Pakistan's rival parties agree to form government to shut out Khan's PTI

A coalition of parties including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People's party (PPP) have agreed to form the next government, ensuring the former prime minister Imran Khan's party will not take power despite getting the most votes in last week's election.

- Hannah Ellis-Peterse

At a press conference in Islamabad yesterday, it was confirmed that the rival parties had agreed, along with two smaller coalition partners, to form a joint government "to take Pakistan out of difficulty" and that the PLM-N president, Shehbaz Sharif, would be their sole nominee for prime minister.

The announcement followed days of wrangling and political horse-trading after the election dramatically delivered the most votes to former prime minister Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) despite military opposition and a state-led crackdown on the party, but not enough to give it the majority.

It had been expected that the election would deliver an easy victory to the PML-N and its leader, Nawaz Sharif after he was given the tacit backing of Pakistan's powerful military. However, a landslide of support gave the PTI the most parliamentary seats in what was seen as a humiliation for the former prime minister.

The PTI had pledged to form a government but faced numerous obstacles, including its candidates being forced to run as independents and Khan, its leader and choice for prime minister, currently serving more than 10 years in jail. The party has also alleged that widespread rigging of the election deprived them of dozens of parliamentary seats. In a message from prison yesterday, Khan warned other parties "against the misadventure of forming a government with stolen votes".