Even though the opposition parties have decided to contest Senate election on a joint platform, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Azad Kashmir chapter, has refused to enter an alliance with its “main rival” — the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) — ahead of the elections in Kashmir.
According to reports, the local PPP leadership has said that the PML-N is its main opponent in the region and it was not possible to field candidates under the banner of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) — a 10-party anti-government alliance — due to the very same reason.
Geo News reported that the PPP leaders gave this answer after PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari sought recommendations from PPP Azad Kashmir on the upcoming elections.
“PPP Azad Kashmir’s stance is that how can the party contest the elections jointly with the PML-N when it is its main rival there?” the media outlet reported.
The PPP, however, said there was a possibility of entering an alliance with the PML-N on 12 out of 33 total seats.
The central leadership of the party will make a final decision in this regard.
Last week, after a six-hour-long meeting, PDM President Maulana Fazlur Rehman had announced that the opposition parties will contest the upcoming Senate elections on a joint platform.
He had said that the parties decided to contest the Senate elections together and would not go against each other’s candidates. “Our candidates will be jointly decided,” he had told reporters after the meeting.
The elections in Azad Kashmir will be held later this year, with the current assembly completing its term in July.
