Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Saturday said that his party had chosen Awami Muslim League (AML) leader Sheikh Rashid to be opposition's joint candidate for the top slot of prime minister.

"Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will further dent its cause by appointing Shahbaz Sharif as prime minister as there are criminal cases against him. By choosing his brother as PM candidate, Nawaz Sharif has made fun of democracy," he added.

"How did Shahbaz Sharif's name come up in the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case? We will file a reference against him," Khan said while presiding over a meeting at his Bani Gala residence of the PTI's parliamentary party to chalk out a strategy following the prime minister's resignation. "Doesn't the PML-N have any better candidate than Shahbaz Sharif. This is the reason democracy doesn't flourish in the country because these status quo parties don't know anything about democracy," he said.

Khan said this time his party would defeat all these so-called democratic parties who befool people under the pretext of democracy, adding "we have learnt a lot from the rigging in the 2013 elections and this time we will not allow anybody to rig the polls." PTI chief said his party would not allow the country to go into the grip of corruption again. He declared Supreme Court's verdict disqualifying Nawaz Sharif and the prime minister's subsequent resignation a victory of hard work and patience.

Briefing media after the meeting, PTI vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi told reporters that PTI has nominated Dr Yasmin Rashid to contest by-election in NA 120 (Lahore) against PML-N candidate Shahbaz Sharif. Yasmin Rashid had contested 2013 general election on a PTI ticket, and lost the polls to Nawaz Sharif with a difference of some 40,000 votes. This time again, the party is optimistic to give a tough time to the prime ministerial candidate of the ruling PML-N.

He said the PTI parliamentary party briefly discussed the verdict of the apex court, its different aspects and also expressed satisfaction on the decision of Supreme Court. He said there is no external conspiracy in the decision and world's leading powers have already declared it an internal issue of the Pakistan.

Qureshi said that PTI believes in supremacy of the constitution and also wanted to flourish the democracy in the country. The meeting also discussed the ensuing election of the Prime Minister and role of the opposition in the Parliament, he added.