PPP open to seat adjustments, alliance

Party committee to arrange meetings with key political figures

ISLAMABAD:

In a bid to solidify its political footing, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has decided to deploy its negotiation team in discussions with various political parties for alliance or seat-to-seat adjustments ahead of the upcoming general elections.

The strategic move follows the strides made by the PML-N, prompting the PPP to proactively seek alliances to counter its rival's advancements.

The PPP finds itself confronted with unprecedented challenges, particularly in Sindh, its historical stronghold, especially after the formation of an anti-PPP coalition comprising five parties, PML-N, GDA, MQM, ANP, and JUIF.

In this regard, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Bukhari presided over an important meeting of the party’s negotiation committee, deliberating on the broader political landscape of the nation and the looming elections.

Bukhari, in the meeting, delegated responsibilities to committee members, tasking them with arranging meetings with key national and provincial political figures.

The committee collectively resolved to organise separate negotiation committee meetings for each of the four provinces, aiming to forge alliances and discuss potential collaborations.

The gathering saw the participation of central information secretary Faisal Karim Kundi alongside PPP K-P president Mohammad Ali Bacha, underscoring the significance of the discussions held during the session.

According to a notification released on Saturday, a five-member committee has been formed for Punjab and K-P which includes Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Faisal Karim Kundi, Muhammad Ali Shah Bacha and Sajid Toori.

A two-member committee for Sindh includes Saeed Ghani and Syed Nasir Hussain Shah while a three-member committee for Baluchistan includes Changez Khan Jamali, Rozi Khan Kakar and Sabir Ali Baloch.

These committees were constituted on orders of President PPPP Asif Ali Zardari. It is pertinent to mention that earlier, Faisal Karem Kundi, speaking to The Express Tribune, clarified that the party had no intentions of forming alliances with any political party.

Rather, their focus was on seat adjustments.

This approach meant seeking support from certain parties on particular seats while endorsing their own seats on others.

He mentioned the possibility of seeking support from them for national seats while extending support to them for provincial seats. Moreover, he emphasised that these discussions were not solely focused on pre-election seat adjustments and alliances as they anticipated the necessity of post-election collaboration.