Islamabad:

Amid speculation over political rhetoric in Pakistan after the elections, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the party has not yet had any formal discussions with either the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz or the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. dialogue.

Speaking to Geo News, Mr Bilawal admitted that his party would not be able to form the government on its own.

Asked whether he or his father Asif Zardari met Muslim League chief Shehbaz Sharif, Mr Bilawal said: “I cannot confirm any such meeting. When all is said and done, We will be able to relate to others when they are in our presence.”

The former foreign minister also clarified that no independent candidate from the PTI group has contacted him or any BJP leader so far.

“We are in touch with some independent parties but so far no independent party from the PTI group has contacted us,” he said.

He further asserted that the federal, Punjab and Balochistan governments could not be formed without the PPP.

He told Geo News that the PPP was represented in all provinces, adding that it was too early to say who would form the government.

“We don’t know the full count and no independents have announced their decision,” Bilawal added. “No government can solve the public’s problems without addressing the political toxicity.”

He also said that it would be beneficial to the country if all parties reached a “political consensus.”

Bilawal concluded: “The central executive committee of the BJP has appointed me as the prime ministerial candidate, but if we have to change this, another meeting will need to be held and we will decide how to move forward.”

According to unofficial provisional results reported by Geo News, independent candidates backed mainly by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are leading in 92 seats out of 255 out of 265 seats, followed by PML-N and PPP, received 73 seats and 54 respectively.

Provisional results released by the Election Commission of Pakistan showed that the Independent Party led with 91 seats, followed by the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and the People’s Party (PPP) with 71 and 54 seats respectively.

Earlier, former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif met PPP leader Asif Ali at the residence of Punjab caretaker chief minister Mohsin Naqvi late on Friday night, Dawn reported quoting sources Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif said in his speech on Friday that he has tasked his brother and former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif to forge an alliance with major political parties including PPP, MQM-P.

It is worth noting that after Imran Khan steps down in April 2022, the two main parties in Pakistan’s ruling coalition are the Pakistan Muslim League and the Pakistan People’s Party. But in the fierce campaign, the two parties are at war with each other. However, as vote counting draws to a close, no party has secured a majority, necessitating the formation of a coalition.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)