According to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Majlis-e-Wahdat-Muslimeen (MWM) would create governments in Punjab and the Center on orders from Imran Khan, the party’s founder.
PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan told the media in Islamabad on Tuesday that the former prime minister had instructed the party to form a coalition with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) over reserved seats, while ruling out the possibility of any talks with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P).
“He conveyed Khan’s message by saying that those who have won the [February 8] votes should be allowed to form the government as it is their right to do so.
“I have been given the mandate [by Khan] to approach all political parties to continue the party’s political struggle for democratic values with the exception of the PML-N, MQM-P and the PPP,” Hasan stated.
The selection of Amir Dogar as the party’s main whip in the National Assembly, the nomination of Ali Amin Gandapur as the chief minister for KP, and the holding of intra-party elections are among the other measures approved by the party founder, Hasan said.
His comments coincide with the fact that candidates supported by the PTI have become the largest group in the National Assembly, having won almost 90 seats. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), with 75 and 54 seats, respectively, are the next largest groups.
The PML-N and PPP are both trying to enlist independent candidates in order to bolster their parliamentary seats, which has made their role even more crucial given that no party was able to secure a simple majority.
The PTI’s move to collaborate with the MWM, which has only won one National Assembly seat, comes as its backed candidates in Punjab, who have won 116 provincial assembly seats, will have 72 hours after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announces their victory to affiliate with a political party.
To create the government in Punjab, the party will have to work with other parties and independent candidates. Currently, the PML-N leads with 137 seats.
پاکستان تحریک انصاف کے حمایت یافتہ کامیاب اراکین اسمبلی کی مجلس وحدت مسلمین میں شمولیت کے فیصلے پر خوش آمدید کہتے ہیں۔ مجلس وحدت مسلمین عمران خان کی اپنی جماعت ہے اور وہ اس جماعت کے حوالے سے جو چاہے فیصلہ کر سکتے ہیں ہم اسے بلامشروط اورمن و عن قبول کریں گے۔ہمارا روز اول سے یہ…
— Allama Raja Nasir (@AllamaRajaNasir) February 13, 2024
MWM chairman Allama Raja Nasir Abbas has welcomed the news and stated that the party will support the PTI founder’s decisions without any conditions.
PTI leader Barrister Gohar said in a separate statement that the party would declare its candidates by Thursday for the constitutional positions of KP’s chief minister, speaker, and deputy speaker of the National Assembly, as well as the prime ministership.
Since the party lost its election symbol “bat,” forcing its candidates to run independently, the JI’s decision to team up with them is primarily intended to secure the quota for reserved seats, which is awarded based on the seats each party secures. The JI lost two more KP seats, PK-20 and PK-21, to the PTI-backed candidates.
Earlier in the day, PTI-backed candidates “are welcome to form a government” if they can secure a majority in the lower house of parliament, according to PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, who was speaking at a press conference in the federal capital.
“We will accept them [PTI government] happily [however] If they fail to [form government] then we will use our constitutional and legal right,” Shehbaz stated, emphasizing that the party is prepared to sit on the opposition benches.
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