PESHAWAR, Feb 19: Provincial Minister for Health Syed Zahir Ali Shah said on Tuesday that the Awami National Party had not yet taken Pakistan People’s Party into confidence concerning caretaker setup and a meeting of the coalition partners will soon be convened to discuss the interim setup and related issues.

“Both the coalition partners will discuss the matters to develop consensus on interim setup in the province,” the minister told a media persons at Peshawar Press Club.

On this occasion, many political workers, led by a local ANP leader Faqir Mohammad and Inamullah Khan, resigned from their parties and joined the PPP.

The minister said that the coalition partners would give suggestions for formation of caretaker setup and efforts would be made to finalise names of non-controversial people because it was another important decision for the future of democracy in the country.

Flanked by PPP Peshawar city president Zulfiqar Afghani, activists and other workers, Mr Shah said that the PPP would prefer seat-to-seat adjustment instead of electoral alliance with other political parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said that the PPP had suffered heavily due to its alliance with the ANP in the province.

Keeping in view past problems, he said, the PPP would not go for electoral alliance with any political party in upcoming general election. He claimed that their party was strong enough to contest polls without any alliance.

Welcoming ANP activists into PPP fold, Mr Shah said that this was a fresh example of the fact that their party had roots in masses and its popularity graph was going up.

Opinion

Editorial

A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...
GB polls’ aftermath
Updated 11 Jun, 2026

GB polls’ aftermath

The new administration must address the region’s issues proactively.
Peace in retreat
11 Jun, 2026

Peace in retreat

THE ceasefire announced in April was supposed to create space for negotiations. Instead, it has been repeatedly...
A few good men
11 Jun, 2026

A few good men

IT was a brave move, no doubt. This Tuesday, in the land of the Afghan Taliban, a few good men decided to take a...