New Delhi: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Tuesday announced support for a prime ministerial candidate from the rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Speaking to the media following a meeting of the central executive committee of the PPP, Bilawal announced that he would not be putting forth his name as a candidate for the post of Pakistan PM, but was willing to extend issue-based support to the PML-N to ensure the functioning of the parliament of Pakistan.
“The Pakistan People’s Party does not have the mandate to form the federal government. I will not be putting myself forward for the candidacy of the prime minister of Pakistan. There are two other groups, the independent group and the Muslim League-Nawaz that have more numbers,” he told the media.
“The PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) has announced that they will not engage in a dialogue with the Pakistan People’s Party and that rules out the possibility of an independent-led government and a PTI-led government,” he added.
The situation of no government being formed would lead to “political chaos”, Bilawal explained, adding that the PML-N was the only party in the National Assembly (parliament of Pakistan) that had reached out to the PPP for government formation.
“That leaves us with Muslim League-Nawaz, which is the only party in the National Assembly that has reached out to the Pakistan People’s Party and invited us to join their government,” he said.
The PPP leader made it clear that the party had no intention to take on ministries in the federal government. He assured the public that “parliament will be formed”, while adding that he would “personally” like to see his father Asif Ali Zardari as the president of Pakistan.
Zardari, former president of Pakistan, is the only one who can “control” the situation unfolding in Pakistan, Bilawal said.
Elections in Pakistan were held on 8 February. Marred by violence and allegations of vote-rigging, the polls saw PTI-backed independents winning 101 of 266 seats in the National Assembly, while the PML-N won 75. The PPP finished third with 54 seats.
The PTI-backed independents are looking for means to form a government and potentially merge with another party to receive proportional seats from the 70 seats reserved for women and religious minorities, according to Pakistani newspaper Dawn.
Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, secretary general of the PTI, Sunday made it clear that the party has no interest in forming a coalition with the PPP and PML-N.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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