Two major parties in Pakistan on Tuesday ruled out forming any alliances after elections whose results were inconclusive, raising the possibility of forming a minority government or weeks of negotiations to form a coalition.
Although the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, led by Imran Khan, who is currently imprisoned, was subjected to severe repression, the performance of the independent candidates it supported exceeded expectations.
In a speech in Jin Adiala – where he has spent most of his time since his arrest in August – Khan accused both the Pakistan Muslim League and the second-placed Pakistan Peoples Party of corruption.
“We will not sit with the PML-N nor with the Pakistan People’s Party,” he told a group of journalists covering a procedural hearing in the prison outside the capital, Islamabad.
Doubts about the credibility of the elections increased due to the authorities cutting off communications and mobile Internet service throughout polling day.
He added, “We will challenge the fraud in the elections before the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and we will study the alliance later.”
It is one of Imran Khan’s first public statements since the announcement of the election results that took place last week.
Independents loyal to Khan won about 90 seats out of 266 in Parliament. PTI officials confirm that they would have won more seats had it not been for vote rigging.
Independents cannot form a government despite obtaining the largest number of seats, as a recognized party or coalition of parties must form the government.
Khan, the former cricket star who led Pakistan to win the World Cup in 1992, was sentenced this month to long prison terms on charges of treason, graft and illegal marriage.
Imran Khan was banned from running in the elections.
Khan, who came to power in 2018 and was ousted in a no-confidence motion in April 2022, enjoys broad popular support in Pakistan.
He has been prosecuted in more than 200 cases since his ouster, and these prosecutions are considered to be motivated by political considerations.
crisis
A coalition government between the PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party – who previously formed a coalition government after Imran Khan was ousted as prime minister under a no-confidence motion in April 2022 – seems the most likely outcome.
While the PTI is focused on challenging the legitimacy of the elections rather than negotiating with other parties, the PML-N and the PPP have entered into negotiations to enter the government together.
But the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, on Tuesday ruled out that, stressing that his party is not interested in a new alliance with the Muslim League, but that it will support any government it forms on certain issues.
Bhutto Zardari said, “We will support a political party without becoming part of the government.”
He added, “But we will support voting on the prime ministership, the budget, and legislation on an issue-by-issue basis.”
Bhutto Zardari, the son of the late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and former President Asif Ali Zardari, confirmed that he would like to see his father become president again.
He added, “I am not saying this because he is my father. I am saying this because the country is going through a major crisis at the moment, and if anyone has the ability to put out this fire, it is Asif Ali Zardari.”
This may mean that Pakistan may be led by a minority government tasked with working to get the country out of the stifling economic crisis.
However, Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister in the previous government and Nawaz’s brother, said on Tuesday that the PML-N was still open to talks with other parties.
“We have had two meetings (with the Pakistan People’s Party) and there may be a few more. Once a decision is reached, the nation will be informed,” he said at a press conference in Lahore.
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