Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said on Saturday that the PTI and members of estranged PTI leader Jahangir Khan Tareen’s (JKT) group had decided to move forward as a “family” and united political party, adding that any personal or collective problems would be resolved through dialogue.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore along with members of the JKT group, the minister said he and PTI leader Aamir Mehmood Kiani had been tasked by Prime Minister Imran Khan to visit the group and hear their point of view in detail.

“We all have decided to move forward as a family and a united party as is tradition. There is no issue of grouping in this or conflict between one another.

“We have decided that we will sit and have talks to solve any personal or collective problems. We are all united under [Prime Minister] Imran Khan’s leadership,” Chaudhry said after the meeting with the group, adding that the delegation had also been tasked to solve the issues of the group in an “organisational manner”.

Chaudhry said all of them were one “family” and often there were coordination issues in a family. He acknowledged that there was a need to improve the party’s political and administrative coordination.

According to the information minister, the members of the JKT group had “expressed confidence in Prime Minister Imran Khan’s leadership and they are proud of their relation with the PTI and these are the basic things which we are all united on”.

He said issues sometimes arose on small matters or problems but on “big issues, all these people are clear that Imran Khan is their leader and PTI is their [political] party and there are no two opinions about it.”

Today’s meeting came after the JKT group held a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Friday (yesterday). “We are happy with the way the investigation is proceeding against Tareen and we are satisfied today with the prime minister’s promise to us that there would be no injustice with Tareen,” Punjab Agriculture Minister Malik Nauman Ahmad Langrial had said after the meeting.

He said that the group had received a very “positive response” from Chief Minister Buzdar, who had heard their concerns with “patience” and issued instructions to resolve the same.

Separately, Prime Minister Imran had also met with some Punjab ministers from the Tareen camp on the same day. A source in the Prime Minister’s Office told Dawn that the premier had assured the legislators that all “genuine” demands of the group would be met.

Earlier today, Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan had claimed that “there is no grouping within the PTI,” while addressing reports of divisions in the party. “PTI is one. These are all people of PTI and they are standing with it. There is no forward bloc or grouping in PTI,” he stressed.

##Jahangir Tareen investigation

Regarding the investigation against Tareen, Chaudhry said he “fully believe[d]” that the sugar baron didn’t expect any illegal request from the prime minister in his favour and neither was it the premier’s temperament to do so.

He said the report by the committee headed by Senator Barrister Ali Zafar, who had been tasked by the prime minister to oversee the sugar scam probe, was awaited by the PTI and the Tareen group and both had trust in it.

“That report will decide our internal party line and as far as their court cases are concerned, that is a legal matter,” the minister said.

Responding to a question about whether an NRO (National Reconci­liation Ordinance)-like concession had been given to Tareen behind the scenes, he turned to a JKT group member and asked whether they had asked for any NRO. The latter responded: “We haven’t demanded NRO. Our clear stance is we are going to courts and will face it (the case).”

Tareen group member MPA Nazir Chohan thanked the government delegation for visiting them and said the existing small grievances had been resolved. He also requested for the report to be made public when it came out so everyone could see what was in it, adding that it would be fully accepted.

Langrial also hailed the delegation’s visit to Punjab as a “very good sign”, and expressed his trust in its members and the prime minister. He said the group was satisfied with them and if they looked after the group’s concerns then “I think not only this party will be strengthened but [PM] Imran Khan’s vision will reach its completion.”

Speaking on other issues, Chaudhry denied that any development funds had been given to any minister in the Centre or the province but added that no area could be deprived of its right to development.

He said if representatives spoke about the problems of their constituencies then that was precisely the reason they had been elected, and if they were prevented from doing so then that would be “wrong”.

Chaudhry also commented on the Rawalpindi Ring Road project, saying the matter was different from other similar instances since it was only under the PTI government that such matters were investigated.

He also said that the suggestion had been given to the National Accountability Bureau since day one to restrict itself to specific big cases so they could reach their logical conclusion instead of overextending itself.