Anti-Imran Khan parties to form new Pakistan government in coalition

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
21 Feb 2024 10:57

Pakistan's PMLN and PPP reveal on Tuesday an agreement to form a new government to face the coalition of jailed former premier Imran Khan.

Supporters from different parties hold a protest against alleged vote-rigging in some constituencies in the parliamentary elections, in Quetta, Pakistan, Saturday, February 17, 2024. (AP)

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) reached an official agreement to form a new government shortly after the country witnessed tense controversial elections.

Candidates affiliated with former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) won more seats than the two parties in the controversial elections, which saw allegations of election rigging.

The popular leader has been sentenced to long years of jail and was barred from practicing politics after being charged with a series of alleged crimes. This forced PTI's party candidates to run as independents.

Despite the crackdown against the PTI, candidates supported by the party claimed the largest parliamentary bloc of 93 seats, but fell short of securing the 169-seat majority.

Sharif to serve as PM again

Imran Khan supporters, who flooded voting centers, rejected the election's results and considered them rigged. The PTI party described the new coalition as "mandate thieves".

The head of the 54-seat strong, Bilawal Bhutto Zardaro, said on Tuesday that "the coalition's aim is to address the country's economic crisis."

Former premier and leader of the PMLN, which won 75 seats, Shahbaz Sharif also vowed "collective action to tackle economic and other challenges".

Sharif is set to serve as Prime Minister for the second time as per the terms of the agreement. Meanwhile, PPP's Asif Ali Zardari will be backed by the coalition to become president.

A parliamentary vote is scheduled by the end of February to elect the prime minister, a seperate elections will be held for the president after that.

Pakistan bureaucrat admits to election rigging

Pakistan witnessed a revelation on Saturday after senior bureaucrat Liaqat Ali Chattha confessed that he helped rig the country's elections. The commissioner of the city of Rawalpindi, where the headquarters of Pakistan's military is located, announced that he would surrender himself to the police.

Chattha, before resigning from his position, said he supervised the rigging of votes and "converted the losers into winners, reversing margins of 70,000 votes in 13 national assembly seats," he relayed to reporters, adding: "For committing such a heinous crime, I will hand myself over to the police".

His statement implicated the country's top judge and the head of the election commission, who rejected the claims but said they would "hold an inquiry".

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, a leading advocacy group, said the announcement of the "involvement of the state bureaucracy in rigging in Pakistan is beginning to be exposed" and brings corruption to light.