PML-N senior leader Khawaja Saad Rafique on Saturday asked the PTI-backed independents and the PPP to jointly form a government in Centre, as the fractured mandate continues fuelling and sustaining political uncertainty in Pakistan. “No one has absolute majority in the present National Assembly,” said Saad Rafique in a post shared on X – the popular social media platform which was previously known as X. Countering the narrative spread by political pundits who have been singling out the Nawaz Sharif’s party for leading the country’s affairs after the Feb 8 elections, he said the formation of the federal government was a joint responsibility of all the parties in the parliament, not the PML-N. “Independent members supported by PTI should take the initiative, form a joint central government with the PPP. We will congratulate you,” he said, adding that the PML N had no desire to wear “this crown of thorns”. Earlier on Friday, it was reported that most of the party leaders during a meeting chaired by three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif suggested that the PML-N should not form the federal government and only focus on Punjab where they had secured a majority after the induction of independents.

However, some of them argued otherwise, saying Pakistan was facing serious economic crisis and there was a need to rescue the state. Speaking on the occasion, Nawaz said the PML-N must not accept any unprincipled demand forwarded by allied parties just for the sake of coming into power in Centre. It isn’t Saad Rafique, as Rana Sanaullah, who is a close aide of Nawaz and heads the Punjab chapter of PML-N, told a private TV channel that the PML-N should not form the federal government and sit on the opposition benches. One must recall that Nawaz has already refused to lead the next government and nominated his younger brother Shehhaz Sharif as the prime minister candidate as he didn’t want a split mandate and was aiming at a simple majority. In this this connection, Maryam Nawaz – the PML-N chief organiser – too had earlier explained the reasons behind Nawaz not leading the government this time round which would have given him the unmatched distinction of serving Pakistan for fourth time. Maryam said the people had given a clear majority to Nawaz for his previous three stints as prime minister. “He has made it clear in his speeches during election campaign that he would not become part of any coalition government,” she added.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)