheduled to appear in court today. The Context : In the fraud  case , Tareen is accused of transferring Rs3.14 billion to a private company Farooqi Pulp Mills Ltd in Gujrat. It claimed that the company belongs to his son-in-law and relatives. This amount was later deposited into the accounts of Tareen’s family members. The money-laundering charge  against him states that Rs2.2 billion from accounts of JDW (from October 2017 to March 2020) were fraudulently and dishonestly made through Amir Waris, who was working as a cashier at JDW’s Corporate Head Office. According to the FIRs dated March 22, two separate cases were registered under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating of public shareholders), and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), read with sections 3/4 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, against Tareen and his son. Tareen expressed his discontent at the slander campaign launched against him and his family via Twitter.