Decision to have PTI-backed candidates join SIC was of Imran Khan: Hamid Raza

ISLAMABAD: Sahibzada Hamid Raza, the chairman of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), stated that former Prime Minister Imran Khan was the one who decided whether or not independent candidates supported by the PTI would join his party. Raza said, "I have no issues," when asked if PTI could wish to bring back its candidates.

"Our settlement [with the PTI] was temporary," the SIC chief further said, adding that it was done to "secure" PTI candidates. "If PTI leaders openly criticize the party's decision to join SIC, Imran will suffer the most." Imran Khan would "struggle more than anyone," according to Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) president Sahibzada Hamid Raza, who has expressed concern over the PTI leaders' increasing public criticism of the party's choice to join SIC.

Raza stated in an interview with Dawn News that he "would not want in any situation to discuss internal affairs in public" and that coming out would be more advantageous to the current administration. "The discipline of the party will also be compromised and our attention will also be diverted from Imran Khan's cases," he said, adding that he had not yet met the jailed PTI founder as his name had not been cleared by jail authorities for a meeting.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's decision to join SIC was notably conveyed through party's top leaders, including PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Khan, secretary general Omar Ayub Khan and spokesperson Raoof Hasan. "The purpose of joining SIC was to bring PTI candidates under one umbrella so the plans of other parties to pressurise candidates would not be successful," he said, according to Dawn news, adding that the target was achieved as their votes for most elections in the Parliament were secure.

Highlighting the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) merger, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan had, earlier today, said that his party took a "serious and best decision" in circumstances prevailing at the time when PTI lost its electoral symbol and was looking for options to secure its reserved seats, reported The News International. This comes after some conflicting voices were raised from inside parties over the PTI and SIC merger.

"Not only reserved seats, but we also wanted to get protection from our independent candidates, as merging with a political party would also stop defections," Gohar said while speaking to the media outside Adiala Jail after the hearing of the EUR190 million scandal case against PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi. He reiterated that the PTI-SIC merger was the best decision taken after much deliberation, according to The News International.

PTI Chairman Gohar further expressed hopes for the apex court to provide justice to Imran Khan's party, which had been rejected for being eligible to get reserved seats for women and minorities.