Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has chosen to sit in the opposition in Parliament while launching a countrywide protest against alleged rigging in the polls. The announcement has come after PTI’s efforts to form the next government failed.
In Pakistan, the major political parties have stepped up efforts to form a federal government after the February 8 polls showed a split verdict.
Interestingly, Imran Khan’s PTI party-backed independent candidates dominated the poll outcomes.
However, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) claimed to have sufficient numbers to form the government as some independents joined the Nawaz Sharif-led party after the elections.
On Friday, PTI leader Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif declared that following the instructions of PTI founder Khan, the party has chosen to sit in the opposition both at the Centre and in the key province of Punjab.
The announcement came a day after the PTI had named Umar Ayub Khan as its candidate for the prime minister and Aslam Iqbal as chief minister for Punjab.
The PTI argued that at least 85 seats won by it in Parliament were snatched in the “biggest voter fraud” in Pakistan’s history. On Saturday, it announced plans to hold “peaceful” protests in the entire country against alleged rigging in the national elections.