The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan People’s Party announced this week they will lead a six-party coalition to secure a majority of seats in the National Assembly.

The coalition has nominated the caretaker Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to be the country’s next prime minister. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan jailed for corruption and leaking state secrets described the alliance as “mandate thieves.” Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, won the most seats in last week’s general election but failed to garner a majority.

To discuss:

• Senator and Barrister Syed Ali Zafar is a member of Pakistan’s Senate and the former Federal Minister of Law and Justice.
• Javaid Ur-Rahman is an investigative journalist and Parliamentary journalist with The Nation.
• Saeed Khan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Near East and Asian Studies at Wayne State University.
• Mosharraf Zaidi is the CEO and Founder of the policy think-tank Tabadlab and former Principal Policy Adviser for Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Pakistan: coalition agrees to form government and shut out Imran Khan’s party https://t.co/9uV8hDIYap

— The Guardian (@guardian) February 13, 2024

Pakistan's PMLN and the PPP will head a six-party coalition with a strong majority, although the PTI accuses them of mandate theft https://t.co/H3qlPNKdNv pic.twitter.com/Gdy98NlC5Y

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) February 14, 2024