The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced on Monday that its party-backed independents who have won seats in National, KP and Punjab assemblies will join the Sunni Ittehad Council as a party.

PTI leader Barrister Gohar Khan made the announcement in a presser today. He added that the candidates have submitted their affidavits with the party and “with their consent today we are announcing that PTI-supported independents are joining the Sunni Ittehad Council”.

“We have reached a formal agreement under which all our candidates have joined the party and we will present this documentation before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP),” he said.

Gohar said a request will also be filed in the ECP regarding the allocation of reserved seats as per the party strength and law.

The recent election saw PTI-backed candidates taking part independently due to the Supreme Court’s decision to strip the party of its election symbol.

Despite running as independents, these elected representatives are mandated by the Election Act, 2017 to join a political party within three days of the notification.

Last week, the PTI announced its intent to form coalition governments with Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) in the centre and Punjab.

“We will form a coalition with the Jamaat-i-Islami in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for reserved seats,” Raoof Hasan, the party’s Central Information Secretary had said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s two major parties are set to meet on Monday (today) to try and bridge differences over forming a minority coalition government after an inconclusive election, a top party official said, underscoring its political and economic instability.