ISLAMABAD, Feb 14 – Two of Pakistan’s main political parties ruled out any alliances Tuesday (Feb 13) after an indecisive election, raising the possibility of a minority government or weeks more of negotiation before a coalition is formed.
Candidates loyal to jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the most seats in Thursday’s election while running as independents, but Khan ruled out any alliance with his rivals.
The upset stopped the army-backed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) from securing a ruling majority, with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) – their main coalition partner in the previous government – in third place.
Speaking in Adiala Jail – where he has spent much of his time since his arrest in August – Khan accused both the PML-N and PPP of corruption.
“We will neither sit with the PML-N nor with the PPP,” he told a handful of reporters covering a procedural hearing at the prison outside the capital Islamabad.
There have been widespread allegations of vote-rigging and result manipulation after authorities switched off the country’s mobile phone network on election day and the count took more than 24 hours.
“We are going to challenge the election rigging in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and we will consider the alliance later,” said Khan, clutching a string of prayer beads.
The remarks are among the first Khan has made publicly since the poll five days ago returned a boon for his PTI party, despite it being effectively dismantled.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of the third-placed PPP, said on Tuesday his party wasn’t interested in a new alliance with the PML-N but would support any government formed by them on certain issues.
“We will support a political party without becoming part of the government,” Bhutto Zardari said.
“But we will support the votes of prime ministership, budget and legislation on an issue-to-issue basis,” he said.
Bhutto Zardari, the son of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and former president Asif Ali Zardari, said he would like to see his father become president again.
“And I am not saying this because he is my father. I am saying this because the country is in a huge crisis at the moment and if anyone has the capacity to douse this fire, it is Asif Ali Zardari,” he said.
