PTI claims having majority both in centre and Punjab

LAHORE: After the results of the General Election 2018, the ball seems to be in the court of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf as the party claimed on Monday that it has garnered enough members to form governments both in the centre and Punjab. 

According to PTI Spokesman Fawad Chaudhry, the National Assembly is of around 328-330 members, out of which the PTI currently enjoys support of 168 members, including women and minority seats.

In the Punjab Assembly, the PTI spokesman claimed that the party has 180 seats to form a government. The provincial assembly generally comprises 371 members, although this time it is expected to have 360 MPAs. 

The party spokesman said that with the aid of the coalition partners, the prime minister will be from the PTI.

Chaudhry further said that in Balochistan the PTI will form a coalition government, adding that the party has a two/third majority in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

"PTI will nominate CM Punjab and the decision will be taken by Imran Khan," Fawad shared.

Candidates from our alliances will be made part of the cabinet, he added.

Fawad Chaudhry said that the independent candidates also signed an affidavit, stating that they weren’t forced to join the PTI.

The affidavits will be submitted to the ECP, he added. 

Later in the day, a delegation of PML-Q arrived to meet PTI chief Imran Khan at his Bani Gala residence in the federal capital. 

In the meeting, PTI leaders Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Jahangir Tareen, Asad Umar, Naeem-ul-Haq and others were present.

The PTI said that seven PML-Q members and one independent (total eight) gave support to the party in Punjab, bringing the tally to 149 members in the province.

According to a PTI press statement, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain ensured complete support to Imran Khan. 

The PML-Q has also rendered support to the PTI in the National Assembly.

PTI leader Jahangir Tareen has left for Karachi to meet with Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leaders to gain its support. The MQM-P is pegged to give support of four of its members to the PTI. 

Fawad Chaudhry, earlier talking to Geo News, had said that four more candidates pledged alliance to the party today.

He had said that the party was in contact with other independent candidates in Punjab. 

PML-N contacts Chaudhry Nisar 

In a move that came as a surprise to spectators, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) contacted its former member Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan — who contested the election as an independent candidate. 

The veteran politician, a political heavyweight of Rawalpindi who has been a member of every National Assembly since 1985, lost both his NA seats — NA-59 and NA-60 — in the July 25 polls.

However, he was able to win a seat in the provincial assembly from PP-10 constituency. Nisar also contested the polls from PP-12, though he was unable to stand victorious from the constituency. 

According to information received from sources, Nisar had responded positively to PML-N leaders. 

With 13 independent candidates that the party claims have pledged support to PML-N, it now needs the support of only four more independent candidates to reach the minimum count — 148 — to form the government in Punjab. 

In a statement, PML-N leader Senate Mushahid Hussain said his party was positive that it will form the government in the province. "We have more members in the Punjab Assembly and it is our right to form the government here," he observed. 

The support of at least 148 members is required for a party to have its chief minister elected in the province. 

On Sunday, sources informed Geo News that PML-Q refused to extend its support to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to form the government in Punjab. 

With back-to-back joinings of independent candidates, PTI has emerged — at least on paper — as the largest party in terms of its share of seats in the assembly.