Pakistan: China Calls for ‘Political Unity, Social Stability’

Sudan Events – Sumaya Sayed 

Amid a hung parliament following the Feb. 8 elections in Pakistan, China on Monday called for maintaining political unity and social stability in the South Asian nation, state media reported.

“As a close and friendly neighbor, China fully respects the choice made by the Pakistani people,” said Mao Ning, spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry.

Beijing “sincerely hopes that all relevant parties in Pakistan will work together to maintain political unity and social stability after the elections and jointly create a future for national development,” said Mao.

No single political party was able to gain the required numbers to form a federal government on its own after elections were held in Pakistan on Feb. 8.

Most of the seats in the 264-seat National Assembly, the parliament, were won by independent candidates linked to incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party which is barred from participating in the polls.

The Pakistan Muslim League (N) of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif won 75, followed by the Pakistan People’s Party of Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari which won 54.

The smaller Muttehida Quami Movement (MQM) party won 17 seats.

MQM and the parties of Sharif and Zardari are in talks to form a coalition government, while Khan’s PTI has announced to form an alliance with the Sunni Ittehad Council to gain the reserved seats in the parliament where its 95 candidates won as independents.

PTI has alleged mass rigging to “steal” public mandate as the party’s data claims that its candidates won at least 177 seats through direct elections.

Both the election commission and the government have denied any wrongdoing.

A party requires 134 seats, without adding reserved seats, to form the government on its own at the federal level in the South Asian nation.