Sunni Ittehad Council chairman says Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's talks with JUI-F chief a "mistake"

Islamabad [Pakistan], April 28 : Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza expressed disappointment with the talks held between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, calling them a mistake on the former's part, Dawn reported.
Following the February elections, the JUI-F and the PTI reached a consensus and announced that the elections were rigged.
The parties have since touched base on protesting against the government but the JUI-F was not included in a six-party opposition alliance against the incumbent government.
The Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan umbrella includes the PTI, Balochistan National Party-Mengal, Jamaat-i-Islami, Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party, Majlis Wahdat Muslimeen and SIC, according to Dawn.
The coalition held a rally in Pishin, where they raised slogans against Fazl. Following the rally, the PTI had made an attempt last week to pacify the JUI-F chief's anger.
Senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser held a telephonic conversation with the Maulana, expressing regrets over the episode.
In an interview, Raza was questioned about the talks between the two and his thoughts on them. He said, "In my view, it was a mistake but Asad Qaiser is considerably senior to me in parliamentary experience so maybe his decision was right."
He added that there was no change in the SIC's relations with Fazl.
"It is mine and my party's stance that Maulana Fazl should not be a part of this alliance," he said, alleging that the JUI-F would reap the benefits of the alliance by securing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's governorship and leaving the coalition hanging, reported Dawn.
Raza added, however, that if the coalition decided otherwise with the consensus of the majority, then he would accept it.
The SIC chief said that he had nothing to apologise to the JUI-F for and instead called on the party to apologise for being part of the Pakistan Democratic Movement and ousting the PTI government through the no-confidence vote.
Earlier, he lamented how, despite overtures by the PPP and PML-N urging political actors to move forward, PTI members were still in jail, Dawn reported.
"On the one hand, they say we should move forward, but on the other hand, our sitting parliamentarians from Faisalabad are in custody at the police station," he said.
"If you are serious about moving forward, then let's come to the negotiating table," he added.
Responding to whether the PTI-SIC alliance was willing to negotiate with a committee, including representatives from the PPP and the PML-N, he said, "Yes, we are open to talking, but only if our demands are on the agenda and the government is ready to discuss them."