ISLAMABAD: Following a meeting with Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Emir Sirajul Haq in the federal capital on Wednesday, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said that his party was closer to the former than any other political force in the country, DawnNews reported.

Speaking at a joint-press conference with the JI chief, he said that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam and that both the parties share the same ideology.

Today’s meeting comes against the backdrop of a recent rift between the coalition partners in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the PTI leadership came down hard on Jamaat emir, who had told a rally in Mansehra that both the PML-N and the PTI were “two sides of the same coin”, were not sincere in solving people’s problems and only concerned with serving their own political interests.

Khan, later in a statement, regretted that Sirajul Haq had chosen to club the PTI with the PML-N and PPP, while conveniently overlooking the number of NAB cases against both Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari.

He demanded that the JI “stop playing on both sides of the wicket” and tell the people of Pakistan where it stood.

Imran Khan’s party has been holding protest demonstrations to oust the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, which he claims came into power through rigged polls in 2013.

During today's press conference, Khan reiterated that issues relating to masses would never be resolved until a true elected government comes into power. He said that all political parties including the JI were on the same page regarding ‘rigging in the 2013 elections’.

Khan claimed that the ruling party was covering up the rigging which he alleged took place in last year’s polls. “PML-N members are hiding behind stay orders,” he added.

The PTI chief ruled out eradication of corruption without accountability in the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Sirajul Haq said that the JI has been supporting the demands made by Khan’s party right from the beginning. He said the two parties face many similar issues.

“Tehreek-i-Insaf and Jamaat-i-Islami are free to make their own political decisions… and share the same goal of abolition of status quo from the country,” he said.

Haq claimed that the prevailing system has failed and the country needs immediate electoral reforms.