Proposal about Tareen's return stirs debate in PTI.

RULING party MNA Raja Riaz's suggestion to the leadership to bring back Jahangir Khan Tareen to steer the coming Senate elections against the opposition PML-N in Punjab has raised eyebrows within the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

Mr Riaz seems to be not a solitary but a representative voice of, though, a minority segment in the ruling party that thinks the PML-N has a number of 'investors', who will be playing a big role in buying loyalties of MPAs to maneuver the Senate elections. The PML-N's hard stance of not accepting the open vote suggestion indicates its intentions.

While conversation with several PTI leaders suggests that most party leaders are opposed to the idea of Mr Tareen's return to the party until he comes clean of the charges of money laundering and sugar fraud levelled in the investigation report of the Federal Investigation Agency.

'All PTI ranks led by Imran Khan have been making hue and cry for the past over two decades that only honesty, transparency and fair play will be acceptable in the party,' a senior party leader said.

Some leaders think he may play a crucial role in ensuring PTI victory in Senate polls in Punjab

Though most of the party leaders and potential Senate election candidates believe that Mr Riaz's suggestion about Mr Tareen was his personal opinion and has nothing to do with the party's ongoing discussions on the Senate elections, Mr Riaz asserts that Prime Minister Khan acknowledged his point of view and agreed that the party might need its 'experienced team' to successfully sail through the Senate polls.

Saying most party men acknowledge Mr Tareen's sharp political acumen and skills, Mr Riaz insists, 'the PTI needs a sharp party organiser, who may defeat the evil designs of many investors in the ranks of PML-N, who may maneuver the Senate polls in Punjab'.

Mr Tareen has reportedly made a telephonic contact with Mr Riaz on Thursday to thank him for mentioning him in the meeting of the ruling party's parliamentary party.

The former secretary general of the PTI became estranged from party leader Imran Khan after he was named in the sugar scam and left for London. He returned to Pakistan after spending five months in London in November last year.

Mr Riaz's suggestion about Mr Tareen has also bolstered a discussion within the party about the Senate elections as he further suggested entrusting Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, former health minister Amir Kayani and...