Confusion prevails within PTI as top leader questions Senate candidates’ selection

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PTI to ‘merge’ with Sunni Ittehad Council

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Qaiser raised doubts over the party’s list of candidates for the upcoming senate elections, saying he does not know if it was approved by party founder Imran Khan.

The PTI leader made these comments while speaking during an interview with a private news channel on Friday. 

When asked if he was satisfied that genuine people were coming to the Senate and Khan had picked the candidates, Qaiser replied: “I have no clue if Imran Khan approved it or not. I don’t want to comment on it.

“I know the names of candidates [for the senate] but I cannot say if Khan approved them,” he added.

He added that PTI leader Omer Sarfraz Cheema is a stalwart who has made many sacrifices for the party and he has a right to get a senate ticket. 

Qaiser’s comments came amid rifts among top party leaders and differences in opinion regarding major decisions including making an alliance with the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) after February 8 elections. 

The party had decided to join SIC after elections to claim the seats reserved for women and minorities. However, PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat on Thursday claimed that his party lost over 80 seats by making wrong decisions. 

He said the decision to withdraw from forging an electoral alliance with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Shirani (JUI-Shirani) and later striking a deal with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-Nazriati (PTI-N) dealt a major blow to the party.