The Independent candidates backed by Imran Khan's symbol-less Tehreek-e-Insaf party is hoping to form a government in Pakistan even as the country's two major political parties – the Nawaz Sharif-led PML-N and the Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari headed PPP – are in talks to form another coalition government with the blessings of Pakistan army chief General Asim Munir, said local reports.
Independents backed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's PTI won 100 seats in the National Assembly. PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan and other party leaders hoped that President Arif Alvi would invite the symbol-less party to form since it emerged as the “largest single party” following the elections. However, technically, the independents cannot be counted as PTI candidates as they lost the party symbol weeks before the elections were held.
PTI's 100 constituencies is followed by PML-N with 73 seats and PPP with 54. A party needs at least 169 seats in the National Assembly. Of the 336 seats, 70 are reserved.
The party is still short of 32 seats to cross the majority mark and Khan has urged his PTI leaders to approach independents to form government in the Centre as well as Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces. The PTI-backed independents can still join the party again within three days of the election but they have to hold intra-party elections and get a new party symbol. This will allow PTI to get 70 reserved seats in the National Assembly, reported Pakistan-based The Express Tribune.
On the other hand, PML-N and PPP are keeping the cards close as they cautiously decided on another coalition government under the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) banner, reported The Dawn. PPP's Asif Ali Zardari is reportedly conducting meetings to discuss possible power-sharing agreements while Sharif has invited leaders of MQM-P, a Sindh-based party with a voter base of descendants of those who migrated from India post-Partition.