PML-N dissident Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa joined the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), party Chief Imran Khan confirmed on Friday.

Khan and Zulfiqar Khosa made the announcement after their meeting at the latter's residence in Lahore earlier today. Dost Muhammad also attended the meeting.

Former Punjab governor Zulfiqar Khosa made no secret of his disagreements with PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif and President Shahbaz Sharif in the past.

In 2014, he had announced a plan to oust the Sharif brothers from the PML-N in order to "cleanse the party" from their "influence".

In 2016, Khosa had demanded Nawaz to step down as prime minister after he was caught up in the Panama Papers scandal.

Earlier this month, Dawn had reported that Khosa was planning on joining another party.

Khan defends withdrawal of Nasir Khosa's name

Imran Khan also defended PTI's about-turn, where the party withdrew Nasir Khosa's name for the post of Punjab's caretaker chief minister after his appointment was all but confirmed.

"We withdrew his name after it became controversial," the PTI chief insisted. "The important thing is not that the name was withdrawn, the important thing is to ensure that the elections are free and fair."

When asked about Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak's insistence that elections in Fata be held at the same time as the rest of the country, Khan said that the demand was genuine. "If elections in Fata are held a few months after the general elections, the new MPAs will be inducted in the KP Assembly at a later stage. He [Khattak] fears that this will destabilise the government. We don't want the elections to be delayed, but that is a genuine concern."

Khan termed it "fortunate" that the people had pointed out Farooq Bandial's criminal past and raised their voices against his inclusion in PTI, following which the party had expelled him.

"We came to know that he had been in the PML-N for years but it was when he came to [join] us that people spoke out," he said. "This shows that PTI has a standard."

Bandial had joined PTI after meeting party chairman Imran Khan on Thursday. A photo of him standing next to the PTI chairman appeared on the social media, that sparked a backlash against the party's decision to accept him as a member.

Bandial, who hails from Punjab's Khushab district, was handed a death sentence by a Special Military Court in 1979 for committing "armed dacoity" at the house of film actress Shabnam in Gulberg area of Lahore.

Speaking about the Supreme Court's recent verdict that overturned former foreign minister Khawaja Asif's disqualification, the PTI chief said that he respects the decision, however, he said, working for a company while being a minister would be considered a "conflict of interest" in any democracy.