PTI ‘merges’ with seatless party for three assemblies

ISLAMABAD: The PTI on Monday sealed its alliance with the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) to claim reserved seats in the National, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assemblies, while a delegation of PTI leaders Met the leadership of Jamiat. Ulama-e-Islam (JUI-Shirani) in Islamabad to garner their support for possible street protests.

Later on Monday, the SIC wrote to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that 50 PTI-backed independent candidates had joined their party.

The formal announcement of the merger came a day after the two reached an understanding in a meeting on Sunday, which was also attended by the Majlis-e-Wahdat al-Muslimeen.

Interestingly, SIC does not have a single seat in Parliament and its head Sahibzada Muhammad Hamid Raza was elected as an independent from Faisalabad.

According to the ECP document, the Sunni Ittehad Council is included in the ECP and Sahibzada Muhammad Hamid Raza is the head of the party. However, the party does not have any seats at the center or in the provinces.