Currently, Pakistan is entangled in various political affairs while PML-N and PPP negotiating for a political arrangement that will determine the country’s Leadership future. Seeing a political vacuum in the February 8 election, where no one group came with a clear majority, the discussion on a probable coalition government has become hotter.
These sources see PML-N and PPP joining forces for a quid pro quo deal in which the former’s leader, Shehbaz Sharif, would presumably be the next prime minister, and the latter’s president Asif Ali Zardari. This alliance thus creates an obstacle for the one-allying party, i.e. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), led by the current Prime Minister Imran Khan, whose party failed to procure a concluding and decisive victory.
Zardari, 68, is a seasoned political figure who was the President of Pakistan between 2008 and 2013. As of now, the president of the country, Dr. Arif Alvi, will be vacating his office later this month, which opens up the door for Zardari to run for the presidency if PML-N and PPP decide to support him.
The other major contender, the PML-N, opting for a strategic move, has given way to Shehbaz Sharif, the 72-year-old brother of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, to be presented as the candidate for prime minister. With this move, Nawaz Sharif literally cast aside, who had both washed his hands from the country for 6 years and returned from the UK in October 2017 to run in the elections for the fourth time in a row as a prime minister.
To strengthen the partnership, the PML-N and PPP Parliamentarians have enlisted the military wings of other political parties, i.e. the MQM-P, PML-Q, IPP, and BAP, to attain the same political goals. While this coalition echoes the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)’s earlier governmental structure model, the emphasis is more placed on collaboration between the parties than on a unitary form of governance.
Both chairmen of the PPP and PML founded in their press conference their reactions to the question of decision on the top posts of the state, with Mr. Asif Ali Zardari keen on becoming the president.
Sources indicate an agreement between the PML-N and PPP leadership, where PML-N’s backing for Zardari’s presidential candidacy aligns with PPP’s support for Shehbaz Sharif’s bid for the prime ministerial position.
The intricate political landscape also reveals PPP’s interest in the post of Balochistan chief minister, with party leader Sarfraz Bugti briefing members on the province’s political dynamics. As negotiations unfold, the PML-N and PPP alliance hints at a significant shift in Pakistan’s political landscape, potentially reshaping the country’s leadership structure.
Check here for the latest updates in Hindi!