Islamabad, Feb 14 (EFE).- Nawaz Sharif, a key contender in the race for Pakistan’s next prime minister ahead of the general elections, has decided to step aside, potentially paving the way for his younger brother to assume the top post in the crisis-ridden country.
The three-time former prime minister’s move is expected to end a stalemate over government formation in the nuclear-powered country of 241 million people, facing mounting challenges of insurgency, economic uncertainty, and erosion of fledgling democratic institutions.
The crisis worsened as Pakistan plunged into a political stalemate after the Feb. 8 elections resulted in a fractured mandate, with no party securing the necessary 133 parliamentary seats out of the 266 elected members.
Jailed leader Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) did not participate in the elections as a party due to restrictions but supported independent candidates who secured approximately 90 seats in the lower house of parliament.
The PTI-backed independents have won more seats than Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), which secured 75 seats, and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 54 seats, led by former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.
As political parties struggle to form a new government, intense negotiations are ongoing to forge a coalition and break the deadlock.
There is a possibility that the PML-N, PPP, and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM), which has 17 seats, could form a ruling coalition with Nawaz’s younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif, as its potential compromise candidate for prime minister.
“The leader of Pakistan Muslim League-N, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, has nominated Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif for the post of prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” party spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb wrote on X.
However, Aurangzeb did not specify whether the younger Sharif was a joint candidate for the potential political alliance of the PML-N with the PPP and the MQM, whose combined figures could comfortably surpass the halfway mark.
Bhutto-Zardari, who is the descendant of a political dynasty, has said his party would not join any coalition government but would support an outside candidate for prime minister to end the deadlock and prevent further crises.
Shehbaz Sharif previously led the Pakistani government after Imran Khan was ousted in a parliamentary vote supported by the PML-N and PPP.
The PTI has ruled out any coalition formation with either the PML-N, PPP, or MQM, accusing them of undermining the democratic process with tacit military support.
Khan’s party has also accused Pakistan’s election body of rigging the polls to favor the PML-N, alleging that its supported independent candidates won more seats than announced in an alleged manipulated outcome, leading the party to challenge the results in over 100 provincial and central constituencies.
“Pakistan is being put on the road to further destabilisation. The decision to induct a bunch of criminals to form governments, who have been rejected by the people, reflects a myopic view of the grave challenges the country is beset with,” PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan wrote on X.
Hasan said the mandate given by people to Imran Khan and his party “has been stolen in the dark of the night.”
“This is striking at the very essence of democratic principles and norms.”
The PTI was effectively prevented from contesting the elections after the top court stripped it of its cricket bat election symbol. To bypass the restrictions, the party fielded independent candidates in the polls. EFE
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