Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday announced his party has agreed to a seat adjustment formula with the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) for the upcoming general elections, adding neither party wanted to make the results controversial.
Speaking with media after a meeting with PMLN leader Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad, Fazl said the two parties had decided to contest elections together and maintain an alliance in “future” as well, indicating a coalition in the next National Assembly.
Recalling that the JUIF and PMLN had previously united against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), he said both parties had “mature politicians” as leaders. “We will not make the upcoming election controversial; we will move forward together with the PMLN,” he added. While the JUIF chief did not clarify whether the electoral alliance would be nationwide, PMLN Punjab President Rana Sanaullah told reporters in Lahore the party was seeking seat adjustments with the JUIF in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
However, PMLN Senator Irfan Siddiqui—who is also on the committee devising the party manifesto—urged caution, saying it was premature to say seat adjustments were agreed to. “Mian Sahib recently returned to the country and wants to meet all allies of the past and even those which were not part of any alliance,” he said, acknowledging that the JUIF and PMLN had enjoyed good ties and hoped to expand them.
The JUIF-PMLN meeting came as Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari continued his tour of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where he has been addressing workers’ conventions in various cities. In an address in Upper Dir, he continued his criticism of erstwhile ally PMLN, blaming it for rampant inflation—even though he and his party were also part of the ruling coalition that failed to curb inflationary pressures.
Lamenting political polarization, Bhutto-Zardari appeared to encourage it by accusing “politicians of Lahore” for creating problems for Pakistan. “We are not aware of what our traditional politicians intend to do, but their politics is harming the people. We have to leave this politics behind if we are to solve the problems of the people, so that we can unitedly combat poverty, militancy and all other crises,” he added.