Former PM Shehbaz Sharif set to head new Pakistan coalition government

Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Following elections with no clear winner, two of Pakistan's main political parties reached a deal to form a coalition government, shutting out the populist party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's third-placed Pakistan People's Party said late Tuesday it would back three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League, which won 79 seats, to elect a new prime minister.

In an all-family affair, Sharif nominated his brother Shehbaz Sharif for prime minister and daughter Maryam Nawaz for the post of chief minister in the Sharif heartland of Punjab, the PML-N said in a post on X.

Shehbaz Sharif replaced Khan as prime minister after he was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 and served until August 2023. Prior to becoming an MP in 2018, he served 21 years as the Chief Minister of Punjab, the country's most populous province.

PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari said his party joined forces with the PMLN in the interests of the nation.

"It is not necessary that [we fight] forever," Zadari told a news conference.

The PML-N, which won 79 seats, said in a statement that the parties had agreed to work together in the interests of political stability.

The coalition will also include a number of smaller parties but exclude 93 independent MPs, most of whom are affiliated with Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party which alleges widespread irregularities in the Feb. 8 ballot robbed it of a parliamentary majority.

Selection of cabinet posts and other senior positions has yet to be decided and could be a drawn-out process of horse-trading that will not be finalized for days or weeks.

Maryam Nawaz, PML-N's senior vice president, moved Wednesday to dispel talk that by stepping back from the top job her father was bowing out from politics, making it clear he would be the real force behind the new administration.

She said Nawaz Sharif, who was the favorite to become prime minister, would be "actively involved" in politics for the five-year term of the new government and would supervise PML-N regional governments in Punjab and across the country.

"If it is being deduced that Nawaz Sharif is avoiding politics by not accepting the post of prime minister, then there is no truth in it," she wrote in a post on X.

"In the next five years, he will not only do vigorous politics, but will patronize his governments in the Federation and Punjab. The people gave him clear majorities three times and he has made it clear in his election speeches that he will not be a part of any coalition government.

"Shehbaz Sharif and I are his soldiers, bound by his orders and will work under his leadership and supervision," she said.