Nawaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto alliance likely, move to anger Imran Khan supporters

Nawaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto alliance likely, move to anger Imran Khan supporters
The talks to form a coalition between former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) are progressing.

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) are likely to form a coalition to claim the new government in the South Asian country, despite independents, backed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, winning the most number of seats. The PML(N) and PPP, which held a meeting on Sunday, agreed in principle to “save the country from political instability”.

“In principle, consensus on political cooperation between Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Peoples Party. In the meeting, the overall situation of the country and the political cooperation in the future were discussed in detail. The leaders agreed to cooperate politically to bring the country to political stability,” Nawaz Sharif’s party said in a statement.

PAKISTAN ELECTION RESULTS | LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Nawaz Sharif’s PML(N) and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s PPP, which emerged second and third in the Pakistan election 8 with 75 and 54 seats respectively, have decided to work together to bring political stability to the country. The parties announced the decision in a statement, fuelling discussion about a possible post-poll coalition between them. A final picture regarding the alliance is likely to emerge on Monday.

Out of the 101 independents who won National Assembly seats, 93 were backed by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf after the party was barred from taking part in the election. Imran Khan also claimed victory in the election, and his party claimed that President Arif Alvi would invite them to form the government. Notably, independent members cannot form a government on their own under Pakistan’s complex election system.

The Karachi-based Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party has also emerged as a strong player with a surprising 17 seats. Nawaz Sharif’s party held discussions with MQM, and their decision is also crucial in deciding the fate of the next government in Pakistan.

A prime ministerial candidate has to show a simple majority of 169 seats in the National Assembly when the house is called in the coming days. This will be determined by coalition talks and whether Imran Khan-backed candidates are able to join a smaller party in Parliament to form a single bloc to gain reserve seats

Meanwhile, Pakistan courts have been flooded with petitions by losing candidates who challenged the provisional results raising rigging allegations after the results were declared on Sunday night after over 60 hours of counting. Those who moved the court include high-profile faces such as former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi and his wife Qaisera, former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) finance minister Taimoor Jhagra and ex-KP speaker Mahmood Jan and former Punjab health minister Dr Yasmin Rashid among others.IT

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