“[We] “We will soon form our government with our allies,” says the PPP leader, highlighting that the party has “sufficient numbers.”
- Bugti highlights that the party has sufficient numbers in Balochistan.
- He says the PPP accepted the election results despite its reservations.
- Politico highlights unexpected losses suffered by its candidates.
ISLAMABAD: Amid prevailing political uncertainty over government formation at the Centre, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Sarfraz Bugti on Sunday asserted that the party would form its government in Balochistan with the support of the Muslim League of Pakistan-Nawaz (PML-N).
“The PML-N would be our ally in Balochistan [as it has] has given us a clear signal to form our government [in the province]” Bugti said during a press conference in Islamabad along with the party's parliamentary committee members Haji Malik Shah and Sardar Sarbuland Khan.
His comments come as the Bilawal Bhutto-led party is in pole position to form its government in the country's western province after bagging 11 seats in the 51-member provincial assembly, while the PML-N bagged 10 seats.
Despite engaging in a war of words in the run-up to the elections, both parties, which were previously close allies during the Pakistan Democratic Movement government, are on track to once again emerge as key political players following the announcement of the PPP to back the PML-N candidate for the post of prime minister after both parties failed to obtain a simple majority in the polls.
The political landscape in Pakistan has faced quite unusual uncertainty after none of the parties, including candidates affiliated with the PPP, PML-N and PTI, managed to secure a simple majority in the National Assembly in the general elections on 8 February.
All major political players have been trying to attract independent candidates and forge alliances to reach the required 169 seats in the 336-member lower house of parliament after candidates backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged as the most big by winning over 90 seats in NA, followed by the PML-N PPP's 75 and 54 seats respectively.
Bugti refrained from giving a precise timeline on the PPP's future strategy, stating that the party would “soon” finalize matters related to the government.
“[We] We will soon form our government with our allies,” he said, stressing that the party has enough members but has not yet decided who will be its candidate for the position of Prime Minister.
Commenting on the alleged fraud in the province during the February 8 elections, the PPP leader stressed that the party decided to accept the results in the interest of the country despite having reservations over several seats.
“Our candidates also suffered unexpected losses in several constituencies,” he noted.
His comments come as the Balochistan National Party (BNP), Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), National Party and Hazara Democratic Party are staging protests across Balochistan as part of their strike against alleged rigging in the elections. February 8th.
Several roads have been blocked in Balochistan as political parties hold protests over alleged fraud in the February 8 elections.
BNP and NP workers blocked the national highway at the station junction in Noshki.
The road has also been blocked by protesting workers in Qilla Saifullah.
In addition, the Mastung-Karachi, Quetta-Mach-Sibi, Qutta-Karachi and Quetta-Pishin-Chaman routes have also been blocked.
“[Both] The people and the political parties have rejected the [rigged] elections,” said BNP leader Ghulam Nabi, stressing that the strike over wheel jams would continue until 5 p.m.
