Pakistan: PPP, PML-N announce deal on coalition government

Following days of rigorous negotiations, leading party leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party have finally agreed to create a new coalition government.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif, 72, is scheduled to take on the position of prime minister once more, according to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. Asif Zardari, the 68-year-old co-chairman of the PPP, is expected to become the president for a second time.

“The PPP and PML-N have achieved the required number, and [now] we are in a position to form the government,” Bilawal told reporters.

He claimed that the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) and candidates supported by former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party were unable to secure a simple majority in Parliament to establish a central administration.

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As the cash-strapped nation faced a hung Parliament following the February 8 elections, Bilawal believed that the news of the political alliance with the PML-N to form a coalition government would prompt a good response from the market.

Ninety-three National Assembly seats went to independent candidates, most of whom were supported by the 71-year-old Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.

Speaking at the event, Shehbaz Sharif praised the leaders of the two parties for the successful outcome of the negotiations and declared that his PML-N now has the “required numbers” with the PPP to be in a position to form the next government.

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According to The Express Tribune newspaper, the former prime minister emphasized the two parties’ unity and noted that they were in a strong position to establish the government at the center.

The PPP secured 54 seats, placing third, behind the PML-N’s 75 seats. Additionally, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) has promised to provide them its 17 seats of support.

A party needs to win 133 of the 265 contested seats in the lower house of Parliament, or the 266-member National Assembly, in order to form a government.

Meanwhile, 71-year-old Khan’s PTI attacked the recently formed PPP, PML-N alliance as “PDM 2.0” in a post on X, writing, “PDM 2.0 = #MandateThieves.” The partnership was announced the day after the most recent round of negotiations between the two parties’ top leaders came to an impasse on Monday, with neither side being able to agree on a formula for power-sharing to establish a coalition government.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who led the country from 2022 to 2023, predicted that the incoming government will face numerous challenges and roadblocks on its path to power. According to media reports, he declared that the coalition partnership will address them collectively.

Zardari, a co-chair of the PPP and a former president from 2008 to 2013, has stated that the nation and future generations are the reasons behind the political alliance’s battle to form the next administration.

There have been many credible claims of extensive election tampering to change the outcomes, making the general elections on February 8 controversial.

Aleema Khan, Imran Khan’s sister, stated that the PTI leader referred to the February 8 elections as the “mother of all rigging”.

On Tuesday, Aleema saw Imran Khan in Adiala Jail. After the elections, she told reporters, the people’s mandate was “stolen”. She added that Imran Khan, who alleged the internet service outage was a ploy to “hide the real results,” had harshly denounced it.