‘PPP wants premiership’

The PPP is open to a coalition government with the PML-N, if it gets the coveted position of premiership, a source within the party told The Express Tribune on Saturday.

Though, the PPP party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari who is party’s pick for the post of prime minister. However, the source said that the party could revisit this decision but it would unlikely to favour Nawaz Sharif.

As the PML-N was expeditiously trying to cobble up alliances with the PPP and the MQM-P to form a coalition government at the Center and in other provinces, the PPP seemed to be taking a more cautious approach.

Bilawal on Saturday appeared on different TV screen to declare that party was waiting for the complete results to be declared, before taking its move. This position was in line with what several sources were revealing earlier that PPP was more interested in exploring all options before taking its decision.

They revealed PPP wanted to garner support of as many independent candidates as possible to consolidate its position.

Another source insisted that the PPP was not too keen on the idea of giving the premiership to PML-N. He said that PPP would want to see Bilawal as the next prime minister but given the acceptability issue with powerful quarters, the party has former president Asif Ali Zardari for this slot.

He said that giving up the premiership, was not something that the PPP wanted.

Asked about the meeting between Zardari and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, he added that this meeting at caretaker chief minister’s residence was “not purely out of free will”. He said that there were powers at play and the PPP was trying to navigate its way through landmines.

The second source said that the idea of presidency or the governorship was not enticing for the PPP as some might think. “The PPP wants to lead from the front,” he said. In case, the PML-N did not offer this position to the PPP,” he said, then, according to his understanding “even if all other options do not pan out”, PPP should sit on the opposition benches.

Party information secretary and spokesperson were not available for comments.