In a significant development, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have reached an agreement to form a new coalition government in Pakistan. After days of intense negotiations, senior party leaders announced this historic deal. In a joint news conference held late on Tuesday night, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari revealed that PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, aged 72, is set to assume the role of Prime Minister once again. Simultaneously, PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari, aged 68, is slated to become the country’s President.
“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 emphasized that former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party-backed candidates and the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) failed to secure a simple majority in Parliament for government formation at the center.
Bilawal expressed hope that news of the political alliance with the PML-N would lead to a positive market response. Pakistan, facing financial challenges, had a hung Parliament after the February 8 elections. Independent candidates, primarily backed by PTI, secured 93 National Assembly seats.
Shehbaz Sharif to form the Govt.
Shehbaz Sharif, in his remarks, asserted that the PML-N now possesses the “required numbers” with the PPP to form the next government. He thanked the leadership of both parties for the successful conclusion of the talks. The unity between the two parties positions them well to govern at the center.
The PML-N secured 75 seats, while the PPP came third with 54 seats. Additionally, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) has agreed to support the coalition with its 17 seats.
To form a government, a party must win 133 out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament.
Meanwhile, in a post on social media, PTI criticized the newly cemented PPP-PML-N alliance as “PDM 2.0,” referring to the previous opposition alliance. The announcement of this coalition came after the latest round of talks between the top leaders of both parties ended inconclusively on Monday.
This historic agreement sets the stage for a new chapter in Pakistan’s political landscape, as Shehbaz Sharif prepares to take the reins as Prime Minister once again, leading a coalition government committed to addressing the nation’s challenges.
