Capping days of political uncertainty, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif pulled a surprise by nominating his brother and former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as the prime ministerial candidate of Pakistan. This comes as Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari-led Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Tuesday said it would support Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to form a new coalition alliance, ending the stalemate.
PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb took to X to state that PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, 74, has nominated his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif, 72, a candidate for the slot of prime minister and his daughter Maryam Nawaz, 50, for chief minister of Punjab province.
"Nawaz Sharif has thanked the political parties which provided support to the PML-N (in forming the upcoming government) and expressed hope that through such decisions Pakistan will come out of crises," she said.
The development also comes as Bilawal Bhutto Zardari pulled out of the prime ministerial race, saying his party would support ex-premier Nawaz without being part of the new government.
PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, father of Bilawal, said that he and other political leaders gathered with him have decided to form the government together. "We will take Pakistan out of difficulty," he said announcing his decision to form the coalition government.
"Looking at everything, we have thought and decided to sit together. We have contested elections against each other but despite that, it is not necessary that [we fight] forever. Opposition happens in elections. It was electioneering opposition, not ideological opposition."
Shehbaz Sharif too explained his decision, stating that the political leaders together with him had gathered to tell the nation that the election politics of opposition was over and now was the time with the Parliament to form. "Now our war is against the country’s challenges. The first challenge is the economy. We have to stabilise it which is a tall task. Nations move forward when their leadership unites and decides to end conflicts and take the nation forward to eliminate problems," he told reporters.
Meanwhile, Imran Khan, whose party PTI won the most number of seats, hit out at the coalition government, calling it mandate thieves. He also dismissed the idea of forming a coalition government with any of the main political parties in Pakistan and termed them as the biggest money launderers.
Khan, founder of PTI, was speaking with journalists at the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. "There can be no alliance with PML-N, PPP, and MQM,".
Khan also warned his political rivals against the "misadventure" of forming a government with "stolen votes". In a message on his official X handle, posted from jail through his family, 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."
