ECP informs the NA secretariat that SIC is the second-largest party in the National Assembly.

According to data, the ECP officially notified the National Assembly Secretariat about the party standings in the NA.

According to the ECP report, the Sunni Alliance Council (SIC) now has 82 members, including 49 from Punjab and 33 independent candidates, after a PTI-backed candidate joined, making it the second-largest party in the National Assembly.

According to the report, the largest party in NA is PML-N with 120 members, followed by Sunni Ittehad Council with 82 members (including 49 from Punjab and 33 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), PPP with 71, MQM with 21, JUI with 11, PML-Q with 5, IPP with 4, and MWM with one member.

The Election Commission has stated that no particular seats have been assigned to the Sunni Ittehad Council.

The National Assembly Secretariat had asked the Election Commission to offer an updated party position, which has already been communicated.

The development came after the NA Secretariat had announced that independent members of the National Assembly (NA) backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) could not yet be designated Sunni Alliance Council (SIC) MPs.

According to the information, the NA Secretariat stated that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has not informed them about independent MNAs joining the SIC.

“The PTI-backed lawmakers would be considered independents until the National Assembly Secretariat receives the party affiliation notification from the ECP,” according to a statement issued by the secretariat.

On February 18, the PTI, whose candidates ran ‘independently’ in the February 8 general elections, announced a coalition with the SIC.

The PTI had already announced a coalition with the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) in the Centre and Punjab, but the move was met with criticism from some party members.

On March 18, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali stated that the party remained by its decision to form an alliance with the SIC. Barrister Gohar Ali stated that some party leaders had a ‘difference’ of opinion about allying with the SIC, but that the majority supported the choice.

The PTI chairman called the decision ‘correct’. He stated that, unlike the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the PTI makes decisions after consulting with its members.