Done deal: Shehbaz PM, Zardari Prez
Both the PML-N and the PPP won fewer seats in Parliament than candidates backed by Imran Khan in an election mired in controversies, including vote rigging. Khan, who could not contest elections due to his convictions in some cases, is barred from holding any public office for 10 years.
Pakistan's former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party have finally agreed on a deal to form a coalition government led by former PM Shehbaz Sharif, a move that effectively sidelines their arch-rival, Imran Khan.
Both the PML-N and the PPP won fewer seats in Parliament than candidates backed by Imran Khan in an election mired in controversies, including vote rigging. Khan, who could not contest elections due to his convictions in some cases, is barred from holding any public office for 10 years.
At a joint news conference late Tuesday night after marathon negotiations, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari announced that PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif will assume the role of the prime minister once again.
Similarly, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari will be the joint candidate for the president’s office.
Last week, the PML-N, in a surprise move, announced that the party supremo and three-time former premier Nawaz Sharif nominated his younger brother Shehbaz as a candidate for the slot of prime minister. Nawaz, 74, was earlier confident of securing a record fourth term. However, his party failed to win enough seats to form a government on its own.
