Pak Army chief backs ex-PM Nawaz Sharif’s call to form coalition govt

Islamabad/ Lahore: Pakistan’s powerful army chief Gen Asim Munir on Saturday urged the country’s polarised political leadership to form a “unified government of all democratic forces”, as he backed ex-premier Nawaz Sharif’s plea to his rivals to help form a coalition government after the general elections appear to have produced a hung Parliament.

Efforts to form a unity government gained momentum after the three-time former prime minister Sharif, who seems to enjoy the backing of the Pakistan Army, on Friday appealed to other political parties to join hands to pull cash-strapped Pakistan out of its current difficulties.

Springing a surprise, independents backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party won the lion’s share of 100 seats in the National Assembly in Thursday’s election. Khan’s party has already claimed victory in the elections.

The group was followed by Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 73 seats, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 54, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) with 17 and 11 other seats going to smaller parties, as the result of 255 seats out of 265 was announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan.