PPP to propose alliance with PML-N in key meeting tomorrow after ‘consenting
Shehbaz-led delegation meets Zardari and Bilawal in Lahore.
Two sides discuss prospects of forging alliance to rule Pakistan.
PML-N and PPP “agree in principle on political cooperation”.
After the stir surrounding the 2024 general elections and following outcomes settled, political alliances have started brewing with the likelihood of the formation of a coalition government in the country as Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) held a meeting, it emerged Sunday.
The two political parties — which emerged as the second and third largest in terms of success in the February 8 elections — discussed the prospects of forging an alliance to rule the country, in what was dubbed the first official contact between the two sides since the electoral process came to an end.
A delegation led by PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif met PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari at Bilawal House, Lahore, and sought their cooperation in forming the government, a joint statement issued by the parties read.
In response, the PPP leadership told the PML-N leaders that the proposal will be discussed in the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting, which is scheduled for Monday.
“The meeting discussed overall situation in the country and political cooperation in the future. PML-N and PPP agreed in principle on political cooperation,” the statement read.
Both sides resolved to “save the country” from political instability, it added.
It may be noted that PML-N and PPP were the two key members of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) — a several-parties-coalition that ousted Imran Khan-led government in April 2022 and governed the country for the next 16 months.
The new wheeling and dealing between the political parties started after the near completion of poll results for almost all the constituencies of the National Assembly.
Meanwhile, sources said that Shehbaz also contacted Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Maulana Fazlur Rehman for the second time in 24 hours.
Sources said that the PML-N leader took Fazl into confidence on the matter, while the latter expressed reservations on the election results.
Moreover, Fazl also sought time for consultations with his party’s top leadership in a meeting on Wednesday.
Pakistan witnessed the biggest general elections of its history on February 8, when a large number of people across the country exercised their right to vote to elect their representatives for national and provincial assemblies on 855 constituencies.
Having 79 seats to its name, PML-N is the largest single party in the parliament but it can’t form the government on its own and needs the help of other political parties or independent candidates since it lacks a clear majority.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed independent candidates, meanwhile, are in a dominant position with 93 NA seats in hand, while Fazl’s party managed to bag only four seats in the legislative, with no seats to his name.
Sources earlier told Geo News that PPP Co-chairman Zardari had earlier expressed willingness to join hands with the Nawaz Sharif-led party on the condition that Bilawal will be made the PM.
On Saturday, Bilawal said that PPP’s door was open to every political party for dialogue, as reconciliation was vital for political stability.
The young politician claimed that no government could be formed in the Centre, Punjab, or Balochistan without the support of his party.
The PPP chairman said it was in the interest of the country that “we forge a political consensus on the way forward in the Central Executive Committee of the party.
“We will try to forge this political consensus and would like to bring some positive change for the people of the country. If the government is formed, then we will not be able to solve problems of people without addressing the political toxicity,” he said.
It may be noted that Bilawal — during his fierce election campaign ahead of the polls — took the stance against any alliance with PML-N, which has fielded Nawaz as its candidate for the PM’s slot for a fourth time.