Lahore: Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) on Tuesday announced electoral alliance for the upcoming general elections, scheduled to take place on February 8, 2024.
Members from both parties announced this in media talk after a delegation from MQM-P led by Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Farooq Sattar and Syed Mustafa Kamal met with the PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif in Lahore at the party's Model Town secretariat.
PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique while speaking to the media, said, "It had been decided that both parties will contest February 8 polls jointly".
“Our doors will remain open for other political parties as well and opportunity would be given to discuss matters in the larger national interest,” Rafique added.
In a statement issued on X (formerly known as twitter) following the meeting, the PML-N stated, “Both parties have agreed to adopt a joint strategy to bring the people of Pakistan out of the current crises and to put Pakistan back on the path of development. The two parties also decided to set up a six-member committee to prepare a comprehensive charter to address the problems of Sindh province, especially its urban areas. The committee will present the final proposals for cooperation between the two parties to the leadership within 10 days.”
During the press conference, MQM-P's Mustafa Kamal said that the two parties will work towards taking the economy back to the same position as it was in 2013. "Nawaz Sharif has the experience to deal with all sorts of problems," he said.
"Simply put, the state of the country right now is not good," said Kamal, adding that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cannot pull the country out of this crisis but Karachi can.
This development comes days after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and President Arif Alvi agreed on February 8, 2024, as the date for polls.
It is pertinent to mention that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) also recently announced that it was open to form an electoral alliance with the rival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to counter former ally PML-N.