After successful elections of the National Assembly speaker, deputy speaker and prime minister, the PPP and the PML-N — the two major partners in the eight-party ruling alliance — are now busy finalising their strategy for the upcoming presidential election.

In this connection, a delegation comprising representatives of both parties met the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leaders in Islamabad late on Monday night to seek its support for the joint candidate of the ruling coalition, Asif Ali Zardari.

While agreeing to support the government’s candidates for the offices of NA speaker, deputy speaker and prime minister, the MQM-P had refused to give its commitment to vote for the nominee for president, Mr Zardari, due to some political differences with the PPP.

Sources said a misunderstanding between the two parties was created when the MQM came to know about the reports that while discussing the power-sharing formula, the PPP had asked the PML-N leadership not to include the MQM-P in the ruling coalition when they already had the required numbers to form the government at the Centre.

However, the sources said, the MQM-P has sought more time on the issue of presidential election, vowing to come up with a decision after a thorough discussion on it in a meeting of the party’s coordination committee.

Read more here.

 PM Shehbaz Sharif meets former president Asif Ali Zardari, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah at PM House in Islamabad.—White Star
PM Shehbaz Sharif meets former president Asif Ali Zardari, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah at PM House in Islamabad.—White Star

Opinion

Editorial

Anti-women state
Updated 25 Nov, 2024

Anti-women state

GLOBALLY, women are tormented by the worst tools of exploitation: rape, sexual abuse, GBV, IPV, and more are among...
IT sector concerns
25 Nov, 2024

IT sector concerns

PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ambitious plan to increase Pakistan’s IT exports from $3.2bn to $25bn in the ...
Israel’s war crimes
25 Nov, 2024

Israel’s war crimes

WHILE some powerful states are shielding Israel from censure, the court of global opinion is quite clear: there is...
Short-changed?
Updated 24 Nov, 2024

Short-changed?

As nations continue to argue, the international community must recognise that climate finance is not merely about numbers.
Overblown ‘threat’
24 Nov, 2024

Overblown ‘threat’

ON the eve of the PTI’s ‘do or die’ protest in the federal capital, there seemed to be little evidence of the...
Exclusive politics
24 Nov, 2024

Exclusive politics

THERE has been a gradual erasure of the voices of most marginalised groups from Pakistan’s mainstream political...