Pakistan: Imran Khan's PTI To Sit In Opposition, PML-N Secures Support Of 1 More Independent Lawmaker

In the recent general election, independent candidates, many affiliated with PTI, secured the highest number of parliamentary seats.

Independent candidates, many affiliated with PTI, clinched 101 seats in the National Assembly according to preliminary results.

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New Delhi: Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) has made it clear that they will not collaborate with rival parties like PML-N or PPP to establish a coalition government. Party leader Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said PTI would sit in the opposition despite having a majority in the newly elected Parliament.

Khan emphasized this stance, stating that they are not inclined to engage in discussions with either Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) or Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to form a government together, reported news agency PTI.

In the recent general election, independent candidates, many affiliated with PTI, secured the highest number of parliamentary seats. However, PTI does not have enough seats in the 266-member National Assembly to form a government on its own.

“We don’t feel comfortable with both (Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party) of them. There will be no talks with anyone to make a government or to make a government together with them. It is better to sit in the opposition than to make a government [with them], but we think we have the majority,” Gohar Khan told Dawn News, reported news agency PTI.

The Election Commission of Pakistan revealed that independent candidates, largely supported by PTI, won 101 seats, followed by PML-N with 75 seats, PPP with 54 seats, and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) with 17 seats. Other parties secured 17 seats, while the result of one constituency was withheld, as per the PTI report.

Despite PTI's initial claims of forming the government, the prospect seemed challenging from the start as at least 169 seats out of 336 were required for government formation.

A total of 266 seats were directly contested, while 60 women-reserved seats and 10 minority seats were allocated based on proportional representation to the winning parties.

As PTI was not permitted to contest as a single party with a common symbol, it did not qualify for reserved seats. Consequently, the party opted to sit on the opposition benches, allowing PML-N, PPP, and others to explore coalition possibilities. 

Gohar Khan also criticized those politicians who switched loyalties in the past, saying they had been rejected outright by the people in the February 8 elections, reported PTI.

PML-N Secures Support Of One More Independent Lawmaker

In a boost to the PML-N party, another newly elected independent member of Pakistan's National Assembly on Monday decided to join the party led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif as he tries to form a coalition government after the just-concluded election resulted in a hung Parliament.

This comes a day after one independent candidate backed by Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party joined the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). In total, two independent candidates in the lower House have joined the PML-N, reported PTI.

In the recent elections, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) emerged as the largest party, securing 227 seats, followed by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 160 seats. Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) stood in third place with 45 seats.

Independents clinched 101 seats in the National Assembly according to preliminary results.

PML-N, led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, garnered 75 seats, while PPP, led by former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, secured 54 seats. MQM-P managed to secure 17 seats. Other parties like Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) won four seats, PML-Quaid three, and Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) and Balochistan National Party (BNP) secured two seats each.

To form a government, a party needs to win 133 seats out of the 265 contested seats in the National Assembly. Overall, 169 seats are required to secure a simple majority out of the total 336 seats, which include reserved slots for women and minorities that will be decided later.

Both PML-N and PPP are in a position to form a coalition government at the Centre based on their numerical strength. However, PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif suggested that all parties except PTI should come together in the upcoming setup.