The single-largest bloc was made up of independents supported by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which was not allowed to run for office. However, because they are not associated with any party, they were unable to claim government formation.
Khan, who maintains that he was not given the option to form an alliance with any of the other two parties, has stated that he believes the election was rigged against him. Pakistan’s election history is tainted by widespread pre-election manipulation. However, this may be the first time since 1977 that claims of widespread vote-rigging during the counting have tarnished an already dubious procedure intended to secure a win for PML(N) candidate Nawaz Sharif.
Source: Al Jazeera
It is thought that Sharif’s personal victories in two constituencies were dubious. He may have realised that leading a government established on the basis of such a dubious victory would be a black mark on his record, which is why he nominated his brother Shehbaz Sharif to be prime minister.
The latter served in a PML(N)-PPP coalition government following the overthrow of Khan’s government in 2022. However, given their growing differences, notably regarding economic revival, it would be unusual if the PML (N)-PPP partnership, along with a few other independents, could last longer than a few months.
Source: Al Jazeera English
There won’t be much leeway for any significant economic policy implementation, let alone any rapprochement with India that a Nawaz Sharif-led government was expected to undertake, given the PPP’s internal opposition, PTI-backed independents on the opposition benches in parliament, and probably street protests against a “stolen election”. The scenario is a double-edged sword for the Army.
The broken mandate won’t help the nation’s economy, but it might provide Pakistan Army leader Gen. Asim Munir has more authority over political players. If independents backed by the PTI are successful in forming the government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the security situation is also unlikely to improve and might even get worse. There are signs of general unrest in Pakistan, which is bad news for India. Delhi needs to be completely aware of the threats.
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