Pakistan’s PPP and PML-N reach a power-sharing agreement; Asif Ali Zardari will serve as president and Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister

After rigorous discussions in the wake of a fragmented vote outcome, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party have reached a power-sharing agreement to create a new coalition government, a development that might put an end to Pakistan’s political unrest.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said late on Tuesday night at a joint press conference at Zardari House here that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif, 72, would once again serve as prime minister.

Asif Ali Zardari, 68, the co-chairman of the PPP, will also run jointly for the presidency.

Without disclosing how many MPs the PPP and PML-N had in the National Assembly after the elections on February 8, Bilawal told reporters, “We have achieved the required number, and (now) we are in a position to form the government.”

A party has to win 133 of the 265 contested seats in the lower house of Parliament, or the 266-member National Assembly, in order to form a government.

He said that the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) and independent candidates supported by former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party were unable to secure a simple majority in Parliament to establish a central administration.

As the cash-strapped nation faced a hung Parliament after the elections, Bilawal believed that the announcement of the political partnership with the PML-N to establish a coalition government would prompt a good reaction from the market.

In an unexpected decision last week, the PML-N said that Nawaz Sharif, the party’s leader and three-time past prime minister, has chosen his younger brother Shehbaz to be the next prime minister. Earlier, Nawaz, 74, was optimistic about winning a record-breaking fourth term. But his party was unable to secure enough seats to rule on its own.

Ninety-three National Assembly seats went to independent candidates, most of whom were supported by the 71-year-old Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

The PPP secured 54 seats, placing third, behind the PML-N’s 75 seats. There are 17 seats held by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P).

At the news conference, Shehbaz praised the leadership of the two parties for the successful outcome of the negotiations and said that his party now had the “required numbers” with the PPP to be in a position to form the next government.

The former prime minister emphasized the two parties’ unity and pointed out that they were in a strong position to establish a center-right administration.

Shehbaz, who oversaw a coalition administration for sixteen months before to the elections, said that he had urged the victorious candidates supported by the PTI to demonstrate their majority and establish a government, but they lacked the necessary number of supporters.

The veteran PML-N member also praised Zardari and Bilawal for their collaboration. According to Shehbaz, Zardari would run as a joint candidate for president after both parties agreed.

In response to a query on portfolio distribution, Shehbaz said that the party headed by Bilawal has not requested a ministry from day one, according to The News International.

“Parleys occur between two parties, and mutual consultation is used to address concerns. They have their opinions, but finding a middle ground is the true test of political success, he added. It doesn’t imply that we embrace their demands or that they accept ours.

The report said that the former prime minister further stated that the PPP’s senior leadership and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif would advise them when choices on the “offices” were made jointly later.

In addition, Shehbaz expressed gratitude to the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid, Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party, and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, all of whom would be included in the next cabinet.

He said that the next coalition administration will combat terrorism and revive the nation’s economy.

The head of the PML-N said that the partnership will advance and grow the nation’s economy. He said that steps will be taken to boost the nation’s industrial and agricultural output.

Shehbaz emphasized that their present cooperation, unified in their resolve to resolving the issues of the Pakistani people, was made possible by the prior unity established during the 16-month administration.

The PML-N president said, “We will not let the people of Pakistan down.”

Although specifics were not disclosed, sources said that after agreeing to have its chief minister in Balochistan, governors in Punjab, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, chairman of the Senate, and president, PPP remained hesitant to join the administration.

The prime minister and speaker will be appointed by the PML-N, giving them total control over the federal government. Governors in the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan will also be appointed by it.

Additionally, the two agreed to share an equal number of cabinet seats in a coalition government to be formed in Balochistan.

In the meanwhile, the 71-year-old Khan’s party attacked the recently formed PPP, PML-N coalition as “PDM 2.0” in a post on X, using the hashtag #MandateThieves. The partnership was announced the day after the most recent round of negotiations between the two parties’ senior leaders came to an impasse on Monday, with neither side being able to agree on a formula for power-sharing to establish a coalition government.

Shehbaz predicted that the incoming government’s road ahead will be paved with numerous challenges and roadblocks rather than being simple. According to the Dawn newspaper, he said that the coalition partnership would address them collectively.

Former president Zardari (2008–2013) said that the nation and future generations are the reasons for the political alliance’s battle to form the next administration.

There have been many credible claims of extensive election tampering to change the outcomes, making the general elections on February 8 contentious.

Aleema Khan, Imran Khan’s sister, said that the PTI leader referred to the February 8 elections as the “mother of all rigging.”

On Tuesday, Aleema saw Imran Khan in Adiala Jail. After the elections, she told reporters, the people’s mandate was “stolen.” She said that Imran Khan, who alleged the internet service outage was a ploy to “hide the real results,” had harshly denounced it.