<p>Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi has suffered a setback as his brother has quit the party and joined the ruling Pakistan People's Party ahead of a crucial bye-election in Punjab province.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Qureshi had quit the PPP and joined cricketer-turned- politician Imran Khan's party last year due to differences with PPP chief and President Asif Ali Zardari.<br /><br />Qureshi is currently vice-chairman of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf.<br /><br />Makhdoom Mureed Hussain Qureshi parted ways with the Tehrik-e-Insaf after developing differences with his elder brother, former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.<br />He also believed that the Tehrik-e-Insaf would not be able to meet his expectations, sources said.<br /><br />Like his elder brother, Mureed contested elections in 2008 on a PPP ticket. He contested polls to the Punjab Assembly from a constituency in Khanewal district.<br /><br />The assembly seat was vacated by Qureshi after he was elected to parliament but Mureed lost to an independent candidate.<br /><br />Tehrik-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan had reportedly not given Mureed an assurance that he would be given a ticket to contest from the same assembly seat in the next election.<br />Taking advantage of the differences between Mureed and Qureshi, the PPP's top leadership managed to bring Mureed back to the party's fold.<br /><br />Reports have said both Zardari and former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani took the initiative to convince Mureed to join the PPP. Gilani assured Mureed that he would be given a PPP ticket for the next polls and facilitated in contesting elections from Khanewal.<br /><br />Asked about his brother's decision to join the PPP, Qureshi told PTI: "I have no differences with my brother. He is an adult and makes his own decisions. It is his democratic right to join any party."<br /><br />Qureshi, the vice-chairman of the Tehrik-e-Insaf, dismissed the impression that there were internal rifts in the party.<br /><br />He said: "There has been no rift but (there are) differences of opinion. Everyone in the party has the right to differ. Besides, government agencies are spreading propaganda in this regard."<br /><br />Criticising the top leadership of the PPP, he said: "A man sitting in Islamabad (Zardari) is obsessed with me as he wants to make life difficult for me."<br /><br />The Tehrik-e-Insaf is determined to fight the "old feudal system", he added.</p>
<p>Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi has suffered a setback as his brother has quit the party and joined the ruling Pakistan People's Party ahead of a crucial bye-election in Punjab province.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Qureshi had quit the PPP and joined cricketer-turned- politician Imran Khan's party last year due to differences with PPP chief and President Asif Ali Zardari.<br /><br />Qureshi is currently vice-chairman of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf.<br /><br />Makhdoom Mureed Hussain Qureshi parted ways with the Tehrik-e-Insaf after developing differences with his elder brother, former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.<br />He also believed that the Tehrik-e-Insaf would not be able to meet his expectations, sources said.<br /><br />Like his elder brother, Mureed contested elections in 2008 on a PPP ticket. He contested polls to the Punjab Assembly from a constituency in Khanewal district.<br /><br />The assembly seat was vacated by Qureshi after he was elected to parliament but Mureed lost to an independent candidate.<br /><br />Tehrik-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan had reportedly not given Mureed an assurance that he would be given a ticket to contest from the same assembly seat in the next election.<br />Taking advantage of the differences between Mureed and Qureshi, the PPP's top leadership managed to bring Mureed back to the party's fold.<br /><br />Reports have said both Zardari and former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani took the initiative to convince Mureed to join the PPP. Gilani assured Mureed that he would be given a PPP ticket for the next polls and facilitated in contesting elections from Khanewal.<br /><br />Asked about his brother's decision to join the PPP, Qureshi told PTI: "I have no differences with my brother. He is an adult and makes his own decisions. It is his democratic right to join any party."<br /><br />Qureshi, the vice-chairman of the Tehrik-e-Insaf, dismissed the impression that there were internal rifts in the party.<br /><br />He said: "There has been no rift but (there are) differences of opinion. Everyone in the party has the right to differ. Besides, government agencies are spreading propaganda in this regard."<br /><br />Criticising the top leadership of the PPP, he said: "A man sitting in Islamabad (Zardari) is obsessed with me as he wants to make life difficult for me."<br /><br />The Tehrik-e-Insaf is determined to fight the "old feudal system", he added.</p>