PTI leader Omer Ayub Khan has said his party wants unity in the country and therefore party-backed candidates have decided to join the Sunni Ittehad Council in the Centre and all provinces.

“This is because the quota of reserved seats lies with political parties. Coming together with the Sunni Ittehad Council would increase the PTI’s strength in the National Assembly,” he said.

Recalling the explosive rigging allegations of the former Rawalpindi commissioner, Ayub said the PTI had demanded that party-supported candidates should be declared “returned candidates”.

“We had also said that the MQM-P stole PTI’s mandate in Karachi and Hyderabad,” he claimed, adding that a similar case also persisted in Peshawar.

Ayub added that after joining the Sunni Ittehad Council, the PTI would form governments. “Our first job would be to set free Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Parvez Elahi and all our senior leadership,” he vowed.

He also lauded and thanked the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen for the support it has provided to the Imran Khan-led party.