LAHORE, Nov 30: As the recent Sunni Ittehad Council’s electoral alliance with the PML-Q has triggered a dispute over its chairmanship, the Council’s both factions, one led by Sahibzada Fazal Karim and the other by Peer Mahfooz Shah Mushahdi, have separately called urgent meetings of the SIC member parties here on Saturday (today) and Sunday (tomorrow).

The SIC faction led by the ‘officiating chairman’, Mr Mushahdi, had earlier removed Mr Karim from the office after the latter held a press conference along with the PML-Q leadership in Faisalabad, entering into an electoral alliance with the party a couple of days ago.

However, Mr Karim-led faction rejected the decision, saying Mushahdi and his supporters were no more part of the Council.

On the other hand, the SIC (Sahibazada Fazal group) secretary general Haji Hanif Tayyab on Friday decided to hold a meeting of the Council’s member parties on December 1, at 1pm. He also announced to hold a press conference at 4pm to brief the media about the SIC’s future plans.

On the other hand, the Mushahdi group also announced holding a meeting of on Dec 2.

“The meeting called by Mr Tayyab is illegal and immoral, as it cannot be held under chairmanship of Mr Karim who has already been suspended from the post,” Mr Mushahdi said in a statement.

He also summoned Mr Karim in the Sunday’s meeting, asking him to submit a written reply before the Council’s Shoora (central executive body) members, explaining the ‘unilateral’ move to forge an electoral alliance with the PML-Q.

He claimed the SIC faction he was leading had ‘massive support’ of several Sunni parties (Brailvi school of thought).