Pakistan’s two major political parties are engaged in tense negotiations to reach a power-sharing formula to form the next coalition government and are expected to hold the final round of talks today, Tuesday, in Islamabad, one of their representatives confirmed on Monday.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari-led Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) agreed in principle to form a coalition in the center after voters gave a split mandate in the February 8 national polls.
Both parties have constituted separate committees to negotiate the deal as the PPP has already announced it would vote for the PML-N candidate for the prime ministerial slot but would not become part of the federal cabinet.
However, the PPP has announced to field its candidates for some constitutional positions in and out the national parliament, such as the speaker, chairman Senate, governors and the president.
The five rounds of talks have so far remained inconclusive, though both sides have expressed willingness to reach a consensus before the first session of the newly elected parliament convenes by the end of the month.
“The negotiations are underway positively and another round of talks will be held in the morning [Tuesday],” Senator Azam Nazir Tarar, a PMLN representative in the negotiations, told reporters after the meeting on Monday.
