Islamabad: In an interesting turn of events, after joining hands with rival Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif announced that his brother former PM Shehbaz Sharif will lead the coalition government in Pakistan.
PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb also declared that Nawaz’s daughter Maryam Nawaz, who is also the senior vice president of the party, will be the Punjab Chief Minister.
The political uncertainty that prevailed in Pakistan came to an end on Tuesday with PML-N, which has got 75 seats joining hands with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) which has secured 53 seats. PPP withdrew Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari from the PM‘s race and went on to accept that it does not have sufficient numbers to lead the government. The party also clarified that PPP accepted the PML-N’s invitation rejecting an alliance with PTI.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), which has secured 17 seats, also pledged its support to the coalition.
Shehbaz Sharif-led government can now easily cross the simple majority mark in the National Assembly, reported the Dawn.
The coalition needs 133 National Assembly seats to form the government and together, the PML-N, PPP and MQM-P, PML-Q, IPP and BAP leaders, have 152 seats, as per the Election Commission of Pakistan data. If 60 women and 10 minority seats are also added, the coalition will easily cross the simple majority mark with 169 seats. But to get a two-third majority, the coalition needs 224-seats in the 336-member Assembly and that will be possible if there is enough cohesion between the coalition members.
The PTI-packed independent candidates had secured the highest number of 101 seats but did not have enough numbers to form the government. Interestingly, the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition had even extended an invitation to Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to be a part of the alliance.
As the Sharif-led coalition readies to form the government, PTI leader Raoof Hasan tweeted, “Pakistan is being put on road to further destabilisation. The decision to induct a bunch of criminals to form governments, who have been rejected by the people, reflects a myopic view of the grave challenges the country is beset with. Only Imran Khan has the vision and ability to bring Pakistan out of a deepening quagmire. He is the one people have reposed their overwhelming faith & trust in, but his mandate has been stolen in the dark of the night. This is striking at the very essence of democratic principles & norms. It also reflects a disdain for the national interests & the welfare of its people. Forces of dark must be stopped and power must pass on to those whom the people have chosen as their leaders.”
Imran Khan had earlier announced plans to challenge the election results in the Supreme Court, alleging vote-rigging during the elections as the nation’s mobile network was switched off on Election Day.
The future of the Sharif-led government will now depend on how they address the allegations of irregularities in the election and how closely knit they stay as an alliance