No Consensus Between PML-N And PPP On Government Formation

Islamabad [Pakistan] : No agreement has been reached in the latest round of talks between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) regarding the formation of a new government, hinting at the potential prolongation of negotiations until the constitutional deadline of February 29 for the first National Assembly session, reported Dawn.

As talks for the incoming coalition government continue, primarily due to the PPP's apparent reluctance, insiders revealed to Dawn that the party is facing pressure from various quarters, including within its ranks, to join the government. Another round of discussions is scheduled for Tuesday.

Following the February 8 polls, the PTI-backed independent candidates emerged as the largest bloc in the National Assembly with 93 seats, followed by the PML-N with 75 seats, while the PPP secured 54 seats. The PTI has stated its refusal to form alliances with both the PML-N and the PPP.

With a total of 336 seats in consideration (including reserved seats), a minimum of 169 seats is required to establish the new government and coalition-building efforts are underway, as per Dawn.

"Still eight to nine days are left in convening the session of the National Assembly," PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira said while talking on a private TV programme.

"The election of the prime minister will take place on March 2 or 3 so the two sides have ample time to reach a logical conclusion," he added.

Kaira said it was never a part of the agenda of the meeting that PPP would join the government in the Centre. "So far the PPP is sticking to its stance that it will not ask the PML-N for ministries," he added. "We sat only to streamline our mutual issues so that no deadlock will take place once the future government starts its function," the PPP leader said.

Sources told Dawn that some PPP leaders were supporting the idea of sharing the upcoming government with the PML-N and getting some federal ministries in return.

However, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is said to be opposed to the idea of power-sharing with the PML-N, and it is believed that he only agreed to support the PML-N to complete its numbers for the formation of the government.

A day earlier, the PPP chief had rejected the idea, saying he was not interested in such a deal. "I do not want to become such a prime minister," he had said in his address.

It may be noted that the PPP has sought a share in the Punjab cabinet, where the PML-N is in a comfortable position to form the provincial government. In addition to this demand, the PPP has also asked for the posts of the NA speaker, the president of Pakistan, and the Senate chairman.

Later, talking to reporters PML-N leader Azam Nazeer Tarar, who is a member of the party's committee said the negotiations between the PPP and PML-N were going positively.