Nawaz Nominates Shehbaz As PML-N's Candidate For PM's Slot

Several parties including Nawaz Sharif-led PML-N and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have announced the formation of a coalition government in Pakistan. It was these parties that ousted the Imran Khan government two years ago and formed a coalition government led by PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif. PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari announced the formation of a new coalition government at a joint press conference after the meeting of the leaders of the parties in Islamabad on Tuesday night. At this time, Shahbaz Sharif also said the same thing.

This new government will also be headed by Shahbaz Sharif. Nawaz Sharif has been talked about as a PML-N candidate for so long. Last night, Nawaz suddenly announced the nomination of his younger brother Shahbaz as the prime ministerial candidate. At the same time, he announced the name of the party's senior vice president and daughter Maryam Nawaz as the chief ministerial candidate of the Punjab Provincial Council.

Last Thursday, elections were held simultaneously in the national and four provincial assemblies in Pakistan. Out of 266 seats in the National Assembly, 265 seats are polled. No party got an absolute majority in it. In the National Assembly, Imran Khan-backed independents won 92 seats, Nawaz Sharif's PML-N 75 and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's PPP 54. Other parties got the rest of the seats.

Pakistan needs at least 134 seats in the National Assembly to form a government. For this, the PML-N leaders had been negotiating with the leaders of PPP and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), which won 17 seats in the National Assembly, to form a coalition government.

Leaders of the two parties held a meeting at the residence of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Lahore last Sunday. After the meeting, the two parties said that they have reached a consensus for political stability in Pakistan. However, there was a discussion about who will be the prime minister of the coalition government. Bilawal was wanted for the post of Prime Minister by PPP.

PPP central committee meeting was held on these issues last Monday and yesterday. Bilawal said in a press conference yesterday that he is withdrawing himself from the candidature for the post of Prime Minister of Pakistan. They will support PML-N's prime ministerial candidate at the center but will not be in the government. They do not want to be in the cabinet at the center._Agencies