Islamabad: The emergence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as the single largest party in the July 25 general elections has not only brightened its prospects of forming the governments of the centre, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab, it has also earned support from least expected quarters.
Jugnu Mohsin, the newly-elected Member of Punjab Assembly (MPA) on the PP-184 independent seat from Okara, noted anchorperson and women rights activist, is one such succour, as she indicated in a recent interview that she will support the ruling party in the Punjab Assembly. In Punjab, PTI enjoys a majority and is all set to form the government with the support of PML-Q and Independents.
Mohsin’s backing of PTI has come as a surprise to many, particularly the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership. This is because her husband Najam Sethi, an eminent anchorperson, journalist and current chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is seen as a close aide of PML-N leader, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
He has been slammed by PTI for supporting PML-N in previous elections.
In fact, PTI chairman Imran Khan has, on a number of occasions, accused Sethi of manipulating the 2013 general elections in his capacity as the caretaker chief minister of Punjab and securing 35 seats for the Punjab provincial assembly.
In a widely-aired interview, Mohsin has said that her decision to support PTI was not her own. “I have won as an independent candidate and I asked the people of my constituency what they wanted me to do. It’s their unanimous belief that I should remain independent; however, initially, I should support the ruling party on the condition that I would continue my support on the basis of their performance,” she said. “They (the people) want me to support whoever makes a government in Punjab. They want a strong government in Punjab. Then we’ll see how they form the government,” she added.
Mohsin stated that PML-N president and former Punjab chief minister, Mian Shehbaz Sharif, also asked her to join his party.
“I made it clear that if he formed a government in Punjab, I would definitely join him. To this, Shehbaz said that he was trying to gain a majority vote,” the MPA-elect said.
