Pakistan's Bhutto backs Sharif minority government
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Tuesday indicated it would support former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's party to form a minority government, seeking to end a stalemate after inconclusive elections. But the conditions to join forces did not bode well for a stable or strong administration in the country, especially with PPP saying it would not join the government. The indication of support from PPP's former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of assassinated former premier Benazir Bhutto, came five days after the February 8 vote gave a split verdict and sparked worries of fresh instability. Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is the largest recognised party with 80 seats and PPP is second with 54. Together, they have enough for a simple majority in the 264-seat legislature. Independent candidates backed by jailed former premier Imran Khan have won 92 seats, making them the largest group, but they cannot form a government on their own, having run as individuals and not a party, and have ruled out alliances with PML-N or PPP. Bhutto Zardari said Khan's independents and PML-N had more numbers than his party but Khan had ruled out joining forces with PPP. "That leaves us with the PML-N which is the only political party in the National Assembly which has reached out to the PPP and invited us to join their government," he told reporters. PPP does not want a perpetual economic crisis or a fresh election leading to a political crisis in Pakistan, Bhutto Zardari said. His party's support of PML-N from the outside without joining the federal government would make for a weak government. Still, Bhutto Zardari was keen that his father Asif Ali Zardari be president again. TV channel Geo News also cited PPP sources as saying the party wanted its appointees to take the governor post in all four provinces. Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has alleged that the vote was rigged and vowed to legally challenge some results. The caretaker government and election commission have rejected those accusations. (Reuters)