Imran Khan to be sworn in as Pakistan PM before August 14, says his party

Imran Khan will be sworn in as Pakistans new Prime Minister before the countrys Independence Day on August 14 his party has announced as it is trying to reach out to smaller parties and independents to form the next government The Pakistan TehreekiInsaf PTI led by 65yearold Khan has emerged as the single largest party in the National Assembly NA after the July 25 elections but it is still short of numbers to form the government on its ownPTI leader Naeenul Haq told media last night that consultations are on to complete the number game We have done our homework and he will take oath as Prime Minister before August 14 Haq said According to the results announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan ECP the PTI has won 116 seatsJailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharifs Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz PMLN with 64 seats and former president Asif Ali Zardaris Pakistan Peoples Party PPP with 43 seats are placed at number two and three respectively it said Pakistans NA the lower house of Parliament comprises a total of 342 members of which 272 are directly elected A party needs 172 seats to form the governmentMeanwhile the claims of voterigging also gatherd steam in Pakistan as five empty ballot boxes and over a dozen papers have been found by the roadside in Karachi and Sialkot raising suspicion over the poll bodys claims of having conducted free and fair general electionsPolitical activities are at full swing and parties are holding open meetings and secret parleys to arrange the political chessboardPakistans two major parties the PPP and the PMLN are expected to meet in a couple of days to devise a joint strategy in a bid to give a tough time to the PTI in Parliament Dawn news reported The Pakistani electronic media yesterday kept on mentioning names of possible candidates for key government offices and possible members of the federal cabinetThe PTI leaders who have won more than one seat will have to vacate additional seats as the law allows an individual to retain only one seat PTI chairman Khan has won five seats and he will have to vacate four seats Ghulam Sarwar Khan of Taxila has also won two NA seats by defeating former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and he will also have to vacate one seatFormer chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak has won both NA and provincial assembly seats If the PTI decides to nominate him again for the office of the chief minister he will also have to vacate the NA seat which means that the partys seats will be reduced to 109It was after these calculations that the PTI leadership has now decided to reach out to other smaller groups and independents since the party has already declared that it will not join hands with the PPP and the PMLN the daily said The Dawn reported that former secretary general of the PTI Jahangir Tareen had established contacts with independents and the Muttahida Qaumi MovementPakistan MQMP which has won six seats Thirteen independents have also wonIf the PTI obtains support of the GDA MQMP PMLQ and the Awami Muslim League the number of its seats will become 122 Other parties which will have representation in the NA are the Balochistan National PartyMengal BNPM with three members and Jamhoori Watan Party Awami National Party and Pakistan TehreekiInsaniyat with one seat eachThough the PPP and the PMLN have also rejected the elections results sources in the two parties told Dawn that they would not support the Muttahida MajlisiAmal MMAs call for boycotting the oathtaking session of the National Assembly We have decided to play the role of an aggressive opposition in parliament said a senior PMLN leader who had participated in the MMAconvened multiparty conference in Islamabad on FridayA senior leader of the PPP said so far they had not finalised any strategy for the elections of key parliamentary offices PPP chairman Bilawal BhuttoZardari yesterday formed a committee to engage with political parties to discuss the way forward in the postpoll scenario The sources said contact had been established between the PPP and the PMLN and the leaders of the two sides were expected to hold a meeting in a few daysAlso Read Imran Khan Begins Coalition TalksCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever