PTI leader Asad Qaiser said on Friday that his party will “merge” with the Sunni Ittehad Council if the Election Commission of Pakistan accepts its recent intra-party polls and returns its “bat” election symbol.
In January, after repeated verdicts by the ECP and the Peshawar High Court (PHC), the PTI election symbol was finally struck down by the Supreme Court.
On 3 March, the PTI held its internal party elections for the third time in two years after the 2 December elections, which were earlier declared invalid.
A day ago, the Peshawar High Court upheld the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan to reject the allotment of reserved seats for women and minorities. The dismissal of his plea challenging the ECP verdict left the SIC – the new home of the winning PTI-backed candidates. — without reserved seats. PTI said the matter will go to the Supreme Court.
He explained that if the party were to regain its electoral symbol after the recent intra-party polls, “both [parties] would come together” and “remain as PTI”, rather than the current scenario where its candidates would be part of the SIC.
As to whether the law would allow it, he said his party was consulting legal experts.
Asked if it was the right decision for PTI-backed candidates to join the SIC, Qaiser said the party had “many consultations” among themselves and that there were few options.
Speaking on the PHC verdict, the former NA spokesperson said the party’s legal team “should challenge it in the Supreme Court”.
Referring to the coalition government, he said: “The fake government cannot understand the economic situation of this country. […] They do not have the capacity, ability or even authority to make decisions. They’ll run away on their own.”
Asked whether other parties in the current coalition government, including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, would stick with the PML-N-PPP coalition, Qaiser said: “God willing, there would be public pressure to the extent that thieves would mandates will leave this [government].
“There will be a new government that will rightfully consist of those who have been given a public mandate,” he said, adding that “change is coming in four to five months.”
Asked if he thought the election would be held again, the PTI MNA expressed hope that “justice will be served” from the cases currently pending before the Election Appellate Tribunals and other courts. “And we will get our seats back [from the courts],” he said.
On the possibility of expressing no confidence in the current government, Qaiser said: “Definitely, when we have the [required] numbers, our representation will be there. God willing, Imran Khan will be the prime minister.”
