ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Secretariat has sought legal opinion from the Attorney-General for Pakistan (AGP), Mansoor Awan, asking the state’s top law officer whether the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) can be classified as a parliamentary party.
The little-known SIC became one of the largest parties in parliament when independent lawmakers, backed by the PTI, joined it after the official results of the February 8 general elections were announced. In its letter to the AGP, the secretariat stated that SIC Chairman Sahibzada Muhammad Hamid Raza requested NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on March 14 to appoint Zain Hussain Qureshi as the SIC’s parliamentary leader.
The letter highlighted that the SIC did not participate in the last general elections as a political party and therefore did not secure a single general seat in the National Assembly. Even its chairman contested the last general elections as an independent and was elected as an independent member. “About 86 independent members (mostly backed by the PTI) have joined the SIC after the general elections. However, confirmation in this regard has not yet been received by this secretariat from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
