Imran Khan's political rivals PLM-N and PPP strike a deal to establish government in Pakistan's election

The political parties led by Nawaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto in Pakistan have come to an agreement to form a government. Bhutto's PPP has pledged to support Sharif's PLM-N in electing a prime minister following last week's election. The two parties had previously joined forces to remove Imran Khan from power in 2022. However, this time, Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) unexpectedly secured the most seats through independent candidates. This outcome left voters uncertain about which parties would form the next government. The PLM-N won 75 seats, while the PPP came in third with 54 seats. Other seats will be distributed among parties from the 70 reserved for women and non-Muslims, which are unavailable to independent candidates. Sharif is planning to nominate his brother, Shehbaz, for prime minister, as both brothers have previously held the position. Bhutto has stated that his party will support a PLM-N prime minister but will not hold any cabinet positions. Meanwhile, Imran Khan and his party continue to assert that the elections were rigged against them and intend to challenge the results.