“I have full confidence in the IPP leadership to steer the country out of the current crisis,” he told media after meeting Tareen and IPP President Abdul Aleem Khan in Lahore.

Responding to questions, Tareen said that meeting other political parties including the PML-N was a common practice in the country’s political atmosphere.

The IPP patron-in-chief rejected the reports of PTI’s political victimisation, saying that all parties were given a proper chance to participate in the political environment.

On PTI’s popularity, Tareen believed that the party’s support had declined after the May 9 riots.

“We have seen surveys that PTI’s popularity is not the same as before May 9,” he said.

Akhtar on June 22 quit the PTI in protest against the May 9 incident. He remained an MNA in 1990, 1993, 1997 and 2002 and had also been the PTI ticket holder after Imran vacated the seat from Lahore in 2018.

In a post on X, he said the May 9 incidents had hurt the entire nation as well as his family.

“Under these circumstances, it is hard for me to continue affiliation with the PTI; therefore, I announce to quit the party,” he added.