ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president and leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif has proposed formation of a “national coalition” government for a five-year term with all the political parties minus Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) after success of the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Shehbaz also stated this during an interview with a private TV channel, which he has been negotiating with the coalition partners of the government, besides discussing the proposal within the joint opposition.

Sources privy to discussions both within the joint opposition and the ruling coalition partners, including Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), as well as within the joint opposition, maintained the PML-N president has been floating the idea of the “national coalition” government, as the party believes that no single party for a short-period would be able to steer the country out of the prevailing challenges.

PML-N secretary-general Ahsan Iqbal also confirmed this while talking to reporters earlier in the day who stated that the PML-N president has floated the idea of the national coalition government after success of the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Earlier in the day, Shehbaz along with Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and their respective parties’ delegation held consultations with the MQM-P after visiting the residence of MQM-P leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.

According to a statement issued by the MQM-P spokesperson, the meeting, which lasted for more than an hour, took place at MQM-P leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui’s residence and it was attended by PDM secretary-general Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, JUI-F’s Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, MQM-P leader and federal minister Aminul Haque, MQM-P senior leaders including Amir Khan, Khawaja Izharul Hassan, and others.

The spokesperson stated that the consultation process would continue and the party’s coordination committee would take a consensus decision with regard to the opposition’s no-confidence motion against the prime minister.

The meeting held at the invitation of the MQM-P leadership who had earlier on Tuesday visited Shehbaz’s residence where the MQM-P leaders had held detailed discussions with the opposition leaders including Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

After the consultations with the MQM-P on the demands which it had shared with the PDM leadership, the sources said that Shehbaz and Maulana Fazlur Rehman assured the MQM-P leadership that their demands would also be discussed with the PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari during their meeting on Wednesday night.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022