Jamaat-i-Islami rules out alliance with PTI on govt formation

Jamat-e-Islami (JI) on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of forging an alliance with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), whose independent candidates are leading with the higher number of seats in the February 8 general elections, to form a government in the centre. JI’s Central Naib Amir Liaqat Baloch, while speaking to a private news channel, said that his party has decided that it would not join hands with the PTI as it had formed a coalition with another party at the federal level. “There is no reason for us to form an alliance with PTI only in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” said Baloch, adding that talks with PTI were related to both governments — federal and provincial. Jamaat-i-Islami provincial emir Prof Mohammad Ibrahim Khan has ruled out any alliance with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in the formation of government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “PTI has the right to form government with any political party, but it has no justification to use the name Jamaat in this regard,” he said in a statement issued on Tuesday in reaction to the news circulating on the social and mainstream media. “JI has not decided to make any alliance with PTI,” he said. “The PTI’s statement of using the name of JI in government formation is actually inappropriate and unethical,” he added. Meanwhile, a group of PTI leaders on Tuesday visited the provincial headquarters of Jamaat to seek its support in the ongoing protest against the alleged rigging in eight seats of provincial assembly and one National Assembly in Peshawar. The visiting delegation consisted of Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Mehmud Jan and others. Mr Jhagra and Mr Jan along with other candidates from the provincial metropolis lost the provincial assembly seats in the recent elections. Sabir Hussain Awan, Hafiz Hashmat Khan and Kashif Azam Chishti represented the JI side. The PTI members sought JI’s support in their ongoing protest. However, no clear response was given to them by the JI leadership.