PESHAWAR: Ghazanfar Bilour, a member of the Bilour family, has joined the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

“I remained a worker of the Awami National Party, but will now be a worker of PTI,” he confirmed to Dawn.

A late night meeting between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and Ghazanfar Bilour, son of ANP’s former senator Ilyas Bilour, who is the younger brother of ANP leader Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, had set off a social media debate between the supporters of ANP and PTI.

A picture of the meeting also shows that KP minister for finance Taimur Saleem Jhagra and minister for higher education Kamran Khan Bangash were also present.

A PTI official told Dawn that Mr Bilour’s father was seriously ill; therefore, he was avoiding joining the ruling party in a ceremony.

ANP stalwart and Mr Ghazanfar’s uncle, Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour condemned his nephew’s decision, saying he was deeply saddened over his move, according to a statement issued on Saturday.

He further said the Bilour family stood with the ANP from the day one and will continue to do so forever.

It is worth mentioning that Ghazanfar Bilour had contested the 2018 elections on ANP ticket from PK-1 and secured 4,782 votes. He also remained president of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2021