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  Imran Khan was removed from power in a no-confidence vote in 2022 Pakistan's recent elections were supposed to bring in a period of stability, badly needed to deal with crippling inflation and bitter political divides in the country, writes author and journalist Mohammed Hanif. Instead, they delivered a minority government - a shaky, reluctant coalition that looks unsure of its own mandate. Two weeks after the elections, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) led by Bilawal Bhutto announced that they would form a government but that the PPP wouldn't be part of it. The midnight announcement by the leaders of both parties was made in sombre tones and had the air of a shotgun wedding. Suddenly, Pakistan was that rare democracy where nobody really wanted to be the prime minister. The "establishment" - a euphemism used by local media for Pakistan's powerful military - has always believed that ge...

  PML-N kicks off discussion with PPP for formation of federal, provincial governments SLAMABAD/ LAHORE/SUKKUR: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif told his party leaders that former president Asif Zardari has demanded prime minister's slot for Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and major ministerial portfolios,  The News  reported citing sources. In a major development, the PPP has agreed to make a coalition government with the PML-N on the condition that Bilawal will be made the PM. Shehbaz told the party leaders that Zardari offered, in exchange, the PPP would support the PML-N to make its government in Punjab. The News  has learnt from the PML-N sources that former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif met former president Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal on Friday night and discussed the future coalition. Party sources said on Saturday the PML-N leaders had discussed different options for making the future governmen...

  The party of Imran Khan, the jailed former prime minister, took the most seats, humiliating the country’s military rulers and creating a political crisis. The party of the imprisoned former prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan , won the most seats in parliamentary elections this week, delivering a strong rebuke to the country’s powerful generals and throwing the political system into chaos. While military leaders had hoped the election would put an end to the political turmoil that has consumed the country since Mr. Khan’s ouster in 2022 , it has instead plunged it into an even deeper crisis, analysts said. Never before in the country’s history has a politician seen such success in an election without the backing of the generals — much less after facing their iron fist. In voting on Thursday, candidates from Mr. Khan’s party , Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or P.T.I., appeared to win about 97 seats in the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, the country’s election...