Lawyers see a hung parliament

Majority of the legal fraternity on Saturday was of the view that next parliament will likely be 'hung' due to unexpected results of the general elections in the country. Talking to the Business Recorder, senior advocate of the apex court, Abid Hassan Manto, said that it appears that parliament will be hung and there would be no other option but to form coalition government.
Manto cited the recent turnout in the elections as tremendous, saying that first time in the history of Pakistan a large number of people have come out to vote. Vice Chairman of Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Qalb-e-Hassan said that nobody would get majority or required seats to form government independently as a result of the current general election so there would be a hung parliament.
Hassan expressed grave concern over the Karachi situation, where some political parties boycotted the elections which he said harmed the expression of free and fair elections in the metropolis. He opined that PTI will get maximum 50 to 70 seats. Hassan asserted that nothing would change because coalition government like the previous one will be formed again on the formula of accommodating each other.
Former presidents of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Asma Jahangir and Yasin Azad said that a single party, PML-N, will be able to form the next government. Raja Ibrahim Satti, one of the counsel for former president Pervez Musharraf in treason case, was of the view that there would be total upset in the results of the current election because people wanted to break the status quo.
Former vice president of the SCBA Ikram Chaudhry said that voters were keen to see a change in term of infrastructure and social development who overwhelmingly participated in the voting process increasing the turnout. Chaudhry said, "I foresee a coalition government of PML-N but definitely with a difficult combination wherein more than two or three parties will have to be together along with some of the independent elected candidate the proposition seems to be still very complex."
Former Chairman Senate and senior advocate of the apex court Wasim Sajjad said although it seems difficult to predict that which party will form the government it is understandable that there will be a coalition government in the center. Former Attorney General for Pakistan Shah Khawar told this correspondent that nothing could be said with certainty at this stage but he was confident to express that current trend shows that in urban vicinities of the KPK and Punjab and even in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) voters have favoured the PTI. He further said that results from the rural areas of the Punjab and KPK will make some difference because feudalism still exist. Shah Khawar added that as far as the province of Sindh is concerned the PPPP and MQM will retain their position with the little difference as compared to past.