LAHORE – The coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to complete its tenure, representatives of the ruling coalition announced after a meeting in the Punjab capital on Tuesday.
A landslide victory of ousted prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the Punjab by-elections has stripped Prime Minister Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of power in Punjab, paving the way for removal of Sharif’s son Hamza Shahbaz as chief minister of the largest province of Pakistan in terms of population.
The defeat of the PML-N, which is belived to have the support of the 10 political parties as well as the country’s military establishment, left the ruling party reeling from political failure.
As a result, calls for Sharif’s resignation gained momentum.
Representatives of the ruling coalition said that results of the by-elections in Punjab “are not at all a barometer of popularity for any party”.
The PTI gave the PML-N a drubbing in Sunday’s by-elections, winning at least 15 of the 20 seats. These seats were vacated by the defecting PTI lawmakers who voted for Hamza Shahbaz in the Punjab chief minister’s election.
Since announcement of by-poll results, the PTI has renewed its demand for snap general elections.
The coalition allies, however, announced their intention to complete their tenure in a press conference. PML-N’s Khawaja Saad Rafique, JUI-F’s Akram Khan Durrani, ANP’s Mian Iftikhar and North Waziristan lawmaker Mohsin Dawar took turns speaking at the press conference.
The presser was attended by the top leadership of the coalition allies, including PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari, PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, JWP leader Shahzain Bugti, MQM-P’s Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and a number of other leaders.
In a video shared on social media, PM Sharif can be seen interacting with the leaders, who were all recorded smiling.
