Shehbaz, who was Prime Minister after the Imran Khan-led government was ousted in April 2022, said the other parties that joined hands with the PML-N enjoyed almost 2/3 majority of the Parliament after the elections.He also said that the new government would pull the country out of trouble.Hours after Nawaz Sharif nominated Shehbaz for the post of prime minister, his daughter Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday sought to rebuff the impression that her father has quit active politics.In the next 5 years, Nawaz will not only participate in active politics but also oversee the PML-N-led governments in Punjab and at the Centre, Maryam, also the PML-N senior vice president, said in a post on X.According to the Election Commission of Pakistan’s tally, the total number of general seats won by the six parties — the PML-N, PPP, MQM-P, PML-Q, IPP (Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) which announced their plans to form a coalition led by Shehbaz — comes to 152.This clearly shows that these parties will easily achieve the minimum required number of 169 to form the government at the Centre after the addition of 60 women and 10 minority seats in their tally.The PML-N reportedly enjoys the backing of the powerful Pakistan Army.Reacting to the latest political developments, the PTI said that the best option for the PML-N is to accept [its] defeat gracefully and let their party founder Khan fix and heal the country.Khan, a 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician, is currently in jail and has been barred from running in the election due to his conviction in corruption cases.Earlier, top PPP leader and former Pakistan President Zardari, speaking alongside Shehbaz, said that a coalition government would be set up.We have decided to form a coalition government and pull the country out of the economic crisis, he said and added that the new government would also try to reconcile with everyone including Khan’s PTI.He promised to deliver the country out of these troubles and lead on to the road to prosperity.With the key parties getting together to form the new government, the transition from the election to the new government is likely to take place by the end of this month.Khan and his party have continued to emphasise that they believe the elections were rigged against them and plan to challenge the results.Speaking to reporters in court for the first time since the vote, Khan said: “I warn against the misadventure of forming a government with stolen votes. Such daylight robbery will not only be a disrespect to the citizens but will also push the country’s economy further into a downward spiral.” Meanwhile, the Khan-led PTI decided to use the platform of two right-wing religious parties in its bid to form its federal government in Islamabad and in the provinces of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.The PTI has decided to join Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) to form the government in the centre and in Punjab and Jamaati-e-Islami (JI) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the party’s information secretary Raouf Hassan said.He said the party was redoubling efforts to form a government at the Centre and in Punjab province.It is believed that by even joining the two parties, the PTI would not get enough strength to form the federal government or provincial government in Punjab.By joining the two parties, the PTI would be able to claim a share of the 70 reserved seats in the National Assembly and 156 reserved seats in the four provincial assemblies.The reserved seats are allotted to the parties based on proportional representation.The PTI-backed independent candidates were required to join a political party within three days of official notification of the election results by the Election Commission of Pakistan, which has not been issued so far.The overnight developments showed that the country was on the way to getting an elected government in office within weeks after the February 8 polarised elections.
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