Pakistan: coalition agrees to form government and shut out Imran Khan’s party

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

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

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party hit out at the coalition, calling them “mandate thieves”.

The announcement followed days of wrangling and political horse-trading after Pakistan’s election last week dramatically delivered the most votes – but not enough for a majority – to PTI, despite military opposition and a state-led crackdown.

Related: Election turmoil leaves Pakistan with a weak and unpopular coalition

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

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, serving multiple jail sentences of more than 10 years.

The party has also alleged that widespread rigging of the election deprived them of dozens of parliamentary seats. In a message from prison on Tuesday, Khan had warned other parties “against the misadventure of forming a government with stolen votes”.

At the press conference, it was confirmed that Nawaz Sharif’s younger brother Shehbaz Sharif, who previously served as prime minister for 16 months between 2022 and 2023, would once again take up the role, as he is being nominated by the coalition uncontested.

Asif Ali Zardari, the PPP co-chair, told reporters: “Looking at everything, we have thought and decided to sit together. We have contested elections against each other but despite that, it is not necessary for ever. Opposition happens in elections. It was electioneering opposition, not ideological opposition.”

Zardari will be the nominee for the role of president, but the PPP said they would not be taking any ministries in the coalition government, which will be occupied by PML-N figures and smaller coalition parties.

It is understood that Bilawal Bhutto, Zardari’s son and co-chair of the PPP, was resistant to the party being too closely aligned with the coalition government, given the widespread support for PTI among the masses and the unpopularity of PML-N.

Shehbaz Sharif said he was “thankful to Zardari and Bilawal that they decided for their party to vote for the PML-N”, and added: “Today we have united to tell the nation that we all accept the split mandate.”

The coalition is similar to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), which came together in 2020 with a singular purpose of ousting Khan from office. After Khan was removed from power in April 2022, the coalition ruled with Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister, but it was largely unpopular because of its failure to bring the country’s economic crisis under control.

Shehbaz Sharif pledged “revolutionary steps” to bring the country out of its economic crisis. Nonetheless, the new coalition government will take power under a cloud of public distrust and questions of legitimacy, given the high numbers who turned out to vote for Khan and PTI and against parties that were seen as having enabled military interference in politics.

PTI and other smaller parties have accused PML-N and PPP candidates of benefiting from alleged rampant vote-rigging and electoral interference, which had drawn condemnation from the US, UK and EU. More than a dozen cases have been taken to the courts to challenge results given to both parties. The electoral commission has denied any irregularities in the polls.

The coalition also reaffirmed the continued dominance of Pakistan’s two most powerful dynasties – the Bhuttos and the Sharifs – over the country’s politics. Nawaz Sharif’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz, was announced as the chief minister of Punjab province, a key political position.

PTI’s leadership pledged that the party’s candidates would form the opposition if they were not invited to form the government, making it clear they would refuse any offer of a coalition from PML-N or PPP. In addition to Khan, dozens of PTI’s senior leadership figures are behind bars in cases they allege are politically motivated.

Zardari called on PTI to join in a “reconciliation”, adding: “It should, and every other political force should, come and talk with us. Our economic and defence agenda should be common.”