Islamabad: To secure its share in reserved seats, a total of 89 PTI-backed independent MNAs have joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) by submitting affidavits to the Election Commission.
However, PTI leaders Barrister Gohar and nominee for the prime minister slot, Omar Ayub Khan, along with two other PTI elected MNAs, did not join the Sunni Ittehad Council.
Apart from the 89 MNAs, 85 members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, 106 members of the Punjab Assembly, and nine members of the Sindh Assembly have also joined the Sunni Ittehad Council.
This move validates PTI’s claim of securing 93 NA seats, with exceptions including Omar Ayub Khan, Barrister Gohar Khan, and Ali Amin Gandapur, who did not submit affidavits. Additionally, the notification for Dawar Kundi, who defeated JUI-F Maulana Asad Mehmood after repolling and recounting on NA-43 Tank, was pending from the ECP.
Ayub and Gohar’s decision to abstain from filing affidavits for SIC membership is deliberate, as they intend to participate in PTI’s upcoming intra-party elections. Similarly, Gandapur refrained from submitting the affidavit due to his nomination as the PTI candidate for the KP chief minister’s position.
